Individual Giving Manager at Franciscan Outreach – Chicago, Illinois

Organizational Summary
Franciscan Outreach is a leading provider of homeless services in Chicago. We operate as a system of support for those who are marginalized and experiencing homelessness. We empower people to gain the stability they need to transition into permanent housing. Grounded in the Franciscan tradition, we serve everyone regardless of their beliefs, and we do not conduct or require participation in religious services. We are committed to working together as an inclusive community that promotes equal treatment and opportunity for all. We strive to create a caring, safe, and supportive community that embraces and uplifts everyone, especially our most vulnerable neighbors.

Position Description:
The Manager of Individual Giving plays a vital role in the Development Team by growing, stewarding, and managing Franciscan Outreach’s individual donor base. This position manages a portfolio of donors and prospects, leads annual fund campaigns, supports donor cultivation events, strengthens digital fundraising efforts, and maintains high-quality stewardship practices across all levels of giving.

The Manager of Individual Giving works closely with the Director of Development to promote a coordinated, strategic approach to individual philanthropy. This role demands strong relationship-building skills, excellent written and verbal communication, and the ability to juggle multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Essential Duties & Responsibilities:
Individual Donor Portfolio Management (50% of time)
-Manage a portfolio of 10–15 individual donors and prospects with potential for annual increased giving.
-Conduct 12–20 meaningful donor/prospect visits per year for cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
-Identify and cultivate new individual donor prospects in collaboration with the Director of Development.
-Develop individualized cultivation and moves-management plans for all assigned donors.
-Prepare written proposals, donor pitches, gift agreements, and other solicitation materials.
-Successfully solicit gifts, negotiate terms, and ensure timely documentation of commitments.
-Maintain an active annual pipeline of donors to be solicited and stewarded.
-Organize bi-monthly donor-focused meeting schedules for the Director of Development and Executive Director.

Annual Fund Campaigns (20% of time)
-Manage Franciscan Outreach’s major annual fund appeals (e.g., Spring Appeal, Summer Newsletter, Fall Appeal, Year-End Appeal).
-Lead and execute the strategy for digital and third-party campaigns like Giving Tuesday and Hope for Home Days.
-Develop segmentation, messaging, and donor-centered strategies in partnership with Development and Communications staff.
-Supervise and work with the Communications & Development Coordinator to produce online giving materials, landing pages, emails, and social content.
-Support the development of site/program-specific annual fund initiatives and donor engagement strategies.
-Collect stories, impact data, and donor insights to inform campaign messaging.

Events & Donor Engagement Activities (15% of time)
-Plan and execute donor cultivation events, including tours, briefings, receptions, and friend-raisers.
-Supervise and work with the Development & Communications Coordinator, managing and executing non-signature events including, but not limited to, March Madness, Chicago Marathon, and Winter Walk.
-Lead components of event engagement, including donor communications, host outreach, and stewardship follow-up.
-Manage or support silent auction procurement and donor engagement activities for signature donor events.

Donor Administration & Reporting (15% of time)
-Track all donor activity, moves-management steps, and communications in Donor Perfect.
-Supervise the Development & Communications Coordinator to ensure accurate donor gift entry and data integrity in donor files and recognition lists.
-Produce regular reports on individual giving performance, pipeline activity, and campaign progress.
-Monitor revenue and related expenses for individual giving initiatives.
-Assist with data entry, mailing list creation, and other CRM requests as needed.
-Protect donor confidentiality and adhere to ethical fundraising standards.

Skills and Abilities:
-Experience soliciting gifts of $1,000+ preferred.
-Strong relationship management skills with the ability to engage donors, volunteers, and community partners.
-Previous supervisory experience preferred.
-Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills.
-Strong organizational and time-management skills with the ability to meet deadlines.
-Ability to work independently and collaboratively across teams.
-Experience managing multiple complex projects simultaneously.
-Familiarity with CRM systems (Salesforce, DonorPerfect, or similar) preferred.
-Experience with email marketing platforms (e.g., Mailchimp, Constant Contact) preferred.
-Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and Franciscan Outreach’s mission of serving individuals experiencing homelessness.

Other Responsibilities:
-Ability to develop appropriate professional relationships with staff from a wide variety of races, religions, cultures, ages, educational backgrounds, sexual orientations, and identified genders.
-Able to gather information from a variety of sources.
-Ability to maintain confidentiality and adhere to all ethical standards.
-Ability to maintain required documentation.
-Ability to use Windows-based computer applications, email, and other technologies to communicate with staff and others and to complete work assignments efficiently
-Protects the organization’s value by keeping information confidential
-Updates job knowledge by participating in educational opportunities, reading professional publications, maintaining personal networks, and participating in professional organizations
-Performs other duties as assigned, including but not limited to cleaning of office space and common areas, sorting donations, additional reporting, data entry responsibilities, and facilitating special events
-Attendance at staff meetings as required
-Attendance at special events as directed by supervisor
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s preferred with minimum 5-7 years of experience in individual giving, donor relations, or nonprofit fundraising. Or 8-10 years of relevant work experience.
-Must have reliable access to a vehicle for local travel, including picking up donations, transporting supplies to events and meetings, and attending off-site responsibilities.

Health and Safety Requirements:
-Ability to lift approximately 20lbs
-Follow Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) through administrative updates compliant with federal law
-COVID-19 vaccination is mandatory for all employees. Accommodation requests will be considered in compliance with applicable laws.

Additional Requirements:
All staff are expected to abide by the policies of Franciscan Outreach including, but not limited to rules governing ethics, confidentiality, dual relationships, honesty, and integrity. All staff are expected to always act in good faith and in keeping with the mission and values of Franciscan Outreach. Staff must have a commitment to serving the guests of Franciscan Outreach and to contributing to a positive, respectful, and accepting environment.

Reasonable accommodation will be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of the position. This description provides a summary of the major duties and responsibilities and is not an exhaustive list of the duties and responsibilities. The employee holding this position may be required to perform additional duties to meet the needs of the organization.

Franciscan Outreach provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, citizenship status, military service and/or marital status, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.