Position Overview:
As part of the Annual Giving team within the National Park Foundation Philanthropy department, the Digital Giving team is responsible for helping to raise $31+ million in unrestricted revenue annually. Reporting to the Associate Director of Digital Giving, the Manager of Sustainer Engagement and Retention is a new opportunity to grow NPF’s recurring gift program. The Manager is responsible for developing and managing strategies to increase sustainer retention and grow the organization’s sustainer giving program. This position will play a crucial role in deepening relationships with individual donors by cultivating ongoing support through monthly, quarterly, annual, and other recurring giving mechanisms. The Manager will work cross-functionally with the Annual Giving team and Donor Engagement teams to create and execute campaigns that acquire, engage, retain, and upgrade recurring gift donors.
The ideal candidate will be data-driven, able to collaborate across teams, donor-centric, and focused on developing tailored communication streams for sustainer cohorts, ensuring a growing, stable, and sustainable revenue stream to support the organization’s mission.
Essential Functions/Duties/Tasks:
- Lead the sustainer giving strategy, and in partnership with the Annual Giving team, ensure the implementation and optimization of the sustainer giving program to enhance donor retention, grow and retain recurring donors, and manage a growing revenue stream. Assist in developing and implementing innovative strategies to acquire new sustainers through multi-channel Annual Giving campaigns, including digital ads, email, SMS, direct mail, canvassing, and telemarketing outreach.
- Collaborate with the Annual Giving team to identify opportunities for growth. Track and ensure progress against program goals and KPIs as set forth by the Associate Director, Digital, Senior Director, Annual Fund and Director, Champions Society.
- Create and manage personalized donor journeys for sustaining donors, ensuring consistent and meaningful communication to foster loyalty and long-term revenue and engagement.
- Develop and manage retention strategies, including stewardship touchpoints, upgrades, lapsed donor reactivation, and milestone acknowledgments.
- Partner with the Donor Engagement team to strategize and develop a donor recognition program tailored specifically for recurring donors, ensuring they feel valued and connected to the organization’s mission.
- In coordination with the digital and offline teams, develop engaging content and help launch sustainer giving acquisition, upgrade and recapture appeals, crafting messaging that highlights the ongoing impact of donors’ contributions.
- Manage development or usage of premium giveaways in acquisition strategies, including design, purchasing, and coordinating fulfilment with Annual Giving team.
- Optimize campaigns using data insights and A/B testing to improve conversion rates, upgrade rates, recapture rate, and donor retention.
- Analyze donor data to monitor trends in donor retention, engagement, and lifetime value, making data-driven decisions to improve sustained giving outcomes.
- Prepare regular reports on program performance, including retention rates, churn rates, failed payments, recaptures, and revenue generated from sustained giving.
- Collaborate with data and operations teams to ensure accurate donor records and reporting, and recommend adjustments based on insights.
- Work with Constituent Services to ensure a seamless donor experience, including prompt acknowledgment, resolution of donor inquiries, and rescue strategies.
- Support the overall fundraising team by providing insights on sustained giving trends and best practices to help inform broader development strategies.
- Identify new opportunities for donor acquisition and retention through emerging platforms, tools and trends in the nonprofit sector.
- Test new messaging, gift structures, and donor journeys to increase conversion and upgrade rates for sustained donors.
- Ensure compliance with all relevant federal, state, and local regulations in all aspects of the sustainer donor program.
- Other duties as assigned.
Required knowledge, skills, and abilities:
- Hands-on experience with monthly giving or subscription programs preferred.
- Project management experience in mid- to large-sized fundraising programs.
- Minimum 4 years of experience in fundraising, direct marketing, digital marketing, or donor relations, with at least 2 years focused on annual, sustained giving, or donor retention.
- Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, nonprofit management, or a related field.
- Exceptional communication skills, both written and verbal. Ability to draft, proofread, and edit well-written emails, donation pages, and other communications for donors. Will need keen attention to detail and timelines.
- Exceptional organizational skills, including the ability to work successfully in a fast-paced environment.
- Ability to work effectively and adaptively in a highly collaborative, interdependent team environment.
- The most successful candidate will have:
- Proven success in managing donor programs, including acquiring, retaining, and upgrading recurring donors.
- Strong data and analytical skills, using insights to improve fundraising campaigns.
- Experience with donor management systems (e.g., Blackbaud Luminate Online, Salesforce, Engaging Networks) to track and optimize giving programs.
- Ability to create engaging donor experiences that build long-term commitment and support.
- Demonstrated success in growing sustained giving programs and improving retention rates.
- Strong understanding of direct response fundraising, donor lifecycle management, and multichannel marketing.
- Experience analyzing donor data and implementing data-driven strategies to optimize.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills, ability to craft compelling donor messages.
- Familiarity with national parks, or education, civic, or museum sectors a plus.
- Deep understanding of the motivations and expectations of sustained donors, with a focus on delivering personalized, impactful experiences.
- Adept at cultivating strong relationships with individual donors, teams, and partners.
- Strong organizational and time-management skills.
- Innovative and resourceful, and able to develop new ideas to engage and retain donors.
Location: Applicants residing in the DC Metro Area (DC, MD, VA) are eligible for a hybrid work schedule. A remote work schedule may be considered for this position in the following states: AL, AZ, CA, CO, FL, IL, MA, MN, NC, NH, NM, NJ, NY, OH, PA, SC, TN, TX, WA, WI
To Apply: For consideration, please include a resume and cover letter in your application.
Salary Range: The salary range for this position is $85,000 - $90,000, commensurate with experience.
Benefits: NPF offers a highly competitive benefits package including medical, dental, vision, 403(b) savings plan, professional development and tuition assistance, primary caregiver leave, and generous paid time-off.
