Donor Relations Manager

Job Title: Donor Relations Manager
Reports To: Sr. Development Manager
Location: San Francisco (Hybrid)
Status: Full-Time, Exempt

Salary: $70,000 - $90,000

Job Overview:

CalTrout seeks a detail-oriented and donor-centered Donor Relations Manager to oversee stewardship operations, donor experience, and donor-facing logistics for key fundraising and engagement initiatives. This role is responsible for ensuring donors feel valued, informed, and confident in the impact of their support, while supporting the systems and processes that drive strong donor retention and long-term loyalty.

The Donor Relations Manager partners closely with the Sr. Development Manager, Annual Fund Manager, Director of Development, regional staff, and external consultants to support high-quality donor engagement across multiple touchpoints. This role coordinates acknowledgment and stewardship workflows, serves as the primary point of contact for donor support and experience, manages donor-facing logistics for specialty engagement experiences, and serves as the primary internal liaison to CalTrout's gala consulting team.

Roles & Responsibilities:

Donor Stewardship and Acknowledgment

• Coordinate timely, accurate, and donor-appropriate acknowledgment of gifts across all individual giving levels.
• Ensure acknowledgments reflect donor intent, restrictions, recognition preferences, and giving history.
• Maintain stewardship standards and timelines, identifying and resolving gaps in coordination with the annual Fund Manager and Sr. Development Manager.
• Support the preparation and distribution of donor impact reports, updates, and stewardship communications in collaboration with development and communications staff

Recurring Giving and Donor Support

• Serve as the primary point of contact for donor support related to gifts, including recurring and non-recurring contributions.
• Assist donors with updates to payment information, gift frequency, designations, recognition preferences, and other account-related requests.
• Ensure donor inquiries and requests are handled promptly, accurately, and with a high standard of care, reinforcing trust and ease of giving.
• Partner with the Annual Fund Manager by providing timely updates and insights related to donor questions, service trends, or potential friction points impacting the donor experience.
• Maintain clear internal handoffs, with the Annual Fund Manager retaining ownership of recurring giving strategy, donor acquisition, upgrades, and revenue growth initiatives.
  

Specialty Donor Engagement and Event Logistics

• Manage backend planning and donor-facing logistics for high-touch engagement experiences, including fishing trips, field tours, donor briefings, and invitation-only gatherings.
• Coordinate vendors, schedules, materials, confirmations, and run-of-show details to ensure a seamless and intentional donor experience.
• Attend select donor engagement experiences, including fishing trips and field tours, to serve in a hospitality and stewardship capacity and ensure the donor experience aligns with CalTrout's internal standards.
• Act as an on-site point of coordination for donor experience issues, troubleshooting logistics and supporting staff and partners as needed to maintain a high-quality experience for donors.
• Develop and maintain repeatable templates, timelines, and checklists to support consistency and efficiency across donor engagement experiences.
• Partner with development leadership to ensure engagement events support stewardship and relationship-building goals, while maintaining a focus on logistics rather than solicitation or event production.

Gala Coordination and Donor Experience Support

• Serve as the primary internal liaison to CalTrout's gala consulting team, supporting coordination and information flow related to donor-facing components of the annual gala.
• Manage internal tracking and data entry related to the gala, including auction items, sponsorship commitments, donor recognition details, and auction platform administration.
• Partner with the development team to support table assignments, seating strategies, and guest experience planning aligned with donor stewardship and relationship goals.
• Coordinate with vendors and internal staff on donor-facing logistics, including catering details and on-site materials, while deferring event production and execution leadership to external consultants.
• Ensure accuracy and consistency across donor records, sponsorship tracking, auction platforms, and recognition lists to support a high-quality donor experience.
• Data Integrity and Systems Coordination
• Maintain accurate donor and engagement records in the CRM, including stewardship actions, recognition preferences, and event participation.
• Track donor stewardship activities and engagement touchpoints to support reporting on retention and donor experience.
• Identify and communicate data or process issues that may impact donor experience or stewardship effectiveness.
• Cross-Departmental Collaboration
• Work closely with the Associate Director of Donor Engagement, Annual Fund Manager, Director of Development, and external consultants to align stewardship and donor experience efforts with broader fundraising strategies.
• Coordinate with communications and outreach teams to support donor-facing materials, recognition, and messaging consistency.
• Participate in development planning and coordination meetings to support department-wide goals.

Requirements & Qualifications:

• A bachelor's degree is preferred but not required. Relevant experience in donor relations, fundraising operations, stewardship, events coordination, or nonprofit administration will be considered in lieu of a degree.
• Minimum of 3–5 years of experience in donor relations, fundraising operations, stewardship, or donor-facing event coordination.
• Experience managing donor acknowledgments, stewardship workflows, or donor support functions.
• Familiarity with CRM systems (Salesforce preferred) and donor data management.
• Experience coordinating donor-facing components of fundraising events, including auctions, sponsorship tracking, or seating management, is preferred.
• Skills
• Strong organizational and project management skills with exceptional attention to detail.
• Clear, professional written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Comfort working collaboratively across teams and with external consultants.
• Travel and Transportation Requirements
• Must possess a valid driver's license and be able to travel throughout California as needed to support donor engagement activities and events.
• Ability to travel occasionally, including overnight travel, and to attend donor events or site visits that may occur outside of standard business hours.

Key Competencies

• Donor-Centered Focus – Commitment to delivering a thoughtful, respectful, and high-quality donor experience.
• Operational Excellence – Ability to manage and improve stewardship and donor engagement systems.
• Collaboration – Effectively partners across development, communications, and outreach teams.
• Problem-Solving – Anticipates challenges and proactively identifies solutions before donor experience is impacted.
• Mission-Driven Commitment – Genuine enthusiasm for CalTrout's mission and the role of philanthropy in advancing conservation outcomes.

Benefits: California Trout offers competitive compensation commensurate with experience; health benefits (medical, dental, and vision), retirement plan with matching, generous holidays, PTO benefits, and sabbatical leave.

Why Join CalTrout?

At CalTrout, you will have the opportunity to lead groundbreaking conservation efforts that directly impact California's natural ecosystems and communities. As the Donor Relations Manager, you'll help shape the future of California's rivers, fisheries, and watersheds, working alongside a dedicated team and innovative partners to achieve lasting environmental change.

Diversity:  CalTrout does not discriminate in employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity), national origin, political affiliation, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, genetic information, age, membership in an employee organization, retaliation, parental status, military service, or any other applicable legally protected characteristics.

We're passionate about creating an inclusive workplace that promotes and values diversity. Companies that are diverse in age, gender identity, race, sexual orientation, physical or mental ability, ethnicity, and perspective are proven to be better companies. More importantly, creating an environment where everyone, from any background, can do their best work is the right thing to do.