Donor Research & Intelligence Specialist

To learn more visit www.Awana.org and Child Discipleship Resources.

At Awana, we believe lasting faith is formed when children and youth are discipled early and consistently in the context of caring relationships. For more than 75 years, Awana has equipped churches and leaders to help kids know, love and serve Jesus for life.

Today, Awana serves millions of children around the world by equipping leaders with Bible-based discipleship tools and training.  Donors make this work possible, and understanding them deeply helps us care for them well and steward relationships with the highest degree of care.

Summary

At our ministry, we are passionate about forming lasting faith in every child, everywhere!  As the Donor Research & Intelligence Specialist, you will play an important role in furthering our mission by understanding individual donors and donor groups to inform fundraising strategy, relationship management and portfolio decisions. This role focuses on donor intelligence, research and modeling rather than overall fundraising performance.

In this role you will help answer questions about who our donors are, what capacity they may have to give, how they give and how we should engage them based on what we know. The Donor Research & Intelligence Specialist works closely with mid-level, major gifts, and donor engagement leaders to identify opportunities, readiness and next steps.

You’ll thrive in this role if you have a heart for mission work that directly impacts the lives of children and youth around the world, and you are:

• Someone who enjoys learning about donors and what motivates them
• A curious researcher who likes connecting dots between data and people
• A thoughtful analyst who uses judgment, not just scores
• A clear communicator who can explain donor insights simply

Hiring Range for this position is:  $55,000 – $65,000

This full-time position is primarily remote with occasional travel required for strategic meetings, typically in St. Charles, IL or Nashville, TN.

Who We Are Looking For:

• Team player who genuinely supports our doctrinal statement and who upholds and demonstrates our organizational core values of prayer, hustle, craft, and love.
• Collaborative partner who has a natural ability to cultivate genuine relationships with our internal team and external partners.
• Problem solver who proactively communicates workflow and/or deadline status to the team.
• Self-motivated, goal-oriented professional with a passion for helping fuel exponential ministry growth.
• Flexible team member who is open to taking on new responsibilities and easily adapts to shifting priorities and needs.
• Champion of children to belong, believe and become resilient disciples.

Key Responsibilities:

Donor Intelligence

• Develop and maintain donor intelligence practices
• Help the team better understand who donors are and how they engageBuild and manage the annual fundraising calendar

Individual Donor Research

• Conduct research on individual donors as needed
• Provide clear summaries and insights to support relationship and portfolio decisions

Donor Modeling & Scoring

• Build and maintain donor scoring or readiness systems
• Combine internal giving history with external screening tools
• Help identify donors with capacity or readiness for deeper engagement

Identification & Movement

• Identify donors who may be under engaged or ready for increased giving
• Support mid-level and major gifts teams with qualified donor lists
• Help determine appropriate next steps based on donor behavior and capacity

Salesforce Partnership

• Serve as the donor research subject matter expert within Salesforce
• Partner with IT and data teams to ensure research data is usable and accessible
• Ensure donor intelligence is structured and applied consistently

Organizational Stewardship

• Uphold and demonstrate the Awana cultural values in all internal and external communications and relationships.
• Contribute to special projects, initiatives and evolving ministry needs.
• Embrace opportunities for professional development in order to hone your craft and expertise.

What You Need:

• Bachelor’s degree required ideally with a concentration in business, data analytics, psychology, or similar from an accredited college or university.
• 3 to 5 years of experience in donor research, prospect research, or advancement services, ideally in a non-profit environment
• Experience using donor screening tools and research resources
• Comfort working with donor data and CRM systems, ideally Salesforce
• Ability to build simple scoring or ranking systems
• Strong analytical thinking and attention to detail
• Ability to summarize findings clearly and practically
• Occasional local and out-of-town, overnight travel may be required.
• General understanding of the Bible and the Christian Church in its various expressions preferred.
• Experience with Awana Club, curriculum, resources, & solutions is a plus!
• Valid State driver’s license required.
• Eligibility to work in the United States is required; this position is not eligible for employment visa sponsorship.

Spiritual Life

Must be a born-again Christian. Must have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. Must be in agreement with the Awana Doctrinal Statement. Must be in fellowship with the body of Christ through a local church. Regularly engages in reading the Holy Bible as a guide and standard for living.

Physical Demands/Working Conditions

While performing the duties of this job, the team member is regularly required to communicate. The team member is also required to regularly utilize computer equipment (e.g., screens and keyboards) to perform work. Awana recommends maintaining ergonomic posture, utilizing properly positioned computer equipment to minimize strain, and taking regular breaks to stretch and move around. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision for prolonged periods. Local and out-of-town, overnight travel may be required.

What We Offer:

As a ministry that equips leaders to reach kids with the gospel and engage them in lifelong discipleship, we value our team that makes this happen and are excited to offer:

• Mission-driven work that changes the lives of children and youth around the world.
• Intentional connection, flexibility, family, and community engagement are part of our culture.
• Remote-first work environment, allowing you to do the majority of your work from where it is you call “home”. We also have two office locations designed for collaborative work and connection with colleagues in St. Charles, Illinois, and Nashville, Tennessee, that can be used at your convenience.
• Benefits package, including a variety of programs you can choose from to meet you and your family’s needs. Some of these include medical, dental & vision health insurance, paid family leave, 401(k) & Roth 401(k) retirement savings plans with employer match, generous paid vacation & holidays, adoption assistance, an employee wellness program, and more!

This Job Description reflects the current assignment of essential functions and is not meant to be all-inclusive. Responsibilities may be assigned or reassigned to this job at any time based on the needs of the organization and may be modified to reasonably accommodate an individual with a disability or for other reasons. Please note, this opportunity is contingent upon favorable completion of a reference check, background check, and I-9 completion.