Annual Giving Manager

Founded in 1876, the Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC) is the oldest conservation and recreation organization in the United States. Our mission is simple yet powerful: foster the protection, enjoyment, and understanding of the outdoors. With a focus on protecting mountains, forests, waters, and trails throughout the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions, we envision a world where our natural resources are healthy, loved, and always protected, and where the outdoors occupies a place of central importance in every person’s life.  

This position aligns both paid and unpaid staff to move AMC’s mission and four strategic priorities:   

• Inspire joyous, meaningful outdoor experiences  

• Protect critical landscapes for the well-being of people and the outdoors  

• Cultivate and sustain a robust, welcoming community  

• Foster access to the outdoors 

AMC seeks an Annual Giving Manager (AGM), to assume responsibility for implementing and supporting a multi-channel, data-driven annual giving program at Appalachian Mountain Club (AMC). This position will play a crucial role in enhancing AMC’s fundraising efforts as it launches an ambitious comprehensive campaign to support the implementation of AMC’s All Out Action plan. This new position will be part of the team responsible for advancing significant growth in annual giving and donor engagement as part of  the largest fundraising campaign in AMC’s history.  

This position reports to the Director of Annual Giving and Donor Engagement (DAGDE), and works closely with the Donor Engagement Manager (DEM) on the execution of a comprehensive and integrated engagement, solicitation, and stewardship program to grow AMC’s pipeline of donors giving between $1-$9,999, with a focus on retention, new donor acquisition, and upgraded giving.  

The Manager will implement strategies and launch fundraising campaigns for direct mail and digital solicitations. This position will also explore new opportunities for engaging and acquiring first-time donors, including expanding AMC’s monthly giving program, as well as identify new prospective donors for the President’s Society giving program.  Key responsibilities include donor cultivation and stewardship, appeal planning, and reporting and analysis. 

This role demands strong analytical skills, attention to detail, and the ability to collaborate effectively with various teams to enhance donor relationships and support the organization’s mission. 

What You'll Be Doing At AMC

Appeals 

• Execute annual giving appeals and other operational fundraising campaigns with a goal of acquiring new donors, retaining existing donors, and upgrading donors into the President’s Society giving program, thus expanding AMC’s donor pipeline for the campaign.  

• Manage a detailed production schedule of direct and digital marketing activities for annual giving solicitations and other fundraising campaigns in conjunction with Growth Marketing and Communications. 

• Together with DAGDE, strategize and deploy strategy to meet Annual Fund Gifts with membership goals, in coordination with Membership. 

• Working closely with the DAGDE, draft and implement the segmentation plan for each Annual Fund appeal. Include appeal projections compared to budget and previous year’s performance.  

• Determine ask string formulas and upgrade strategies for appeals. Oversee review for constituents under management by front-line staff, and personalize ask amounts as needed for President’s Society members who are not being actively managed. 

• Collaborate with DADGE to determine fundraising priorities and develop key messaging aligned with donor needs for fundraising appeals.  

• Work with Communications Team to align all copy with key messaging priorities and work with the Marketing Team to adjust messages to each channel and audience target. 

• Coordinate with Tech team and Marketing team on preparing solicitation lists for digital appeals, executing fundraising initiatives to encourage existing members to give and existing donors to increase their giving online. Assess new opportunities to promote and cultivate program participation from new constituents.  

• Manage AMC’s monthly giving as well as honor and memorial giving. Take direct responsibility for growing AMC’s monthly giving program.  

Reporting and Analysis 

• Utilize AMC’s database, Salesforce, to manage all aspects of annual giving appeals, including segmentation, appeal tracking, and solicitation amounts for various appeals 

• Create and run weekly campaign reports for all Annual Fund appeals, covering direct mail, email, web, paid ads, social, and any other source of appeal revenue. Liaise with the Marketing team to understand and optimize digital results as needed. 

• Annually, analyze overall performance for each appeal and audience group reviewing key performance metrics, including response rate, average gift, cost of fundraising, return on investment and lifetime value, provide goals to and results with Marketing. 

Cultivation and Stewardship 

• Coordinate with Major Gifs and Development Operations teams to identify prospective major gift candidates from new donors, with a special focus on President’s Society donors, for prospect research. 

• Conduct personal outreach to all new and upgrading donors not under management to welcome and thank them for their gifts.  

• Coordinate staff and volunteer personalized outreach by staff and volunteers to lapsed donors to make the case for renewed support.  Take lead role in personally conducting outreach during key periods of the annual giving cycle.  

• Working closely with the DAGDE and Donor Engagement Manager, implement annual cultivation plan for new, monthly, and $250-$999 donors to engage those most likely to provide ongoing support for AMC’s mission.  

• Working with Marketing, set up digital communications for the DAGDE, including monthly email newsletters, e-appeals, and special updates, using Marketing Cloud. 

Miscellaneous 

• Work closely with the DAGDE on the development of talking points and training materials for AMC staff and volunteers to be effective ambassadors for growing AMC’s annual giving programs. Participate in and facilitate trainings program.  

• Collaborate with Communications Team on any changes to language in donor-facing communications. 

• Manage website update requests with marketing team and record all changes. 

• Travels and participates in a variety of AMC activities to engage with constituents in the outdoors.  

• Other duties as assigned.  

What AMC Is Looking For

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience and at least 3+ years’ experience successfully executing non-profit direct mail, digital giving, membership programs, or annual giving programs.  

• Proven track record of engaging, acquiring, and retaining donors within an annual giving or membership program.  

• Must have experience working with databases (Salesforce preferred) and general computer skills.  

• Excellent attention to detail is necessary, with strong oral and written communication and presentation skills.  

• Ability to multi-task, think proactively, creatively, and independently; execute workplans; capable of listening to donors, identifying issues/problems, and offering solutions.  

• Demonstrated ability to lead, collaborate, project manage, and build consensus among different teams.  

• Ability to handle confidential donor information with sensitivity and integrity. 

• A strong commitment to AMC’s mission.  

What AMC Can Offer You 

Salary Range

Boston based: $59,940-$80,937

Remote/ Other USA based locations: $52,122- $70,380

We are committed to fair compensation practices. The initial salary represents our starting point, and our compensation philosophy is designed to reward and recognize the contributions of our employees as they grow within the organization. External candidates typically begin their journey with us at the starting point of the salary range. The final compensation offer will be based on factors such as experience, education, competencies, and geographic differential relevant to the position, and will be discussed during the interview process. 

Benefits 

• Health Plan: Generous employer contributions through Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts with optional vision and dental.  

• Other Insurance: 100% employer paid life insurance, AD&D insurance, long-term disability. 

• Career Progression: The potential to have annual compensation reviews commensurate with performance and effort.  

• Retirement: 403(b) with 4% matching employer contributions and a vesting schedule. This benefit increases with tenure. 

• Paid Time Off: up to 4 weeks of Paid Time Off and up to 11 paid company holidays at hire. This benefit increases with tenure. 

• Other Team Member Perks:  

• 30% discount on AMC Merchandise Free Annual AMC Membership 

• 10 Free nights at AMC locations 

• Educational Assistance 

• Pro deal discounts on equipment & gear and more! 

To Apply: 

Please include a resume and letter of interest. No phone calls or agencies please. 

AMC welcomes all qualified candidates to apply, and we invite the full participation of all individuals currently underrepresented in the outdoor community. 

The Appalachian Mountain Club has zero tolerance for child abuse or placing children in danger. The AMC requires all employees who work in a program or facility that serves children, disabled persons, or the elderly to have a criminal background record check performed on their name annually with employment contingent upon satisfactory results.