Donor Database and Prospect Research Specialist

Donor Database and Prospect Research Specialist– San Francisco

Start Date: September 3, 2024

Job Type: Exempt, full time with benefits 

To Apply: Please send your cover letter and resume to JOBS@suscon.org, and include “Donor Database and Prospect Research Specialist” in the subject line.  

Sustainable Conservation (a leading non-profit in its field) advances the collaborative stewardship of California’s land, air, and water for the benefit of nature and people. Every day, we bring together businesses, landowners, and government in some of the most productive yet economically disadvantaged parts of California, to steward the resources on which we all depend in ways that are just and make economic sense. Please visit www.suscon.org to learn more about our work. 

POSITION SUMMARY

The Donor Database and Prospect Research Specialist is a position within the Development Department and reports to the Director of Annual Giving and Stewardship. The Specialist will be a part of a seasoned development team responsible for raising over $5 million annually from individuals, foundations, and corporations. He/She/They will provide critical support to achieve Sustainable Conservation’s fundraising goals and broaden the existing base of support. Working closely with all members of the department, this position will have ownership of the donor database DonorPerfect Online (DPO) and provide leadership on the effective use of the database to others in the department. This position will also be responsible for donor and prospect research for individuals, foundations, and corporations by providing proactive and reactive research. The Specialist will initiate identification of likely donors for inclusion in cultivation efforts.

Our ideal candidate has experience working with databases and details with an aptitude for getting the best results to support fundraising objectives. The candidate would be conducting research, analysis, and working independently while being part of a larger team.

Primary Responsibilities

Database management- includes the following areas of responsibility (Approx. 50%)

Database Administration and System Oversight:

• Leads complex data entry and maintenance tasks in database such as: data imports, global additions and changes, inactivating unused or dated codes, and setting up security and global settings for all users.
• Responsible for the overall integrity of the data and ensures clean and effective maintenance of donor database, ensures accuracy of all donor records, leads all augmentation and clean-up of existing data, ensures constituent data is fresh, current, and as enhanced as possible to make most effective use of available information.
• Acts as the main staff liaison with account contact at DPO and ensures proper utilization of database by Development team by proactively scheduling regular internal training sessions amongst staff as well as professional trainings with DPO, as needed.
• Develops and maintains guidelines, protocols, and best practices by evaluating organization priorities, identifying problems, and integrating knowledge to create and implement workflow systems.

Data Management and Development Services:

• Works with Development team to ensure all interactions with donors are properly documented in DPO including conducting imports into database for all donor and prospect datapoints pertaining to mailings and events.
• Creates and generates various financial reports including donor revenue and forecasting, various donor reports for mailings, events, grant reports, etc.
• Conducts in-depth analysis reporting on monthly, quarterly and annual basis including organizational dashboard metrics, revenue percentages, retention rate, and other year-end and appeal metrics.

Gift entry and Acknowledgement:

• Processes all gifts and pledges including checks, online gifts, stock and in-kind donations.
• Prepares acknowledgment letters and other donor-related correspondence as directed; Maintains strict 24-48-hour turnaround timeframe for acknowledgments.
• Reconciles donations with the Finance team by running monthly revenue reconciliation reports to ensure accuracy between DPO and the revenue reported by the Finance team using Quickbooks
• Partners with the Finance team to prepare documents for audit.

Research: includes the following areas of responsibility (Approx. 50%)

• Conducts individual donor, corporate, and foundation research, including tracking research requests, conducting donor and prospect research, and wealth screenings using DonorSearch, iWave and other sources.
• Analyzes and interprets financial data and assets, biographical and personal information, professional and business information and connections, areas of interest, philanthropic support, affiliations, compensation, and property transactions to identify financial capacity and propensity to develop profile reports and briefs on donors and prospects that are tailored to the needs of Development team and are used to develop strategies and solicitations.
• Recommends and utilizes online services (iWave, DonorSearch), Internet, print and electronic media, research directories, and other reference sources to expand prospect and donor information.
• Develops and manages a comprehensive system for identifying, researching, and qualifying new prospects.
• Prepares for and leads productive prospect meetings with Development team.
• Proactively analyzes and recommends updates to Development portfolios including assessing upgrade/renewal options with donors.
• Proactively identifies new prospects through research and data mining and works with Development staff on next steps.
• Both proactively and in response to requests from the CEO and Development team, prepare confidential and thoroughly researched profiles, reports, and briefings tailored creatively and thoughtfully with emphasis on constituents’ wealth, gift capacity, interests (including philanthropic interests) and relationships.
• Identify and track key relationships between the existing donor community and prospective new donors and funders.

Experience and Skills Required   

• 3-5+ years of experience in a fundraising/development position.
• Demonstrated database management and administration experience required (preferably in a nonprofit environment) including understanding of fundraising terms, accurate data pulls and report generation, importing and exporting.
• Knowledge of and ability to create funding reports including understanding of how donations are recognized.
• Ability to retrieve, analyze and synthesize information into concise reports and donor profiles
• Ability to make independent recommendations to proactively resolve and advance projects, while serving as a key member of a highly collaborative team.
• Ability to manage more than one project at a time, adapt to changing priorities, maintain sensitive and confidential information, and communicate effectively.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel including pivot tables.
• Organized and deadline oriented.
• Acute attention to detail and accuracy.
• Excellent research, writing and editing skills.
• Self-directed and curious.
• Proficiency in prospect research and data analysis.
• Flexibility, creativity, and a sense of humor are highly valued!

Educational Requirements: Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent experience, library science background a definite plus.

Physical Requirements

• Heavy keyboard work, sitting at desk for extended periods.
• Ability to work evenings required occasionally to support events.

Compensation: The compensation for this position will be in the range of $69,660-$76,950 annually. The exact offered pay will be determined by factors including but not limited to education, experience, the external labor market, and internal equity.  

COVID-19 Note: Sustainable Conservation is a 100% COVID-19 vaccination workplace. Proof of vaccination against COVID-19 (including booster) is required before the first day of employment. Job applicants with religious and disability-related objections will be extended reasonable accommodations.

What we offer: A competitive compensation package based on experience, fully paid health insurance benefits, generous match on 401k, FSA, EAP, vacation, floating days, sick leave, plus the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day as holiday leave. Our greatest benefit is our culture. Our staff is collaborative, dedicated, and caring. We believe in articulating and practicing our values (Collaboration, Respect, Results, Honesty, Learning, Well-Being) at work and have a strong commitment to bringing a DEI lens to our work and workplace culture. We encourage, prioritize and support professional development and career growth within the organization and pride ourselves in working with our team members to advance their careers in line with the organizational mission.