Philanthropy Data Entry Specialist
APA! BACKGROUND: Austin Pets Alive! (APA!) is one of Austin’s most dynamic and beloved nonprofits. The organization leads the No Kill movement nationally and is considered a national thought leader in animal welfare. APA! locally rescues, treats, and adopts out 10,000 homeless dogs and cats each year, providing the safety net for Austin’s most at-risk shelter pets, which helps Austin to be a No Kill city, while also assisting other communities in saving homeless animals. The organization is distinguished by its large volunteer workforce and the scrappiness of its grassroots and its non-traditional, community-based animal rescue work.
The organization continues to innovate best practices to save lives and spreads its impact by offering resources and mentorship related to its renowned lifesaving model through American Pets Alive!, APA!’s national division. In 2020, American Pets Alive! began the Human Animal Support Services (HASS) - an innovative initiative aimed at rethinking the traditional model of animal sheltering. It focuses on supporting both people and pets in the community to reduce the number of animals entering shelters and improve outcomes for both. The project encourages collaboration between animal welfare organizations and community-based services, with a goal of providing personalized, proactive support that positions animal welfare as a social service.
SUMMARY: Austin Pets Alive!’s Philanthropy Data Entry Specialist works under the supervision of the Director of Individual Giving to perform basic data management such as data cleaning and processing, as well as entering donor and gift information, ensuring the database effectively captures constituent and gift information. The role plays a key part in supporting the solicitation and stewardship of gifts to APA! and the person who fills it must be experienced in donor management systems as well as rules around the management of gifts. Basic data management skills such as data cleaning, processing, and analysis also play an integral part of the role. The Philanthropy Data Entry Specialist will work with leadership and other staff to support the production of fundraising reports and generating qualified lists, when needed.
The Philanthropy Data Entry Specialist plays a key role in advancing the goals of APA!’s Philanthropy Program. This position contributes directly to APA!’s mission to increase the live release rate across Texas by supporting a sustainable, inclusive, and high-impact model for philanthropy.
The Philanthropy Data Entry Specialist is responsible for managing their daily responsibilities, maintaining clear priorities, and delivering consistent, high-quality work that aligns with APA!’s values and goals. This includes staying organized, using data or feedback to inform decisions, and following through on key tasks and responsibilities with minimal oversight. This is a hands-on, mission-driven role focused on results, reliability, and teamwork.
APA! is a volunteer-powered organization, so every staff member is expected to work alongside and support volunteers. The Philanthropy Data Entry Specialist collaborates closely with volunteers to complete day-to-day tasks, helps create a positive and inclusive environment, and actively contributes to a culture of shared effort and mutual respect.
This position may involve shift flexibility, weekend hours, and responsiveness during times of high need.
Every individual at APA! is responsible for working in collaboration with volunteers; making sure volunteers are recruited, trained, and feel impactful through their efforts at APA!. A core part of this role is creating a welcoming and empowering experience for volunteers, including assisting with onboarding, training, and volunteer engagement as part of the day-to-day workflow.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Actively contribute to a volunteer-powered culture by partnering with volunteers during every shift and helping create an inclusive, welcoming environment
- Work alongside volunteers to complete daily tasks, ensuring the work is shared and collaborative—not siloed
- Support the recruitment and onboarding process by welcoming new volunteers and helping them get oriented to the program
- Help retain volunteers by offering encouragement, guidance, and feedback during shared work
- Recommend strong volunteers for deeper involvement or specialized roles to your supervisor or volunteer manager
- Contribute to a positive culture by recognizing volunteer contributions through appreciation, gratitude, and shoutouts
- Help set volunteers up for success by clearly explaining tasks, providing hands-on guidance, and offering in-the-moment support
- Ensuring accurate and consistent entry of gift (both online and offline) and donor data
- Receipting and acknowledging donations according to IRS guidelines
- Handling records for a full spectrum of gifts and relationships: single and recurring, tribute, pledges, in-kind, employee giving, employer matching, foundation, donor-advised, corporate, event-related income, bequests, agreements, applications, invoices, and more
- Assisting with management of gift adjacent functions for pledges, gift asks, memberships, tasks, and tags
- Performing data health tasks such as identifying duplicates, household merges, correcting bad addresses, phone numbers, and emails, and other profile data
- Pulling reports from a variety of platforms and databases and manipulating donor and non-donor data for import
- Working with the Philanthropy Coordinator in management of the public-facing email, in-kind gifts, email template creation, and other fundraising tasks
- Supporting the creation of gift and donor reports and the production of qualified lists, pledge reminders, thank you letters, and donor invoices, as needed
- Communicating frequently with the finance team about processes and the exchanging of donation reports
- Recruit, train, and steward volunteers to support data entry and administrative tasks
The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and levels of work to be performed and are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties.
OTHER FUNCTIONS:
- Must demonstrate dependability, accountability, time management, use of reasoning, and good judgment skills
- Attend and participate in all required training sessions and meetings
- Maintain open and consistent communication with Program Manager or designee, supervisor, and other colleagues
- Partner with Volunteer Managers to learn about the volunteer programs and support volunteers interested in your department on an ongoing basis
- Able to react to change productively and perform other related duties as assigned
- Able to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed
- Able to work in a high-volume, fast-paced, high-stress environment
- Comfortable working autonomously when given goals and deadlines
PHYSICAL JOB REQUIREMENTS:
- Must be able to sit at a computer for extended periods of time
- Must be able to work around animals (including diseased, injured, and/or potentially aggressive animals), loud noises, chlorine or other chemicals, and inclement weather
- If reasonable accommodations are requested, reasonable accommodations will be made to enable employees with disabilities to perform the essential functions of their job, absent undue hardship to the organization.
REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS:
- At least one year of experience working with a CRM, accounting system, or other database, or degree in a relevant field
- Advanced to expert proficiency in Microsoft Excel and Google Sheets, as well as comfortability in running reports and manipulating data
- An ability to apply excellent database management principles to the systems and tools used at APA!
- Excellent attention to detail; an awareness to know when something is “off” and the intellectual curiosity to find out why and fix the problem
- Able to quickly learn new technology
- Organized and able to manage multiple tasks, time, and priorities well
- Ability to work independently, while also collaborating with other team members
- Working knowledge of online giving platforms, processes, and forms
- A professional demeanor and the utmost respect for donor privacy with excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Commitment to working courteously and cooperatively with the Austin Pets Alive! community of staff, volunteers, fosters, adopters, and donors
EXPECTATIONS
- Committed to embodying APA!’s Core Values: Innovation, Respect, Drive, Resourcefulness, and Inclusion and cultural values: Humble, Hungry, Smart
- Commitment to APA!'s customer experience expectations
- Passion for working well with staff, volunteers, and customers—helping all individuals feel successful, appreciated, and connected to APA!’s mission
- Strong commitment to volunteer engagement and support; dedicated to working well with volunteers across all roles
- Comfortable working cross-functionally and serving as a liaison between volunteers, customers, and team members
- Effective written and verbal communication skills; able to interpret rules, procedures, and instructional materials
- Self-starter with strong time management; able to work independently and collaboratively
- Excellent interpersonal skills; maintains a calm and professional presence in all situations
- Strong attention to detail and high standards for quality
- Adaptable to change and able to perform related duties as needed
- Dedicated to delivering an exceptional and inclusive customer experience
WORK ENVIRONMENT:
- Standard office environment, with exposure to environmental conditions that include working with and near animals
- Uses own transportation to travel and transport
- Exposure to unpleasant odors and noises.
- Rapid pace with exposure to potential hazards including animal waste, disinfectants, and high levels of noise
- Potential for animal bites and scratches and diseases that can be transmitted from animals to people
- Occasional after-hours or weekend work may be required to support program needs
WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:
This position reports directly to the Director of Individual Giving and works closely with the Controller and accounting staff, as well as members of the MarCom/Philanthropy team
TIME COMMITMENT:
- This is a full-time, exempt position with an average of 40 hours per week.
- Shift and schedule flexibility is required, as weekly schedule is subject to change
- Able to work evenings, weekends, and holidays as needed
LOCATION(S):
- APA! Main - Town Lake Animal Center 1156 West Cesar Chavez Austin, TX 78703
- Hwy 290 Medical Clinic - 4942 W Hwy 290 Austin, TX 78735
- Tarrytown Corporate Office, 2414 Exposition Blvd, Suite B-100, Austin, TX 78703
- Hybrid (must live in Austin area)
BENEFITS
Austin Pets Alive! is proud to offer a competitive benefits package for full-time employees, including subsidized employer-sponsored medical coverage, subsidized and voluntary life insurance, voluntary dental, vision and short-term disability options, all effective the first day of employment. We also offer voluntary wellness and emergency sick plans, up to 2% match on 401(K) retirement plan, supplemental benefits, flexible spending accounts and additional life coverage. Full-time employees receive 10 paid holidays and accrue 10 days paid time off during the first year of employment, with an additional 5 days of PTO accrual upon completion of 12 months of employment. Employees will also receive professional development opportunities through APA!’s ongoing mission to advance our animal welfare professionals in our life-saving work.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES AND ACCOMMODATIONS STATEMENT
Austin Pets Alive! is an equal employment opportunity employer and we value having staff who come from communities that are most impacted by the issues we engage on. We especially encourage people of color, LGBTQ people, women, transgender and gender non-conforming people, and people with disabilities to apply.
Austin Pets Alive! does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law. Austin Pets Alive! is committed to creating a dynamic work environment that values diversity and inclusion, respect and integrity, community focus, and innovation.
APA! is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities in the employment application process. To request an accommodation, please contact Talent Acquisition at
job@austinpetsalive.org at least one week in advance of your interview.