Donor Lifecycle Marketing Manager

This position is listed on behalf of a partner company, who manages all applications and next steps. Our partner is looking for a Donor Lifecycle Marketing Manager based in the United States.

As a Donor Lifecycle Marketing Manager, you will lead the strategy and execution of donor retention, recurring giving, upgrades, and additional-gift campaigns to maximize donor lifetime value. You will design and optimize personalized, multichannel marketing journeys across email, SMS, paid media, and direct mail, ensuring every supporter feels valued and connected to the impact of their contributions. Combining data-driven decision-making with compelling storytelling, you will develop scalable programs that strengthen donor relationships and drive sustainable fundraising growth. Working closely with creative, marketing, partnerships, and revenue operations teams, you will identify opportunities to improve engagement, reduce donor churn, and increase recurring revenue. You will oversee campaign performance, audience segmentation, experimentation, and reporting to continuously improve results. This remote opportunity is ideal for a strategic, analytical, and creative marketer who is passionate about building meaningful supporter relationships and contributing to a mission-driven organization.

• Own donor retention, upgrade, and additional-gift strategies for recurring and one-time donors, with responsibility for improving retention rates, average gift size, upgrade rates, and donor lifetime value.
• Build, manage, and optimize automated lifecycle journeys, including welcome sequences, onboarding, donor anniversaries, milestone communications, impact updates, lapse prevention, and win-back campaigns.
• Plan and execute coordinated multichannel marketing campaigns across email, SMS, paid social and search retargeting, and direct mail, ensuring each channel supports a cohesive donor experience.
• Develop targeted upgrade initiatives that encourage recurring donors to increase their monthly contributions, alongside additional-gift appeals aligned with key fundraising moments, including year-end campaigns and World Water Day.
• Reduce involuntary donor churn by collaborating with revenue operations teams on failed-payment recovery, card updater tools, and payment-method outreach.
• Partner with paid media teams and external agencies to develop donor retention and reactivation campaigns, refine audience strategies, test creative approaches, and evaluate performance.
• Collaborate with direct mail teams and vendors to develop programs for recurring and long-term donors, contributing to audience selection, messaging, campaign timelines, and results analysis.
• Establish and manage a structured testing roadmap covering subject lines, donation amounts, campaign timing, creative concepts, and channel mix, translating insights into continuous improvements.
• Work with revenue operations to develop audience segmentation frameworks and reporting that track cohort retention, channel effectiveness, and revenue attribution.
• Partner with creative teams to produce compelling donor communications and storytelling that demonstrate the tangible impact of contributions.
• Identify high-potential recurring and mid-level donors and coordinate handoffs to relationship managers for personalized engagement and cultivation.
• Manage agency and vendor relationships, program budgets, campaign schedules, and execution priorities while maintaining quality and accountability.
• Monitor developments in lifecycle marketing, recurring giving, digital fundraising, and nonprofit engagement to identify new strategies and opportunities.
• Collaborate cross-functionally to align marketing initiatives with organizational fundraising objectives and deliver consistent, engaging donor experiences.

• 4–6 years of professional experience in lifecycle marketing, retention marketing, CRM, or digital fundraising, with a demonstrated track record of improving retention, donor engagement, or customer lifetime value.
• Hands-on experience managing campaigns across at least three of the following channels: email, SMS, paid media, and direct mail.
• Practical experience building and optimizing automated marketing journeys using platforms such as Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Iterable, Marketo, Klaviyo, or HubSpot.
• Strong analytical skills, including audience segmentation, campaign performance analysis, experimentation, and the ability to translate data into actionable marketing decisions.
• Excellent writing and communication skills, with a strong understanding of persuasive messaging, audience engagement, and emotionally resonant storytelling.
• Proven project management capabilities, including the ability to manage multiple campaigns, coordinate stakeholders, meet deadlines, and oversee budgets.
• A donor-first mindset, with a commitment to creating meaningful experiences that build trust, appreciation, and long-term engagement.
• A strategic and systems-oriented approach, with the ability to design scalable marketing programs, identify gaps in the donor journey, and continuously improve performance.
• Strong collaboration skills and the ability to work effectively with creative, data, fundraising, and marketing partners.
• A proactive, organized, and self-directed working style, with a strong sense of ownership and accountability for results.
• Genuine enthusiasm for a mission-driven organization focused on expanding access to clean and safe drinking water worldwide.
• Eligibility to work in the United States without requiring employer sponsorship now or in the future.

Additional advantages:

• Experience managing recurring donation, membership, or subscription programs in the nonprofit sector or a subscription-based business.
• Specialized experience in direct mail fundraising, including lettershops and list vendors, or SMS marketing platforms and compliance requirements.