Annual Giving Manager

Jul 27

Mercy Housing
San Francisco, CA

Anticipated Start Date: TBD

Description

Mercy Housing California is seeking a thoughtful, detail-oriented Annual Giving Manager to help build the systems, strategies, and donor experiences that strengthen and expand its individual giving program. This newly elevated role reflects the organization's commitment to professionalizing philanthropy operations while creating more meaningful engagement opportunities for donors. Based in Sacramento and reporting to the Regional Director of Philanthropy, the Annual Giving Manager will play a central role in advancing Mercy Housing's annual giving efforts while ensuring donors experience personalized, high-quality stewardship throughout their philanthropic journey.

This is an ideal opportunity for a fundraising professional who enjoys balancing strategy with execution. The Annual Giving Manager will oversee integrated annual giving campaigns across direct mail and digital channels, coordinate employee workplace giving initiatives, and develop thoughtful donor stewardship and recognition programs that inspire long-term loyalty. Equally important, this individual will serve as the operational hub for the philanthropy team—managing gift processing, maintaining accurate donor records, supporting fundraising events, and ensuring the behind-the-scenes systems that power successful fundraising operate efficiently and effectively.

The successful candidate will join a collaborative philanthropy team during an exciting period of growth and evolution. Mercy Housing California benefits from a deeply mission-driven culture, a stable organizational foundation, and a leadership team committed to strengthening fundraising through new ideas and best practices. The Annual Giving Manager will collaborate closely with colleagues across California and the national organization while helping shape how annual giving, donor communications, and stewardship are delivered throughout the region. This role offers significant opportunities to recommend improvements, implement creative donor engagement strategies, and help establish processes that will serve the organization for years to come. Success during the first year will be measured by more than campaign results alone.

The Annual Giving Manager will become immersed in Mercy Housing's complex organization, establish trusted relationships with colleagues across regional and national teams, strengthen philanthropy operations, and begin implementing thoughtful, donor-centered strategies that create a more personalized giving experience. This is an outstanding opportunity for an annual giving or philanthropy operations professional who enjoys building systems, improving processes, and creating exceptional donor experiences that fuel long-term philanthropic growth.

This position is eligible for a hybrid work schedule, with office presence in Sacramento.

Responsibilities

Fundraising Operations

Enter and maintain accurate donor and gift data in philanthropy systems, ensuring exceptional data integrity and reporting.
Manage departmental operations, including effective gift processing, acknowledgment workflows, and accurate donor records.
Serve as the operational hub for the philanthropy team, developing efficient processes and systems that support fundraising success.
Ensure gifts—including donor-advised funds (DAFs), recurring gifts, and other contribution types—are processed accurately and acknowledged appropriately.
Monitor annual giving metrics and maintain reports that inform fundraising strategy and organizational decision-making.

Annual Giving Strategy

Set annual goals and benchmarks for Mercy Housing California's annual giving program.
Develop and implement integrated annual fundraising campaigns using direct mail, email, website, social media, mobile, and other channels.
Support and steward Mercy Housing California's community of annual donors while developing strategies that strengthen engagement and increase giving over time.
Lead innovative outreach efforts that expand the donor pipeline, strengthen donor engagement, and encourage increased giving over time.
Develop strategies to retain and upgrade annual donors while identifying and referring major gift prospects. Present results to leadership committees as needed.
Recommend and implement annual giving best practices that strengthen donor acquisition, retention, and long-term engagement.
Help professionalize Mercy Housing California's individual giving program by introducing new ideas, refining processes, and continuously improving donor experiences.

Donor Stewardship & Engagement

Lead donor stewardship efforts through timely acknowledgment letters, personalized communications, milestone recognition, and creative gratitude initiatives that inspire donor loyalty.
Design thoughtful stewardship experiences that ensure donors at every giving level feel recognized, appreciated, and connected to Mercy Housing California's mission.
Coordinate donor recognition activities, volunteer engagement opportunities, and fundraising events that deepen relationships with supporters.
Develop and manage engagement opportunities with corporate partners, including volunteer activities, sponsorships, and workplace giving initiatives.

Collaboration

Build and maintain strong partnerships between Mercy Housing California and the National Office to ensure alignment on annual giving, communications, and philanthropy operations.
Collaborate with philanthropy leadership to coordinate annual giving strategies and support organizational fundraising priorities.
Partner with marketing and communications colleagues to develop compelling donor communications while helping ensure messaging reflects fundraising best practices.
Support frontline fundraisers by identifying major gift prospects, maintaining moves management processes, and strengthening donor pipeline development.
Work collaboratively across departments and regional offices to support fundraising initiatives and advance Mercy Housing California's philanthropic goals.
Support employee giving initiatives and workplace giving campaigns that strengthen internal engagement and philanthropic participation.
Support additional philanthropy projects and organizational priorities as needed.

Requirements

Qualifications

Competencies and Attributes for Success in the Position

Customer focus
Plans and aligns
Optimizes work processes
Communicates effectively
Attention to detail
Strategic mindset
Resourcefulness
Collaborates
Organizational savvy
Balances stakeholders
Drives results
Demonstrates self-awareness
Action-oriented
Nimble learning
Situational adaptability
Interpersonal savvy

Required Qualifications

High school diploma or equivalent.
At least three (3) years of experience in annual giving for a nonprofit organization.
Experience managing fundraising operations, donor databases, and gift processing.
Passion for improving systems, creating exceptional donor experiences, and strengthening philanthropy operations within a mission-driven organization.
Familiarity with a comprehensive philanthropy enterprise, including annual fund, major gifts, corporate giving, foundation relations, grants, and events.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously.
Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively across a geographically dispersed team.
Ability to maintain a hybrid work schedule in Sacramento.

Desired Qualifications

Bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
Proven success managing annual giving programs and implementing multi-channel fundraising campaigns.
Experience with donor management systems, preferably Raiser's Edge.
Experience creating donor stewardship and recognition programs that strengthen donor retention and engagement.
Knowledge of philanthropy operations, including gift processing, donor-advised funds (DAFs), recurring gifts, and fundraising best practices.
Experience partnering with marketing and communications teams to develop donor-facing fundraising materials.
Demonstrated ability to use fundraising data and reporting to evaluate campaign performance and inform strategy.
Experience supporting volunteer engagement, employee giving, or corporate partnership initiatives.

Salary Range and Employee Benefits

The expected base salary for this position is $80,000-$90,000, commensurate with experience.

All employees at Mercy Housing California are also eligible for a generous comprehensive benefits package including PTO and paid holidays; medical, dental, and vision insurance; 403(b) retirement plans; Employee Assistance Program; and many more.

How to Apply for this Job

Benefactor Group is pleased to be assisting Mercy Housing California with this executive search. Applications will be reviewed as they are received. All applications are considered highly confidential. To be considered for this position, please submit an application at this link:

Apply Now

About the Organization

California Home is where our lives unfold: where we gather, where we learn, and where we grow. However, affordable housing is one of the great crises of our time. In California, where home values and rents are among the most expensive, nearly one-third of renters spend more than half their income on housing. There is not a single city or county where a full-time minimum-wage worker can afford a modest two-bedroom apartment.

Mercy Housing California (MHC)—the largest regional affiliate of Mercy Housing, Inc., which is the largest nonprofit affordable housing provider in the country—works to address this challenge. The organization develops and operates affordable service-enriched housing that becomes the foundation for our residents’ hopes and aspirations. Today, MHC oversees over 160 communities that together serve more than 20,000 residents across the state.

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