Manager, Donor Relations & Stewardship

Kennedy Krieger Institute•Baltimore, MD

19h

About The Position

The Manager, Donor Relations & Stewardship leads Kennedy Krieger Institute’s donor relations and stewardship strategy, ensuring a consistent, meaningful, and donor-centric experience across all levels of giving. The role oversees donor recognition programs, naming opportunities, impact reporting, stewardship communications, and related collateral while establishing stewardship standards and best practices. The manager partners with Gift Officers and collaborates across foundation relations, corporate relations, and Board engagement to strengthen donor relationships, enhance engagement, and support long-term philanthropic investment in the Institute. The position leads Institute-wide recognition and tiered stewardship programs, evaluates effectiveness using donor engagement, retention, giving, and participation data, and ensures campaign-related recognition and reporting obligations are fulfilled. It also oversees donor benefits, impact and gratitude reports, stewardship content and displays, acknowledgement strategy, individualized donor stewardship plans, leadership giving societies, and mass stewardship for annual and mid-level donors. The role maintains accurate CRM records in compliance with HIPAA and Institute policy, stays current on stewardship practices, and supervises contractors or vendors as assigned.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree is required.
Five years of progressive experience in donor relations, stewardship, development, philanthropy communications, or a related fundraising field is required.

Nice To Haves

Experience developing and leading donor recognition, benefits, or tiered stewardship programs is strongly preferred.
Experience working in academic, healthcare, or research settings is preferred.
Prior project leadership experience is preferred.

Responsibilities

Develop and lead an Institute-wide donor recognition strategy, including naming opportunities across Institute properties and programs, in partnership with leadership, Gift Officers, and philanthropy colleagues.
Design, implement, and continuously evaluate a tiered stewardship program for donors across giving levels, using engagement, retention, giving, and program participation data to measure effectiveness and drive improvement.
Ensure stewardship deliverables and donor recognition align with capital campaign gift agreements and timelines; fulfill naming commitments and campaign reporting and recognition obligations, and track follow-up stewardship commitments after campaign close.
Own and periodically redesign the Institute’s donor benefits program to keep benefits compelling, appropriately tiered, and aligned with donor expectations and sector best practices.
Lead strategy, content development, and production of donor impact reports and gratitude reports, partnering with Marketing & Communications and external vendors as needed.
Develop and oversee print, digital, and video stewardship collateral and creative content, including content using platforms such as ThankView, to thank and re-engage donors.
Set and manage strategy for donor walls and other recognition displays; coordinate with vendors and internal stakeholders and maintain an accurate inventory of naming opportunities and recognition commitments.
Collaborate with the donor services team on the Institute’s acknowledgement letter strategy to ensure donor correspondence is timely, accurate, and appropriately customized.
Partner with Gift Officers to develop and implement annual individualized stewardship plans for assigned donors, incorporating personalized touchpoints, impact reporting, engagement, and recognition aligned with donor interests and intent.
Establish and maintain mandatory departmental stewardship standards and touchpoints, providing resources and guidance for a consistent donor experience across Gift Officers, program areas, and donor segments.
Design and execute mass stewardship strategies for the broader annual and mid-level donor population.
Lead stewardship strategy and programming for leadership giving societies, including recognition events, communications, and member benefits.
Coordinate with colleagues supporting foundation relations, corporate relations, and constituency-based giving initiatives such as WIN to identify and meet stewardship needs.
Develop tailored stewardship approaches for current and former Board members, reflecting their leadership and support through appropriate engagement and recognition.
Maintain accurate stewardship records and activity tracking in the CRM, such as Raiser’s Edge, in compliance with HIPAA and Institute policy.
Stay current on donor relations and stewardship trends and bring new ideas to the department’s stewardship practice.
Supervise and manage contractors or vendors as assigned, providing guidance and quality control on stewardship deliverables.