Full-Time

Director Donor Engagement

KQED

KQED

Public media broadcaster for Northern California

Compensation Overview

$127.4k - $159.2k/yr

San Francisco, CA, USA

Hybrid

Three days on-site per week required at KQED’s San Francisco office; two days are work-from-home.

Category
Business & Strategy (1)
Requirements
  • Five to seven years of experience working on a development team within a nonprofit organization.
  • Understanding of the tenets of philanthropy and the moves management cycle.
  • Exceptional writing and communication skills demonstrated through work product.
  • Ability to develop a creative and cohesive stewardship strategy for a continuum of donors, ranging from annual donors to legacy donors and major campaign donors.
  • Experience in strategic planning and execution of events.
  • Strong oral, written, presentation, and organizational skills.
  • Ability to work effectively with volunteers.
  • Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
  • Willingness and ability to travel throughout the Bay Area.
  • Excellent computer and software skills.
  • A valid California driver’s license and access to a car.
  • Ability to attend donor events on weekends and evenings as needed.
Responsibilities
  • Work with Development team leaders to assess the engagement needs of each program, develop a strategy to drive a cohesive donor journey, and provide meaningful stewardship across midlevel giving, major giving, legacy giving, grants, and the KQED Campaign.
  • Oversee a naming and recognition program for campaign donors.
  • Develop the strategy, calendar, and implementation of key donor communications, cultivation activities, and stewardship events.
  • Collaborate with Development team and organization-wide colleagues to execute stewardship reports, email newsletter production, events, and related core functions.
  • Collaborate with the Creative team to create overviews describing KQED priority initiatives and programs for donors.
  • Ensure donors receive engaging, timely, and personal acknowledgment of major and legacy gifts, including coordinating calls from KQED executive leadership and Board members, letters, and videos.
  • Develop and maintain recognition guidelines to ensure consistency across gift levels and departments.
  • Coordinate production of donor testimonials, naming, and other recognition opportunities with frontline fundraisers, Creative, and Operations teams.
  • Construct a cohesive communications plan to update and engage donors through impact reports, custom progress reports including financials, stories, photos, and metrics, and email newsletters.
  • Partner with program and finance teams to gather outcomes and translate them into accessible, impact-driven narratives.
  • Partner with the Creative team to develop the Annual Report publication articulating vision, impact, progress, milestones, and donor recognition.
  • Partner with Donor Services to develop templates and workflows for acknowledgment and stewardship processes in the customer relationship management system.

KQED provides public media for Northern California, including radio and TV programs, news, and education content. It distributes NPR and PBS programming and produces and shares its own local news, culture, and science coverage through on-air broadcasts, online articles, and podcasts. The product works by offering live and on-demand radio and TV streams, scheduled programs, and digital content across multiple platforms (radio, TV, website, apps) to inform and engage the local community. KQED differentiates itself with locally focused reporting and education content, a broad range of public-interest programs, and a dual role as both a broadcaster and producer of regional journalism and educational media. Its goal is to inform, educate, and engage people in Northern California by providing reliable public media that covers local, national, and global topics through accessible formats.

Company Size

N/A

Company Stage

Grant

Total Funding

$400K

Headquarters

San Francisco, California

Founded

1954

Simplify Jobs

Simplify's Take

What believers are saying

  • KQED launched Podcasting Democracy on June 16, 2026, expanding civic-education reach.
  • July 2025 layoffs cut deficit pressure 90% going into fiscal 2026.
  • Weekly podcast listeners reached 120,543 in FY25, signaling durable digital audience growth.

What critics are saying

  • KQED cut 15% of staff on July 15, 2025, after a $12 million deficit.
  • Congress rescinded $1.1 billion in public-media funding; KQED loses about $8 million annually.
  • Federal defunding and donor softness force a 2027 structural insolvency.

What makes KQED unique

  • KQED’s 695,681 weekly radio listeners and 471,568 TV viewers dwarf regional peers.
  • Its free KQED Teach and Podcasting Democracy programs lock in educators across Northern California.
  • Michael Isip chairs the 2026 Peabody jury, reinforcing KQED’s national editorial credibility.

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Benefits

Hybrid Work Options

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