Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Gift Technician

🎯 Role Definition

The Gift Technician is the operational backbone of our fundraising and advancement efforts. This role is far more than simple data entry; it is about stewardship, precision, and integrity. You will be the trusted guardian of our donors' generosity, ensuring that every single contribution is processed accurately, acknowledged gracefully, and recorded meticulously in our donor database. Your work directly impacts our ability to build and maintain strong, lasting relationships with our supporters and provides the critical data foundation that drives our strategic fundraising initiatives. This position requires a sharp eye for detail, a deep respect for confidentiality, and a passion for supporting a mission-driven organization from a vital, operational standpoint.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Data Entry Specialist
Administrative Assistant (in a non-profit setting)
Bank Teller or Financial Services Clerk

Advancement To:

Senior Gift Technician / Gift Processing Lead
Advancement Services Manager / Director
CRM Database Manager

Lateral Moves:

Stewardship Coordinator
Prospect Research Analyst
Donor Relations Officer

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Execute the accurate and timely entry of all philanthropic gifts, pledges, pledge payments, and other contributions into the central donor database (e.g., Raiser's Edge, Salesforce).
Meticulously process a diverse range of gift types, including cash, checks, credit card transactions, online donations, securities/stock transfers, and gifts-in-kind.
Generate, review, and distribute official gift receipts and personalized acknowledgment letters, ensuring full compliance with IRS regulations and internal policies.
Assume primary responsibility for creating new constituent records and performing ongoing maintenance of existing donor profiles to ensure data is current, complete, and accurate.
Handle complex gift transactions with precision, including matching gifts from corporations, tribute (in honor/in memory) gifts, and soft credit attributions.
Perform daily, weekly, and monthly reconciliation of gift batches and financial data between the advancement database and the Finance/Accounting department to ensure absolute accuracy.
Manage and maintain the integrity of recurring gift and pledge schedules, including the generation of reminders and the automated processing of scheduled payments.
Independently research and resolve complex discrepancies or issues related to gift entry, donor records, and fund allocation, collaborating with fundraisers as necessary.
Prepare and compile detailed gift reports, donor lists, and financial summaries for leadership, development officers, and board members on a regular and ad-hoc basis.
Maintain a comprehensive and current understanding of all internal gift acceptance policies and procedures, serving as a resource for other team members.
Uphold strict adherence to IRS guidelines for charitable contributions, ensuring all processing and receipting practices are compliant.
Investigate and process returned mail, proactively updating constituent contact information to reduce waste and improve outreach effectiveness.
Serve as the primary liaison for internal staff inquiries regarding gift processing status, donor record details, and fund information.
Actively participate in large-scale database cleanup and data integrity projects to enhance the overall quality and usability of our constituent data.
Prepare and execute daily bank deposits, ensuring all physical checks and cash are handled in accordance with strict financial controls and security protocols.
Administer and process contributions from employee giving campaigns, including payroll deductions, and perform regular reconciliation with the HR/Payroll department.
Create new fund, campaign, and appeal codes within the database system as requested by fundraising staff to support new initiatives.
Scan, index, and digitally file all gift-related documentation, such as check copies and donor correspondence, for auditing and record-keeping purposes.
Collaborate closely with the donor relations and stewardship teams to ensure donor recognition and benefits are aligned with gift records.
Maintain the highest level of confidentiality and discretion regarding all donor and prospect information, gift amounts, and personal details.
Provide essential data entry and gift processing support during high-volume periods, such as year-end giving campaigns and special events.

Secondary Functions

Assist in the creation and maintenance of comprehensive documentation for all gift processing procedures and database protocols.
Support ad-hoc data requests and exploratory data analysis to answer questions from the fundraising team.
Contribute to the organization's data strategy and roadmap by identifying opportunities for process improvement.
Collaborate with business units to translate data needs into engineering requirements.
Participate in sprint planning and agile ceremonies within the data engineering team.
Provide training support to new staff members on gift entry standards and best practices.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Donor Database Mastery: Deep proficiency in a major fundraising CRM such as Raiser's Edge (NXT or Database View), Salesforce NPSP, Blackbaud CRM, or a similar platform.
High-Speed Data Entry: Proven ability to perform data entry with exceptional speed, and more importantly, near-perfect accuracy.
Advanced Excel Skills: Competency in Microsoft Excel beyond basic data entry, including the use of formulas, pivot tables, VLOOKUPs, and data filtering for reporting and reconciliation.
Financial Reconciliation: Solid understanding of basic accounting principles and experience reconciling financial data between different systems or reports.
IRS Regulation Knowledge: Familiarity with IRS regulations and guidelines concerning charitable contributions, quid pro quo, and receipting requirements.
Payment Gateway Experience: Experience with online payment processors and gateways such as Stripe, Blackbaud Merchant Services, or PayPal.
Reporting & Querying: Ability to build and run custom queries and reports within a database to extract specific information for analysis.
Document Management: Experience with digital scanning, filing, and document management systems to maintain organized and auditable records.
Technical Troubleshooting: Ability to identify, research, and resolve data discrepancies or system errors independently.
Data Hygiene Practices: A strong understanding of the principles of data integrity, including identifying duplicates, standardizing data, and performing cleanup tasks.

Soft Skills

Unyielding Attention to Detail: An almost obsessive focus on precision and accuracy, recognizing that small errors can have significant consequences.
Unquestionable Integrity & Discretion: A deep commitment to confidentiality and ethical conduct when handling sensitive donor and financial information.
Problem-Solving Acumen: The ability to think critically and analytically to investigate and resolve complex issues with gift data or processing.
Superior Organizational Skills: The capacity to manage multiple tasks, prioritize effectively, and maintain a structured workflow in a deadline-driven environment.
Effective Communication: The ability to clearly and professionally communicate complex information to both technical and non-technical colleagues in writing and verbally.
Process-Oriented Mindset: A natural inclination to follow, refine, and document procedures to ensure consistency and efficiency.
Adaptability: The flexibility to handle fluctuating workloads, particularly during peak giving seasons, while maintaining a high standard of work.
Collaborative Spirit: A proactive and supportive approach to working as part of a team to achieve shared operational and fundraising goals.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Associate's degree or equivalent professional experience.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor's degree.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Business Administration
Finance or Accounting
Information Systems
Non-Profit Management

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 2-4 years of direct experience in gift processing, data entry in a non-profit environment, or a related financial operations role.

Preferred: Experience in a higher education or complex non-profit fundraising environment is highly desirable. Direct, hands-on experience with Blackbaud's Raiser's Edge is strongly preferred.