Relationship Manager, Leadership Annual Giving (May 2026)
The Leadership Annual Giving (LAG) Relationship Manager is responsible for supporting the LAG Director and Senior Director of Individual Giving with the growth of the Food Depository’s Individual Giving program. Managing a dynamic portfolio of LAG donors and prospects, from $1,000 to $24,999, the Relationship Manager will implement strategies and processes related to qualification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship. Donors in the LAG program also receive Direct Response communications, presenting an opportunity to build coordinated strategies which enhance the overall donor experience and maximize engagement.
The LAG Relationship Manager will also support prospect identification and tracking, portfolio analysis, and moves management strategy development.
Primary Responsibilities and Essential Functions:
- Frontline Relationship Management
- Maintain a portfolio of 150 LAG donors and prospects, engaging in qualification and prioritizing donors for cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
- Develop and successfully implement comprehensive and customized engagement strategies to generate, sustain, and upgrade donors and prospects.
- Have a comprehensive understanding of development and Food Depository priorities to support donor work, match the interest of prospects/donors
- Pipeline and portfolio management.
- Collaborate with colleagues across the department to strategically identify, qualify, and refer potential Major Gift donors $25,000+ to ensure placement in the giving channel that best facilitates optimal engagement and continued support.
- Update donor records in a timely matter with relevant data including recent actions, contact reports, demographic updates, and other pertinent information.
- Other duties as assigned.
Qualifications and Experience:
- Relationship management experience preferably within a large-scale non-profit organization, educational institution, or other fundraising environment. Direct experience with qualifying, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding existing and prospective mid-level and major donors through one-to-one communications.
- Demonstrated experience in successfully engaging and expanding a robust donor pipeline while supporting the moves-management process.
- Excellent written and oral communication skills, and enthusiasm for building positive relationships with donors, volunteers, and colleagues across the Food Depository.
- Proficiency in MS Office- Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
- Development database experience – data entry and accuracy
- Excellent interpersonal skills to relate to donors, volunteers, and colleagues
Benefits
• Health, dental, and vision insurance coverage
• Employer-paid life and disability insurance
• Employee Assistance Program
• 403(b) retirement plan with employer contribution
• Generous paid time off
• Parental leave
• On-site gym
• $3,000 annual employer-paid ThrivePass lifestyle and wellness benefit program
• $250 employee referral bonus
Skills Required
- Relationship management experience
- Experience in a large-scale nonprofit, educational institution, or fundraising environment
- Direct experience qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding mid-level and major donors
- Experience engaging and expanding a donor pipeline and supporting moves-management
- Excellent written and oral communication skills
- Proficiency in MS Office (Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint)
- Development database experience including accurate data entry
- Excellent interpersonal skills to relate to donors, volunteers, and colleagues
What We Do
The Greater Chicago Food Depository is Chicago's food bank, dedicated to ending hunger in Chicago and Cook County. Its mission is to connect neighbors with healthy food and advance solutions that address the root causes of hunger, including poverty, systemic inequity, and structural racism, through a partnership network of over 800 community-based organizations.
