Senior Manager, Individual Giving (New York City)

Job Description:

Position Overview  

RMI seeks a dynamic Senior Manager, based in the New York tri-state area, to serve as a frontline fundraiser and senior relationship manager on its team focused on individual and family philanthropy. This role is responsible for securing gifts of $25K+ from individuals and family offices in support of building a sustainable future powered by affordable, resilient, clean energy. The position advances RMI’s highest-priority initiatives, including the Acceleration Fund, legacy giving, and unrestricted giving through strategic, end-to-end donor engagement that drives sustained philanthropic support. The position reports to the Development Director, Individual Giving. The ideal candidate brings executive presence and confidence engaging high-net-worth individuals, family offices, and leaders from the finance, technology, and impact investing sectors, and can speak credibly about how capital and philanthropy together drive the clean energy transition.

Key Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of approximately 100-125-high-net-worth individuals and family offices, including current donors and prospects.

• Conduct donor discovery and qualification activities regularly; meet with funders and identify their interests, priorities, and philanthropic capacity.

• Execute tailored best-practice cultivation and solicitation strategies.

• Meet an annual fundraising goal of at least $1.5 million in the first years of the position. Once the portfolio is fully matured, meet an annual fundraising goal of at least $3 million.

• Align prospects’ philanthropic goals with RMI’s high-impact priorities for the clean energy transition.

• Articulate RMI’s market-based, systems-change approach in terms that resonate with impact investors, entrepreneurs, and philanthropists.

• Represent RMI in meetings and events, traveling regularly within the New York region and elsewhere to identify, cultivate, and deepen relationships with funders.

• Partner with RMI’s New York–based senior leadership to represent RMI at family office gatherings, investor convenings, and donor events, engaging confidently with leaders from philanthropy, finance, technology, and impact investing. 

• Leverage internal networks and external partnerships to map relationships and create strategic pathways to engagement with high-net-worth individuals and family offices.

• Provide strategic leadership to cross-functional engagement teams, ensuring clarity of roles and responsibilities across executive, program, and volunteer leadership.

• Partner with program teams and Development Communications to develop compelling funding proposals and stewardship reports, translating technical details into clear, outcomes-driven narratives.

• Maintain accurate and up-to-date donor data in Salesforce, documenting all interactions to ensure data integrity and provide accurate financial projections.

• Contribute actively to the development team’s strategic goals through participation in staff meetings, task forces, and ongoing collaboration with program colleagues.

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree  

• 7–10+ years of progressive professional experience, which may include a combination of nonprofit fundraising, major or principal gifts, impact investing, philanthropic advising, wealth management, family office, or climate and clean energy finance roles.

• Proven record of successfully soliciting multiple gifts of $100K or more annually.

• Demonstrated success in building, cultivating, and soliciting a pipeline of both new and repeat donors.  

• Demonstrated ability to strategically manage and track a portfolio of prospects and donors. 

• Strong record of effective partnership with executives and senior leaders in fast-paced, data-driven environments.

• Experience working in or with a nonprofit organization required; experience at an impact investment firm, family office, or foundation will also be considered.

• Experience working alongside or within the finance, technology, impact investing, or family office sectors strongly preferred.

• Demonstrated executive presence and the confidence to engage peer-to-peer with sophisticated investors and high-net-worth donors.  

• Experience in the environment, climate, energy, sustainable finance, impact investing, or related fields required. 

• Proven experience with legacy and planned giving preferred.

• Willingness and ability to travel, primarily in New York and the Northeast US 20-25% of the time.
• Knowledge of RMI’s mission and objectives and the principles and practices of non-profit organizations.  

• Strong communication skills, both verbal and written.  

• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with RMI staff, Board members, community groups, and other associated agencies.  

• Able to navigate and understand a complicated funding environment with the flexibility to change course quickly, with a positive attitude.

Candidates with strong experience in client-facing business development or impact investing in clean energy (instead of traditional frontline fundraising experience) are encouraged to apply.  

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis, with full review beginning in January 2027.   

Visa Sponsorship

Please note: At this time, RMI is not able to sponsor employment visas or hire candidates who require visa sponsorship to work in the United States. All candidates must have current, independent authorization to work in the U.S. without present or future sponsorship from RMI. We will update our hiring pages if this status changes.

Location

We are a remote-ready company with team members around the globe. Our beautiful and welcoming offices are available for meetings or focused work, whether you are traveling through or living nearby. Our U.S. offices are in New York City; Washington DC; Oakland, California; Boulder, Colorado, and Basalt, Colorado. While this role can be located from anywhere in the continental United States, there is a strong preference for this person to be based in the New York City region.

We provide you with the essential IT equipment plus a one-time home technology payment and a monthly work from home/commuter allowance to ensure you have a comfortable home office set up and necessary supplies.

We love seeing each other in person! We occasionally gather for shared time together like retreats and learning experiences. Be ready to travel for occasional in-person meetings (and of course, we cover travel costs).

Compensation   

At RMI, we prioritize fairness in our pay practices. Salaries are determined based on a mix of experience, market benchmarks, and internal equity across similar roles. The salary range of this position is $115,670-$133,000. New hires typically start toward the lower end of the range, depending on experience and alignment with the role’s scope. In addition to base salary, this position includes an annual bonus target of 10% and eligibility for merit-based increases, which are tied to both individual and organizational performance.

Benefits:    

We offer an array of benefits including:

• Medical, dental, vision insurance
• 403b retirement match with immediate vesting
• Group life, AD&D, and short- and long-term disability
• Optional voluntary life, AD&D and accident plans
• Health savings or flexible spending accounts
• Fertility and hormonal health support
• Mental health and wellness support
• Comprehensive leaves of absence (including generous parental leave)
• Generous paid time off and sick leave
• Paid sabbatical leave
• Regional holidays with at least one extended break in each geography
• Work from home and home technology allowances
• Learning & development opportunities (LinkedIn Learning and an annual individual professional development budget)
• Potential for bonuses and merit increases
• Discount marketplace (gym memberships, pet insurance, etc.)
• Hybrid / remote work options
• Team retreats and geographic meetups
• Rewards and recognition programs

Diversity         

We know that the diversity of our teams makes us stronger as an organization, and RMI is dedicated to the principles of equal employment opportunity as outlined in U.S. federal law. We prohibit discrimination against applicants, interns, and employees on the basis of any legally recognized basis, including but not limited to: age (40 and over), race, color, sex, pregnancy (including lactation, childbirth, or related medical conditions), religion, national origin, ancestry, physical or mental disability, genetic information (including testing and characteristics), sexual orientation, gender expression/identity, uniformed service member status, veteran status, citizenship status, or any other applicable status protected by applicable law.

RMI is an equal opportunity employer. We celebrate diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees.

Inquiries or Technical Issues

If you have any questions or issues with your application submission, please submit a ticket: Support Form

About Us

RMI is an independent nonprofit, founded in 1982 as Rocky Mountain Institute, that transforms global energy systems through market-driven solutions to align with a 1.5°C future and secure a clean, prosperous, zero-carbon future for all. We work in the world’s most critical geographies and engage businesses, policymakers, communities, and NGOs to identify and scale energy system interventions that will cut climate pollution at least 50 percent by 2030. RMI has offices in Basalt and Boulder, Colorado; New York City; Oakland, California; Washington, D.C.; Abuja, Nigeria; and Beijing.