Donor Engagement Specialist

Description

GENERAL SUMMARY:

The Donor Engagement Specialist builds and maintains external relationships that drive donations, partnerships, and awareness for Goodwill Industries of Sacramento Valley & Northern Nevada — working with businesses, civic groups, chambers of commerce, nonprofits, schools, and community leaders throughout the region.

The ideal candidate is a natural connector - equally comfortable presenting at a chamber breakfast, organizing a neighborhood donation drive, working a corporate sponsor opportunity, and following up consistently with community partners. Under the direction of President and CEO, the Donor Engagement Specialist emphasizes the importance of involvement, and turns the results from various networking and relationship building events into actionable insights for the organization.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES:

Donor & Donation Development (Goods and Financial)

• Build relationships with businesses, civic groups, faith communities, neighborhood associations, schools, and corporate partners to drive donations of goods to Goodwill retail stores and donation centers.
• Organize and support community donation drives, corporate clean-out events, estate and downsizing partnerships, and seasonal donation campaigns.
• Identify and cultivate corporate sponsors, in-kind donors, and community partners interested in supporting Goodwill financially or through goods donations.
• Work with retail and donation center teams to coordinate logistics for community-driven donation events.
• Track donation pipeline and partner conversion from first contact through completed donation.

Mission Awareness & Community Education

• Build relationships with schools, social service agencies, reentry programs, disability services, and other community organizations whose constituents could benefit from Goodwill’s programs.
• Educate community partners about Goodwill’s services so they know how and when to refer community members to Mission Services.
• Deliver presentations, tours, and information sessions to community groups, chambers of commerce, civic organizations, schools, and nonprofits.
• Surface employer leads, sponsorship opportunities, and partnership prospects encountered through community engagement, and route them to the appropriate internal team (Mission Services for workforce/employer partnerships, Retail for donation logistics, Leadership for major opportunities).

Community Presence & Representation

• Represent Goodwill at chamber events, nonprofit gatherings, civic meetings, networking functions, and community forums throughout the service region.
• Serve on or attend community committees, boards, or working groups when aligned with Goodwill’s mission and priorities.
• Maintain visibility in priority markets across Northern California and Northern Nevada; some evening and weekend events required.

Administrative & Reporting

• Maintain accurate records in CRM or tracking system of community contacts, partner organizations, donation pipeline, referral partners, leads routed to internal teams, and outreach activity.  
• Provide monthly reports to leadership showing pipeline, partnerships secured, donations generated, referrals made, and events attended.
• Manage outreach calendar and consistent follow-up across all active relationships.

Requirements

QUALIFICATIONS:

Required

• High school diploma or equivalent required. Equivalent combination of education and experience considered.
• Minimum 3 years of experience in community engagement, business development, fundraising or donor relations, public relations, nonprofit outreach, business-to-business sales, or a closely related field.
• Demonstrated track record of building external relationships that produce measurable outcomes (donations, partnerships, sponsorships, referrals, etc.).
• Strong verbal communication and public speaking skills.
• Strong written communication for follow-up, proposals, and reporting.
• Highly organized and self-directed — able to manage a calendar, pipeline, and follow-up across many concurrent relationships with limited supervision.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, Excel).
• Valid driver’s license, reliable transportation, and willingness to travel throughout the service region. Position requires up to 50% local travel.

Preferred

• Experience with corporate giving, in-kind donations, or community fundraising.
• Existing network within the Sacramento Valley and/or Northern Nevada business, civic, or nonprofit communities.
• Public speaking and presentation experience.
• Bilingual in English and Spanish.
• Background in nonprofit work or public service.

POSITIONS SUPERVISED:

• No Positions Supervised

POSITION INFORMATION:

This position is a full time, non-exempt position eligible for Medical, Dental, Vision, Life Insurance; 403(b) retirement plan; Paid Holidays, Vacation and Sick Leave. This position is employed by Goodwill Industries® of Sacramento Valley and Northern Nevada, Inc.

WORK CONDITIONS/HAZARDS:

• Work is divided between office and field environments.
• Travel to various company locations is required.
• High adaptability required.
• Work environment is usually hectic (fast-paced) with frequent short deadlines and regular instances of critical or unusual situations.

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

The physical demands and work environment described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is frequently required to stand, walk, sit, use hands and fingers, handle or feel objects, reach with hands and arms, climb or balance, stoop, kneel, crouch or crawl and talk or hear. The employee must be able to lift and/or move up to 20 pounds. 

This job description does not cover all the activities, duties or responsibilities required of this role. Omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar or related to the position. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change, or new ones may be assigned at any time with or without notice to accommodate the needs of the organization. The job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and employee and is subject to change by the employer as the needs of the employer and requirements of the job change.