Donor Engagement Officer

The Donor Engagement Officer is a key member of the Giving team and serves as a strategic lead for leadership donor engagement at the White House Historical Association. Reporting to the Chief Development Officer, this position is responsible for developing and executing comprehensive engagement strategies that cultivate meaningful relationships with the Association's most committed philanthropic supporters and volunteer leaders.

This role oversees the donor experience across the Association's leadership donor communities and engagement programs, including volunteer leadership groups, leadership giving societies, and emerging donor engagement initiatives. The Donor Engagement Officer is responsible for designing and implementing intentional engagement opportunities that strengthen donor relationships, increase participation and retention, and advance the Association's fundraising priorities.

Working collaboratively across the Development department, the Donor Engagement Officer develops integrated engagement strategies that connect stewardship, communications, events, philanthropy, and volunteer leadership opportunities to create a seamless and personalized donor experience. This position serves as a relationship manager and strategic thought partner in identifying innovative ways to engage donors throughout their philanthropic journey with the Association.

The ideal candidate is a strategic relationship builder who combines exceptional project management and communication skills with a passion for delivering high-touch donor experiences and advancing mission-driven philanthropy.

Principal Duties and Responsibilities

• Serve as a strategic lead for leadership donor engagement initiatives across the Association, developing annual engagement plans that align with fundraising, stewardship, and organizational priorities.
• Design and manage personalized donor engagement strategies that strengthen relationships with leadership donors and volunteer leaders while increasing philanthropic participation, donor retention, and engagement year over year.
• Manage a defined portfolio of leadership donors and volunteer leaders, developing individualized engagement strategies designed to deepen relationships, identify philanthropic interests, and create pathways toward increased giving.
• Identify donors demonstrating increased engagement or philanthropic potential and partner with gift officers and the Chief Development Officer to develop appropriate cultivation, solicitation, and engagement strategies.
• Manage donor engagement across the relationship lifecycle, coordinating with Prospect Development, Giving, Stewardship, and Development Operations to ensure donors experience intentional and consistent engagement from cultivation through continued philanthropic participation.
• Partner across the Giving team to develop integrated donor engagement strategies that support relationship management, major gift fundraising efforts, and leadership volunteer initiatives.
• Collaborate with Development leadership to identify opportunities to deepen donor engagement through educational programming, volunteer opportunities, leadership experiences, recognition initiatives, and exclusive donor events.
• Analyze donor engagement, participation, renewal, and giving metrics to evaluate program effectiveness and identify opportunities for growth and continuous improvement.
• Use donor engagement, participation, retention, and giving data to assess relationship strategies, identify opportunities for deeper engagement, and inform fundraising priorities.
• Partner with Stewardship to develop personalized engagement and stewardship strategies for assigned donors and leadership constituencies, ensuring engagement activities support broader relationship and fundraising goals.
• Identify and recommend innovative engagement initiatives, affinity groups, volunteer opportunities, and donor experiences that strengthen relationships and advance the Association's fundraising and stewardship goals.
• Partner with Prospect Research, Events, Stewardship, and other Development colleagues to inform donor and event briefings, providing relationship context, engagement objectives, and recommended follow-up strategies.
• Maintain timely and accurate documentation of donor interactions, engagement strategies, next steps, and relevant relationship information in Salesforce, and contribute relationship-specific information to meeting materials and executive briefings.
• Plan and execute donor engagement opportunities, including leadership council meetings, educational programs, exclusive experiences, White House-related programming, virtual briefings, and volunteer activities that support annual engagement goals.
• Serve as a trusted liaison to donors, volunteer leaders, trustees, and external stakeholders by providing exceptional customer service, timely follow-up, and proactive relationship management.
• Collaborate with the Chief Development Officer, Giving team, Stewardship, and Development Operations to develop engagement metrics and reporting that inform future donor engagement, stewardship, and fundraising strategies.
• Evaluate existing engagement programs and recommend enhancements that elevate the donor experience and support organizational fundraising priorities.
• Perform other related duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or an equivalent combination of education, training, and relevant professional experience.
• Demonstrated skills and relevant professional experience in donor engagement, stewardship, donor relations, volunteer management, advancement, nonprofit fundraising, relationship management, or a related field.
• Demonstrated ability to develop and implement donor engagement or stewardship strategies for major donors, leadership giving programs, donor societies, advisory councils, volunteer leadership organizations, or comparable constituent communities.
• Ability to build trusted relationships and communicate effectively with a range of constituents, including philanthropic leaders, high-net-worth individuals, volunteer leaders, and other high-profile stakeholders.
• Exceptional written, verbal, interpersonal, and presentation skills required.
• Strong relationship management skills with the ability to cultivate trust and build long-term partnerships with donors, volunteers, and internal stakeholders.
• Outstanding organizational and project management skills with the ability to manage multiple complex initiatives simultaneously while meeting deadlines.
• Demonstrated analytical skills with experience interpreting engagement metrics and developing data-informed stewardship strategies.
• Ability to exercise exceptional judgment, professionalism, discretion, and confidentiality when handling sensitive donor information.
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across multiple teams and stakeholders to deliver exceptional donor experiences.
• Knowledge of Salesforce CRM or comparable constituent management systems preferred.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite, including Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint required.
• Passion for American history and the mission of the White House Historical Association preferred.