REBECCA KOHN
Kids' Foods Basket
19
years of professional experience
Diligent gift administration professional with strong background in accurate gift processing and donor database management. Proven ability to streamline donation tracking processes and ensure timely acknowledgment. Excels in data management, research, and information retrieval, with strong focus on team collaboration and adaptability. Known for reliability and problem-solving skills, ensuring seamless operations and successful outcomes.
Work History
Philanthropy Coordinator
5 Months- Enhanced donor relations by maintaining timely communication and personalized acknowledgements.
- Spearheaded the organization's adoption of digital receipting, improving efficiency and decreasing paper and processing costs.
- Initiated the migration to Blackbaud NXT donation forms, streamlining online giving, reducing gift processing delays, and enhancing the donor experience.
- Redesigned donor receipt layouts and established separate tax receipting and acknowledgment processes, improving compliance, communication clarity, and the donor experience.
- Audited and standardized donor database records to accurately track donor-advised fund (DAF) and IRA gifts, enabling reliable reporting, segmentation, and stewardship.
Gifts and Constituent Information Specialist
5 Years 1 Month- Accurately and promptly enter donations from bank lockbox, ACH, and on-line into Blackbaud CRM more than 5000 per year
- Coordinate with the stewardship team on donor acknowledgments and individual plans to deepen relationships with donors
- Liaise with donors, faculty and staff regarding gift-related questions and requests
- Produce timely and accurate tax receipts per IRS regulations
- Compile, organize, and archive all gift documentation per university policy and procedures
- Maintain and update donor database by implementing regular audit process and correcting inconsistencies
- Used database to research, gather, analyze and present data.
Development Team Contractor
1 Year 3 Months- Processed donations and tickets for annual Gala with $2M raised
- Followed up on pending major donations; secured 80%
- Collaborated with Major Gift Officer to reach 100%
- Sent 250 acknowledgement letters/emails for donations (including $1000+) via templates & mail merges
- Accurately and promptly processed donations in Raisers Edge, SalesForce and Neon
- Provided temporary support as result of Development Associate's departure
- Cleaned up data in preparation for transition from Raiser's Edge database to Raiser's Edge NXT
- Communicated status of up to 100 tasks per week with Trello project management tool with team of 20
Advancement Coordinator
3 Years 2 Months- Raised more than $5.5M in cash and $3M in pledges for Capital Campaign
- Helped facilitate fundraising of $1.2M in 3 years from Gala, Golf Outing, Night of Champion & Walkathon
- Coordinated student/donor recognition events, fundraising & alumni events from inception to completion for up to 450 people
- Compiled alumni lists, organized pep rallies, coordinated student help, day-of-event logistics, social media and other event marketing, processed all gifts & provided post-event reports
- Cleaned up database as school transitioned to Raiser's Edge
- Maintained and updated alumni & donor data
- Provided administrative support to the Advancement team, ensuring smooth daily operations and timely completion of tasks.
- Organized and conducted donor prospecting meetings, leading to increased interest in the organization's mission and potential investment opportunities.
Senior Manager of External Relations
2 Years 4 Months- Utilized moves management to develop strong relationships with existing donors & qualify potential donors
- Consistently increased major gift donor retention rate each year
- Grew number of donors by 65%
- 501(c)(3) gifts rose from $2.8MM in FY11 to $3.7MM in FY12 & $3.4MM in FY13 [501(c)(4) was added]
- Organized and executed 9 Speaker Series events for donors, sponsors, and the public from beginning to end
- Responsible for daily gift processing: input into DonorPerfect, acknowledgments, and bank deposits
- Spearheaded proposal writing, researched grants & foundations, and coordinated with Policy Team
- Led entire direct mail campaigns of 10,000+ pieces, 4-6 times per year: ensured 501c3 & 501c4 compliance
Senior Account Manager
3 Years 2 Months- Cultivated, stewarded & solicited by telephone work, face-to-face & donor reporting
- Achieved 131% of annual goal with $1.7 million raised in Fiscal Year 2010
- Developed and maintained relationships with approximately 10 large donors for specific projects
Associate Director of Advancement
1 Year 7 Months- Attained 180% of annual fundraising objective with $900,000 secured
- Spearheaded Donor Recognition Event for 30 donors to be recognized by President of World Vision US
- Managed & developed relationships with donors via telephone, face-to-face, mailings, and events
- Researched prospective donors for fundraising campaigns
- Planned/traveled to DR Congo, Zambia, South Africa, Zimbabwe & Botswana with Board Member & donors
Education
Bachelor of Science
Timeline
Philanthropy Coordinator
Kids' Foods Basket
03.2026 - CurrentRead More
Gifts and Constituent Information Specialist
ILLINOIS TECH
02.2021 - 03.2026Read More
Development Team Contractor
CAREERS IN NONPROFITS
10.2019 - 01.2021Read More
Advancement Coordinator
MOUNT CARMEL HIGH SCHOOL
08.2016 - 10.2019Read More
Senior Manager of External Relations
ILLINOIS POLICY INSTITUTE
03.2012 - 07.2014Read More
Senior Account Manager
WORLD VISION
01.2009 - 03.2012Read More
Associate Director of Advancement
WORLD VISION
06.2007 - 01.2009Read More
Michigan State University
Bachelor of Science
Read More