Donor Relations and Operations Coordinator

OVERVIEW

Seva Canada restores sight and prevents blindness in low- and middle-income countries. Since 1982, Seva Canada donors, together with our partners, have given over 5 million people the power of sight through life-changing surgeries and have provided eye care services to millions more. Vision loss results in a staggering global economic productivity loss of US$ 411 billion annually. However, correcting vision loss can significantly boost economic opportunities, alleviate poverty, and promote gender equity.

We work with local partners to create sustainable eye care programs that achieve long-term change, are culturally sensitive and reach those most in need – women, children and people living in extreme poverty and isolation. Everything we do at Seva Canada, from training to providing supplies to conducting research and funding surgery, glasses and medicine, is for one reason: to provide communities with access to high-quality eye care that will restore sight and prevent blindness, now and in the future.

Reporting to the Senior Manager, Operations and Finance, the Donor Relations and Operations Coordinator supports the Seva Canada team by ensuring donors feel welcome when they contact Seva Canada and have a good donor experience, and that every interaction is positive, helpful, and informative. The Donor Relations and Operations Coordinator also assists with activities related to operations and raising funds. Seva Canada is a dog friend office that offers a hybrid work environment and a supportive, close-knit team where curiosity, initiative, and a willingness to learn are valued.

CORE ACCOUNTABILITIES

Donor Relations

• Serves as the first point of contact for donors — whether they reach out in person, by phone, through social media, via webform, or by email to the general inbox — and responds promptly and warmly to each inquiry;
• Is responsible for all activities related to donation processing: accurately enters donations into the database, generates receipts in accordance with established processes; emails/mails receipts to donors in a timely manner;
• Maintains the database of donors, updating information about donors as requested by the donor, the Seva Canada team, and/or our fundraising agency;
• Prepares and sends donor mailings such as catalogues, planned giving program surveys and brochures, new donor welcome packages, annual reports, requests for donations and tribute cards;
• Makes thank you calls to donors at a defined level of giving as assigned by the Donor Relations and Operations Manager or Philanthropy team, following the thank you call script;
• Reads day-to-day correspondence from donors, responding to donor requests and/or forwarding them as needed to the appropriate person or department for follow up;

• Manages Seva's volunteer portfolio from end to end, including recruiting, vetting, and onboarding new volunteers, and maintaining the volunteer roster. Coordinates ongoing volunteer activities for both in-office and remote volunteers — scheduling shifts, preparing the workstation for in-office volunteers, and ensuring each volunteer has clear task instructions along with the resources and information needed to complete them.

Fundraising Support

• Uses databases and donor lists to help identify potential new supporters of Seva Canada and provides this information to the Philanthropy Director to assess and potentially pursue;
• Supports the management of Seva Canada's legacy and monthly giving, helping to steward relationships and maintain accurate records of legacy and monthly donors and their intentions;
• Formats tailored funding proposals, individual donor program reports, and presentations for a variety of audiences using written content provided by various departments;
• Helps facilitate donor touchpoints by preparing donor communications, including acknowledgment letters, updates, and other correspondence that keep donors informed and engaged;

• Performs prospect research on new and potential supporters of Seva Canada following the direction of the philanthropy team.

Operations Support

• Maintains general office upkeep (cleaning, repairs, equipment) and keeps an adequate inventory of office supplies;
• Formats and compiles slide decks for internal and external meetings, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and professional presentation;
• Under the supervision of a senior staff member, supports organizing logistics for Board meetings, AGMs, and off-site staff meetings and events, including venue and catering coordination, volunteer scheduling, and event day set-up/clean-up;
• Provides administrative support to the Program Director, Operations including compiling and entering data from program partners for use in reports such as the Annual Report and funder/grant reports;
• Provides general administrative support to the Executive Director, as needed.

Team Collaboration

• Attends biweekly team meetings;
• Collaborates with the team to prepare and host organization-wide events, ensuring excellent experiences for Seva donors;
• Provides light assistance or support for various team members, such as scheduling, setting up and sending polls; set up and clean-up of meetings; organizing collateral, general office organization and running off-site errands;
• Other duties and projects as required.

Decision Making Authority

• Uses good judgement to make day-to-day decisions within established procedures and processes, under the supervision of the Donor Relations and Operations Manager.

Supervision

Direct reports include:

• N/A

QUALIFICATIONS

• Minimum of 2 years’ experience in a similar role with proven experience in donor relations, fundraising, and/or customer service;
• Strong time management, planning, and organization skills with ability to multi-task when required;
• Detail oriented & able to adhere to, and maintain, administrative procedures;
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Office (Outlook, Word, PowerPoint Excel, etc);
• Strong written and oral communication skills;
• Works well with a team and independently;
• A professional and outgoing manner with the ability to interact tactfully and diplomatically with a wide variety of people;
• Ability to take direction, positively respond to constructive feedback, and accurately follow instructions;
• Flexibility to work evenings and weekends on occasion;
• Able to travel within Canada and internationally to places where Seva Canada works.

Assets

• Experience in operations/administration, volunteer management, or nonprofit sector;
• Experience using donor databases such as Virtuous or other CRM products;
• Experience with digital design tools such as Canva, Affinity or Adobe Creative Suite;
• Interest in international development and learning how a small-to-medium charity operates.