Open Positions at the Gilder Lehrman Institute

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Development and Donor Communications Manager

The Organization

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (GLI) is the nation’s leading American history organization dedicated to K–12 education. The Institute’s mission is to promote the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources. Since its founding in 1994, GLI has created powerful and meaningful ways to teach and learn history. Focusing on primary sources, the Institute offers teacher seminars, online courses, exhibitions, digital materials, and print publications that enable students of all ages and backgrounds to study the nation’s past. The Institute brings the work of today’s leading historians into classrooms and homes worldwide. Through public events, publications, posters, videos, exhibitions, essays, and a dedicated website rich in primary sources, GLI brings every period of American history to life. Diverse education programs, including the acclaimed Hamilton Education Program, provide opportunities to explore five centuries of American history. The Gilder Lehrman Affiliate School network comprises more than 12.6 million students and 97,000 educators from more than 36,000 schools worldwide.  

The Role  

Do you enjoy storytelling and stakeholder engagement? Are you excited about fueling a mission-driven organization focused on American history education and civic engagement?

We are currently seeking a Development and Donor Communications Manager, reporting to the Associate Director of Development, to support fundraising efforts and enhance donor communication strategies. The Manager works closely with the Director of Development and the Associate Director of Development to grow fundraising activity by strengthening relationships with prospects and donors, driving donor communication strategy and content creation, executing VIP cultivation events, and growing our recurring donor base. The Manager will be an integral member of GLI’s small team, with influence on individual giving strategy and significant room for growth in the future. The ideal candidate will be a skilled, passionate fundraiser with strong communications, project management, and collaboration skills and take pride in impeccable attention to detail.

The newly created position of Development and Donor Communications Manager will be joining GLI at a dynamic time as we continue to enhance and expand our nonpartisan K–12 and public programming in response to the urgent needs of the moment.

This role will be based in New York City and currently requires working in person at least one day per week in GLI’s midtown office.

Position Overview

The Development and Donor Communications Manager will lead critical fundraising and communications projects in collaboration with the Associate Director of Development. This includes individual donor cultivation and communications management on our primary channels including working with our marketing team on email distribution to prospects and donors.

Specific responsibilities will include

  • Donor Relations (40%)
    • Steward, cultivate, and track relationships with potential and current individual donors with a giving capacity of $4,999 and below to keep them engaged, updated, and actively supporting GLI
    • Update and maintain knowledge base of potential, current, and past donors with relevant details like giving priorities and cultivation strategies
    • Create, distribute, and track fundraising deliverables like thank you and tax acknowledgement letters, invoices, grant paperwork, etc., and ensure accurate and timely acknowledgement of gifts
    • Provide support for donor meetings with prospects at all giving levels, and assist with board meeting support
    • Conduct prospect and donor research
  • VIP Cultivation Events (20%)
    • Support the smooth execution of exclusive VIP cultivation events to maximize donor cultivation
    • Activities include but are not limited to invitation list generation and distribution, event preparation and management, donation tracking, running the show the day of, and assisting with follow up
  • Donor Communications Strategy & Implementation (40%)
    • Develop and implement a comprehensive donor communications strategy and plan in partnership with the Associate Director of Development, incorporating sub-strategies centered on formal appeals, special events, and stewardship and cultivation touchpoints
    • Lead the drafting and design of donor communications materials in partnership with the Associate Director of Development, including formal appeal letters, one-pagers, and pitch decks
    • Lead and track the distribution of multiple multi-channel campaigns per year coordinating with the Institute marketing team and external mail house, including the calendar mailing

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree
  • Commitment to GLI’s mission and enthusiasm for communicating the mission to external audiences
  • Progressive experience in fundraising or communications with a proven track record of growing donor base and revenue preferred. Candidates with other compelling experience related to the role and/or GLI’s mission will be considered.
  • Outstanding project, time management, and problem-solving skills with a strong attention to detail and demonstrated ability to drive projects forward independently
  • Exceptional writer and storyteller with a passion for big picture, strategic thinking and driving outcomes
  • Team oriented with a desire to participate in creating a strong team culture
  • Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Google Suite applications
  • Experience with Canva and Salesforce preferred
  • Ability to occasionally manage events after traditional business hours

Compensation

Compensation range: $60,000–$70,000 annually, commensurate with candidate’s experience.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute offers a generous and inclusive benefits package, including employer paid health, dental, disability and life insurance, 401(k) and FSA plans, and paid time off in the first year of hire including a paid winter recess from December 25 to January 1. GLI also offers a comprehensive flex time and comp time policy.

To Apply

Interested candidates must submit a cover letter and resume in a single file to hr@gilderlehrman.org. Please include “Development and Donor Communications Manager” in the subject line of your email. Please also let us know how you heard about the role.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute is an equal opportunity employer and considers all applications without regard to race, sex, gender identity, color, religion, creed, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, sexual and other reproductive health decisions, height, weight, or any other legally protected status. Frequently cited statistics show that women and people from underrepresented groups apply to jobs only if they think they meet 100% of the criteria. If you meet many but not all the criteria and feel you may be a good fit for the role, GLI encourages you to apply.

Donor Database and Prospect Research Senior Manager

The Organization

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (GLI) is the nation’s leading American history organization dedicated to K–12 education. The Institute’s mission is to promote the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources. Since its founding in 1994, GLI has created powerful and meaningful ways to teach and learn history. Focusing on primary sources, the Institute offers teacher seminars, online courses, exhibitions, digital materials, and print publications that enable students of all ages and backgrounds to study the nation’s past.

The Institute brings the work of today’s leading historians into classrooms and homes worldwide. Through public events, publications, posters, videos, exhibitions, essays, and a dedicated website rich in primary sources, GLI brings every period of American history to life. Diverse education programs, including the acclaimed Hamilton Education Program, provide opportunities to explore five centuries of American history. The Gilder Lehrman Affiliate School network comprises more than 14 million students and 97,000 educators from more than 36,000 schools worldwide.

The Role

Are you passionate about leveraging data and insights to drive positive change? Do you enjoy uncovering new donor prospects with the potential to fuel a cause that you truly care about?

We are currently seeking a Donor Database and Prospect Research Senior Manager, reporting to the Associate Director of Development, to support fundraising activity by leading the optimization and execution of database management and reporting, data analysis, and prospect research. The Manager will be an integral member of GLI’s Development team, with influence on overall fundraising strategy and room for growth in the future. This role is responsible for leveraging data analysis to drive revenue expansion, conducting individual and institutional prospect and donor research to direct moves management, and managing the database to amplify engagement strategies. The ideal candidate will be a skilled, detail-oriented database manager and prospect researcher with a strong background in fundraising.     

The newly created position of Donor Database and Prospect Research Senior Manager will be joining GLI at a dynamic time as we continue to enhance our nonpartisan K–12 and public programming in response to the urgent needs of the moment. We are looking for a “development operations wiz” who can establish new fundraising systems and processes in our Salesforce database to help lead our team to achieve the next level of revenue growth and deepen donor engagement in our cause. This position will benefit from working closely with GLI’s technology team, which oversees organizational uses of Salesforce beyond its fundraising functions.   

This role will be based in New York City and currently requires working in person at least one day per week in GLI’s midtown office.    

Position Overview

The Donor Database and Prospect Research Senior Manager will lead all data analysis and reporting, database management, and prospect research for the Development team.

Specific responsibilities will include

Data Analysis and Reporting to Drive Revenue Growth (40%) 

  • Leverage data within Salesforce to recommend prospect and donor engagement strategies and to guide the moves management pipeline for both the President and the Development Team. 
  • Partner with senior Development staff to develop a comprehensive reporting dashboard in Salesforce and a plan around data extraction to track revenue, goals, and metrics and identify trends, patterns, and opportunities for growth and improved donor stewardship.
  • Analyze and strengthen current Salesforce processes for projecting annual revenue targets, including methodologies for setting, managing, and tracking opportunity targets for low-dollar and major donors and lapsed, active, and prospective donors. 
  • Generate regular and ad hoc reports for the Development and C-Suite teams, including metrics on donor retention and acquisition and progress toward annual revenue targets.
  • Segment donor lists for targeted digital communications, appeals, and stewardship efforts to tap into donor behavior patterns and increase donor engagement and contributions.

Individual and Institutional Prospect and Donor Research to Direct Moves Management (30%) 

  • Lead research and identification for individual prospects and donors using data sources like Salesforce and WealthEngine to inform pipeline priorities for the Development team.
  • Lead research and identification for institutional prospects and donors using data sources like Candid’s Foundation Directory to inform pipeline priorities for the Development team.
  • Prepare detailed prospect and donor research briefings and present recommended cultivation priorities and engagement strategies in key decision-making meetings.

Database Management and Maintenance to Optimize Fundraising Performance (30%)  

  • Manage and maintain prospect and donor records in the Salesforce CRM, ensuring accurate data entry and upkeep. 
  • Oversee gift processing and production of acknowledgment letters, supported by data entry from staff and/or interns; lead weekly and quarterly income reconciliation with the Finance Department. 
  • Work with the Development team’s Events Coordinator to create and implement effective systems for managing event invitation, attendance, and follow-up data.
  • Conduct regular audits to maintain data integrity, including cleansing, de-duplicating, and updating contact information.
  • Train current and onboard future staff members on database tools and processes.

Qualifications

  • Bachelor’s degree  
  • Commitment to GLI’s mission and enthusiasm for leveraging data and research to amplify our impact 
  • Progressive experience in a nonprofit or mission-driven organization with a focus on donor data management and engagement
  • Expertise in Salesforce CRM specifically as used to support fundraising (Nonprofit Success Package or similar package preferred) 
  • Outstanding project, time management, and problem-solving skills with a strong attention to detail and demonstrated ability to drive projects forward independently
  • Strong analytical skills with experience in data management, reporting, and trend analysis 
  • Team oriented with a desire to participate in creating a strong team culture
  • Strong skills in written and verbal communication and in Excel 
  • Understanding of fundraising principles and practices 

Compensation

Compensation range: $64,750–$82,400 annually, commensurate with the candidate’s experience

The Gilder Lehrman Institute offers a generous and inclusive benefits package, including employer-paid health, dental, disability and life insurance, 401(k) and FSA plans, and paid time off in the first year of hire including a paid winter recess from December 25 to January 1. GLI also offers a comprehensive flex time and comp time policy.

To Apply

Interested candidates must submit a cover letter and resume in a single file to hr@gilderlehrman.org. Please include “Donor Database and Prospect Research Senior Manager” in the subject line of your email and also let us know how you heard about the role. In your cover letter, describe any relevant experience with the Salesforce Nonprofit Success Package. 

The Gilder Lehrman Institute is an equal opportunity employer and considers all applications without regard to race, sex, gender identity, color, religion, creed, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, sexual and other reproductive health decisions, height, weight, or any other legally protected status. Research indicates that women and people from underrepresented groups apply to jobs only if they think they meet 100% of the criteria. If you meet many but not all the criteria and feel you may be a good fit for the role, GLI encourages you to apply.