Associate Director of Gift Administration at Washington National Cathedral – Washington, District of Columbia

Job Summary:

The Development Operations team is seeking a driven, organized, and detail-oriented Associate Director, Gift Administration to lead a team responsible for processing and recording transactions into our database of record (Raiser’s Edge), overseeing donor receipting/acknowledgement, and reconciling all transactional data with the Finance department. The Associate is also responsible for implementing and managing systems and processes for meeting the logistical and operational needs of the fundraising staff at Share Our Strength.

The Associate Director will provide internal expertise on gift acceptance policies and procedures as well as IRS rules regarding the recording and receipting charitable gifts. Additional responsibilities include oversight and management of the daily workflow and priorities of the Gift Processing Coordinator, serving as the main liaison between Development Operations and Finance, initiating projects to strengthen internal operations with an eye toward efficiency, facilitating timely reconciliation and closings, and backing up the Director, as needed.

The Associate Director also manages vendor-partners who directly support Washington National Cathedral and serves as point person for staff across the Cathedral on donor information and charitable contributions.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Gift Entry, Reconciliation, and Reporting

• Serve as first point of contact for all incoming revenue to the organization and manage and prioritize day-to-day gift processing activities – includes oversight of cash flow processes for all incoming revenue streams, including batching gifts, managing gift coding assignments – including proper designation of campaigns, fund and appeals.
• Work closely with the Finance team and gift officers to ensure compliance with internal policies and IRS regulations for charitable gifts. Oversee maintenance of appropriate batch records, paper files, and other records related to contributions, in accordance with both IRS and Washington National Cathedral guidelines.
• Provide expertise on gift acceptance policies and procedures and ensure accuracy of all gift/donation records and deposits.
• Manage the relationship with the Cathedral’s lockbox caging vendor and receipting vendors; oversee quality control of caging gift entry into RE NXT and receipt generation. Perform various quality assurance process checks on gift data entered Raiser’s Edge by internal staff and external caging vendor.
• Analyze and lead efforts to build new processes and workflows to support acceptance and receipting of gifts from new vehicles/platforms in collaboration with other stakeholders, including gift entry and receipting procedures, coding processes, and quality control standards.
• Provide various financial reports to Development staff on a regular basis, as requested.
• In partnership with the Cathedral Finance team, serve as the main point of contact for monthly financial reconciliation between Raiser’s Edge and the Cathedral’s general ledger, and adjust and reclass transactions as needed. Generate daily, weekly, and monthly financial reports for review by the Finance department.
• Serve as the Development team’s main point of contact for the annual audit, in partnership with the Cathedral’s Finance Department.
• Work closely with the Director of Development Services and all Development staff on defining and maintaining gift processing operating procedures that meet or exceed the needs of the donors. Ensure that all gift processing policies and procedures are followed for all gifts, pledges, and reporting in accordance with legal and industry required gift management policies.
• Supervise the Coordinator of Gift Processing, providing growth and training opportunities to ensure daily gift processing and reporting continuity during vacations, sick leave, and during high volume periods of the year.
• Maintain all policies & procedures manuals related to Gift Processing for the Development Operations department and update as necessary.
• Update and maintain job knowledge related to Gift Processing by participating in educational and professional development opportunities; monitor industry trends; recommend changes to staff roles and responsibilities to follow best practices and meet changing needs and support innovative fundraising initiatives.

DATABASE MANAGEMENT

• Manage the gift-related quality control process. Check for quality and accuracy of all gift data imported into Raiser’s Edge. Work closely with Database Administrator to evaluate existing quality control procedures and to develop new ones to ensure data integrity.
• Assist with database entry, queries, reports, imports, and exports, as needed.

DONOR SERVICES, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS & RECEIPTING

• Communicate with donors and troubleshoot complex issues and concerns, notifying appropriate gift officers, Finance and other Development team members of resolution, as needed.
• In collaboration with the Donor Engagement team, manage the acknowledgement process, including the export of the data, managing exclusions, quality review for bad addresses, salutations, and other data issues. Respond to Development team users and others with regard to the donors and their acknowledgements.
• Manage the Tribute and Memorial gifts process that generates Gloria Deo cards for donors, correspondence to families of the deceased, manage the Book of Remembrance that holds historical tribute gifts.
• Track outstanding pledges, working with the Donor Engagement Manager to produce pledge reminder letters and quarterly and annual statements for donors and generate reports to finance and gift officers, as appropriate.

Performs other duties as assigned

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree preferred, but not required, and 6 - 8 years of relevant work experience, preferably in non-profit operations, accounting, or finance.
• 3 – 5 years’ experience with Raiser’s Edge/RE NXT or other CRM, Raiser’s Edge preferred. Experience with financial accounting software preferred.
• Strong MS Office skills (especially Excel) are required.
• 7+ years’ experience in gift processing or related functions. Knowledge in areas of financial controls, gift acceptance, accounting, and information systems.
• Supervisory experience is preferred.
• Experience overseeing lockbox caging operations required.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities:

• Demonstrated experience and knowledge of applicable IRS regulations regarding the treatment of philanthropic contributions, such as pledges and payments, gifts-in-kind, stocks, planned gifts, and endowments. This includes experience and knowledge with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP).
• Excellent organizational, analytical, and problem-solving skills are essential.
• Demonstrated ability to work successfully under pressure and independently; able to consider processes end-to-end and anticipate downstream effects.
• Highly refined team-building skills with staff, internal, and external clients are essential.
• Must be able to manage multiple projects and meet deadlines.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills are required.
• Ability to quickly learn and adapt to new software specific to the department or institution and train users on database and gift processing policies and procedures.
• Proficient in all areas of gift processing. Ability to provide back up support for all daily gift processing functions during vacations, sick leave, and during high volume periods of the year.

Working Conditions:

• This position requires work during regular business hours and outside of regular business hours, including evenings and weekends.
• This position is eligible for a hybrid model of work, requiring 2-3 days/week in the office.
• This position requires prolonged sitting, standing, walking, reaching, twisting, turning, kneeling, bending, and stooping in the performance of daily activities.
• The position also requires grasping, repetitive hand movement, and fine coordination in preparing reports using a computer keyboard.
• The position also requires near and far vision for reading and preparing written reports and other required documents.
• Acute hearing is also required when providing phone assistance.
• The need to lift, drag, push, and pull files, reports, and other materials weighing up to 25 pounds is also required.

Washington National Cathedral is an equal opportunity employer and strives to create a more diverse and inclusive atmosphere for all. Applicants will not be discriminated against because of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, or national origin.

We support an inclusive workplace where associates excel based on personal merit, qualifications, experience, ability, and job performance.

Washington National Cathedral seeks individuals who are committed to our mission. We appreciate interest from those who will contribute to an atmosphere in which diversity is valued and supported.

Salary Range $80,000 - $90,000 commensurate to experience