Job Description

Are you a “pawsitive” person who loves people almost as much as pets? Do you get excited about building relationships, telling great stories and turning someone’s love for animals into meaningful support? If you’re equal parts people person, creative thinker and go-getter, and don’t mind a little dog or cat hair on your clothes, you may be exactly who we’re looking for.

The Annual Giving Officer is responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive annual giving program that grows philanthropic support for Young-Williams Animal Center and strengthens relationships with donors at every stage of their journey. From someone making their very first gift to a longtime supporter ready to deepen their commitment, this role helps donors understand the lifesaving difference their generosity makes for pets and people in our community.

This position will focus on acquiring new donors, retaining and upgrading existing donors, growing recurring giving and creating meaningful opportunities for supporters to deepen their connection to Young-Williams. Working as a member of the Advancement team and closely with the Marketing team, the Annual Giving Officer will combine compelling storytelling, thoughtful donor communications, data, technology and a little creativity to build a strong and sustainable pipeline of philanthropic support.

The ideal candidate is relationship-oriented, results-driven and genuinely enthusiastic about our mission. Successful annual giving isn’t simply about asking for the next gift, it’s about creating an experience that makes people feel connected to the mission, appreciated for their support and inspired to give again, give more and become even bigger champions for the animals who depend on us.

And while a love of animals is certainly important, this job is ultimately about the generous humans who make our work possible. If you can build relationships, think strategically, embrace new ideas and bring energy and enthusiasm to your work, we’d love to meet you. Come help us turn compassion into action, one donor (and one wagging tail) at a time.

Essential Responsibilities

Annual Giving Strategy & Revenue Growth

• Develop and implement a comprehensive annual giving strategy designed to increase donor acquisition, retention, renewal and upgrades.
• Manage a portfolio of annual donors and prospects, developing appropriate strategies to cultivate, solicit and steward their support.
• Identify donors with the interest and capacity to increase their giving and intentionally move qualified prospects into the major gifts pipeline.
• Develop strategies to grow monthly and recurring giving programs.
• Establish annual revenue, retention, acquisition and upgrade goals and regularly evaluate progress against established benchmarks.
• Work collaboratively with Advancement leadership to identify opportunities for unrestricted and program-specific giving.

Donor Acquisition & Retention

• Develop strategies to convert adopters, volunteers, event attendees, clients, social media followers and other Young-Williams supporters into first-time donors.
• Create intentional donor journeys for first-time, recurring, lapsed and loyal donors.
• Develop renewal and reactivation strategies for current and lapsed donors.
• Identify opportunities to increase donor loyalty and lifetime value.
• Ensure donors receive timely, meaningful acknowledgment and stewardship beyond transactional gift receipts.
• Make personal contact with donors through phone calls, handwritten notes, email and individual meetings when appropriate.

Annual Campaigns & Appeals

• Plan and execute annual fundraising campaigns, including direct mail, email, digital giving, Giving Tuesday, year-end giving and other targeted appeals.
• Partner with Marketing to develop compelling donor-centered stories demonstrating the impact of philanthropic support.
• Coordinate campaign calendars, audience segmentation, messaging and follow-up strategies.
• Evaluate campaign performance and use results to continuously improve future solicitations.

Donor Engagement & Stewardship

• Develop creative opportunities for donors to see and understand the impact of their giving.
• Help create a consistent and exceptional donor experience from the first gift forward.
• Coordinate donor communications, impact updates, tours, small gatherings and other cultivation and stewardship opportunities.
• Work collaboratively with staff throughout the organization to identify compelling animal, client and program stories for donor communications.
• Build relationships that make donors feel connected to Young-Williams and valued as partners in the mission.

Data, Analytics & Technology

• Maintain accurate and timely donor information, interactions and moves-management activity within the donor database/CRM.
• Use donor data to segment audiences and personalize communications and solicitations.
• Track key annual giving metrics including acquisition, retention, renewal, upgrade, reactivation, recurring giving, average gift and donor lifetime value.
• Regularly analyze giving trends and campaign performance and make recommendations based on results.
• Explore and utilize technology, automation and AI tools that improve personalization, efficiency and donor engagement while maintaining an authentic human connection.

Collaboration

• Work as a member of the Advancement and closely with the Marketing team and program staff to ensure fundraising messages are coordinated, accurate and compelling.
• Support broader Advancement initiatives, donor events and fundraising priorities as needed.
• Help create a culture of philanthropy throughout Young-Williams by ensuring staff understand the importance of donor relationships and stewardship.
• Serve as a knowledgeable and enthusiastic ambassador for Young-Williams Animal Center and its mission.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree preferred.
• Three or more years of experience in fundraising, annual giving, donor relations, nonprofit development, marketing or a related field preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to build relationships and communicate effectively with a wide range of individuals.
• Strong writing and storytelling skills with the ability to translate organizational impact into compelling donor communications.
• Experience with donor databases/CRM systems and comfort working with data and analytics.
• Strong organizational and project-management skills with the ability to manage multiple campaigns and deadlines simultaneously.
• Comfortable personally engaging donors by telephone, email and face-to-face.
• Self-motivated, creative, collaborative and accountable for measurable results.
• Ability to use good judgment and maintain confidentiality regarding donor and organizational information.
• Commitment to the mission and values of Young-Williams Animal Center.

Measures of Success

Success in this position will be measured through both revenue growth and the strength of Young-Williams' donor relationships, including:

• Growth in annual giving revenue
• Increased donor retention and renewal
• Growth in new donor acquisition
• Increased number and value of recurring donors
• Successful reactivation of lapsed donors
• Growth in average annual gift
• Number of donors successfully upgraded
• Number of qualified prospects moved into the major gifts pipeline
• Strong campaign performance and return on investment
• Timely and meaningful donor stewardship

Core Competencies

Relationship Builder: Enjoys connecting with people and understands that fundraising begins with relationships.

Results-Oriented: Takes ownership of revenue and donor-growth goals and uses data to measure progress.

Exceptional Communicator: Writes and speaks with warmth, clarity and authenticity.

Strategic Thinker: Looks beyond the next appeal to understand the full donor journey.

Creative Storyteller: Recognizes compelling stories and knows how to connect them to philanthropic impact.

Technologically Curious: Embraces CRM tools, analytics, automation and AI to work smarter and improve donor engagement.

Collaborative: Works effectively across departments and understands that fundraising success depends on the entire organization.

Mission-Driven: Believes deeply in the human-animal bond and Young-Williams Animal Center's responsibility to serve pets and people throughout the community.

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