Description

The Senior Fundraising Manager leads Front Step Community Land Trust’s individual giving and donor engagement efforts, playing a central role in building the financial foundation required to advance Front Step’s mission and long-term impact. This position is responsible for growing a strong, values-aligned base of individual donors and increasing unrestricted revenue through strategic cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, with an increasing emphasis on major gifts. 

Working closely with the Executive Director, the Senior Fundraising Manager designs and implements an individual giving strategy that supports Front Step’s organizational goals and reflects its commitment to housing justice, equity, and community-driven development. This role serves as the primary driver of donor relationships – conducting donor meetings, managing portfolios, guiding donor stewardship, and supporting board and leadership engagement in fundraising – while bringing structure, discipline, and momentum to Front Step’s development efforts. 

The Senior Fundraising Manager translates organizational vision and impact into compelling donor-facing narratives, partnering with the Communications Manager to shape effective appeals, campaigns, and stewardship materials while retaining ownership of fundraising strategy and donor intent. They lead annual and special fundraising campaigns with support from the Community Engagement Specialist, track progress toward revenue goals, and adapt strategies based on performance and opportunity. 

This role also serves as the organizational anchor for fundraising systems and planning, maintaining accurate donor data, producing clear reports for leadership and the board, and aligning fundraising activity with budgeting and financial planning. The ideal candidate is a relational, strategic fundraiser with strong judgment, comfort directly asking for financial support, and the ability to operate independently while collaborating closely across teams. 

This position is currently grant-funded through 2026 and Front Step is committed to securing additional funding to sustain the role beyond this period.This position is expected to grow in scope and responsibility as Front Step’s fundraising capacity expands and is intended to evolve into a Director of Development role within approximately 18 months, contingent on performance and organizational growth. 

Responsibilities: 

1. Individual giving strategy, cultivation, and solicitation

Build, grow, and steward a strong individual donor base, with increasing emphasis on major gifts. 

Design and implement an individual giving strategy that grows Front Step’s donor base and increases unrestricted revenue year over year. 

Identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward individual donors, including major (5-6 figures) gift prospects. 

Develop and manage donor portfolios, including personalized cultivation and stewardship plans. 

Conduct donor meetings independently and in partnership with the Executive Director. 

Lead donor stewardship efforts, including thank-you calls, personalized follow-up, and meaningful engagement opportunities. 

Partner with the Executive Director to engage board members and supporters in donor identification, cultivation, and solicitation. 

2. Development planning, campaigns, and donor communications 

Turn strategy into a reliable annual and multi-year fundraising engine. 

Develop and manage an annual development plan and fundraising calendar aligned with organizational goals and budget needs. 

Lead individual giving campaigns, including annual appeals, end-of-year giving, Missoula Gives, and special campaigns. 

Partner with the Communications Manager to shape donor-facing messaging and content (appeals, emails, web copy, reports), while retaining ownership of fundraising strategy and donor intent. 

Oversee donor segmentation and targeted communications based on giving history and engagement. 

Track progress toward fundraising goals and adapt strategies as needed. 

3. Development operations, systems, and organizational integration

Ensure fundraising is organized, data-informed, and integrated across the organization. 

Own and maintain Front Step’s donor database (e.g., DonorPerfect), ensuring accurate data entry, reporting, and donor records. 

Produce regular fundraising reports for the Executive Director and board, including pipeline tracking and revenue projections. 

Coordinate closely with Executive Director and fractional CFO to align fundraising activity with budgeting and financial planning. 

Support grant-related reporting without serving as the primary grant writer. 

Establish and refine systems, templates, and workflows that support sustainable fundraising growth. 

Requirements

Minimum Requirements: Our ideal candidate has access to reliable transportation, the ability to periodically attend events or meetings outside of regular office hours, and a willingness to travel as needed for professional development and donor meetings, not likely to exceed 10% of your time. 

In addition, the candidate should bring: 

Experience leading individual giving efforts, including donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, with a track record of securing and stewarding meaningful individual gifts (including multi-year and/or major gifts). This role requires comfort directly asking for financial support. 

Proven ability to build and manage donor relationships, including conducting donor meetings independently and in partnership with senior leadership or board members. 

Demonstrated experience developing and implementing an individual giving or development strategy, including setting goals, managing timelines, and adjusting tactics to meet revenue targets. 

Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience crafting or providing copy for donor-facing materials such as appeals, solicitation emails, stewardship communications, proposals, or reports that clearly articulate impact and purpose. 

Ability to think strategically about donor engagement and growth, including segmentation, moves management, and aligning donor interests with organizational priorities. 

Strong organizational and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple fundraising streams, deadlines, and relationships simultaneously while maintaining attention to detail and follow-through. 

Demonstrated ability to collaborate across teams (e.g., executive leadership, communications, finance, and program staff) to advance shared fundraising goals while maintaining clear ownership of development strategy. 

Professional experience or equivalent lived experience that reflects sound judgment, discretion, and readiness for a senior-level role with potential to grow into a Director of Development position. 

Experience using donor databases or CRMs to track donor activity, manage pipelines, and generate reports; comfort learning or deepening proficiency in systems such as DonorPerfect is highly preferred.

How to Apply: 

Send a resume to Executive Director, Brittany Palmer, at brittany@frontstepclt.org alongside a cover letter that includes one of the following: 

An donor email you wrote that you were proud of and what resulted from it; 

A sample of a project plan for a giving campaign that you led and launched; or 

A paragraph or two describing a time you cultivated a new donor prospect and how you did it. 

Please redact sensitive material as necessary in any example work products. 

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis beginning February 23. Priority will be given to applicants who submit by that date. 

Front Step is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, pregnancy, age, national origin, disability status, genetic information, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.