Manager of Donor Relations & Stewardship
About The Position
The Manager of Donor Relations & Stewardship serves as the museum’s strategic leader for donor engagement, stewardship, recognition, and membership experience. This position is responsible for developing and implementing a comprehensive donor relations program that strengthens donor retention, deepens engagement, and fosters long-term philanthropic relationships across all levels of giving. Working closely with colleagues throughout Advancement and the museum, the Manager ensures that donors, members, committee volunteers, and supporters experience thoughtful, personalized, and mission-centered engagement throughout their relationship with the museum. The position oversees stewardship strategy, donor recognition programs, membership engagement, benefit fulfillment, impact reporting, and donor communications while helping create a seamless progression from membership to major philanthropy. This role will also be the lead point person on all fundraising event committees including constructing, facilitating, communicating with, and serving as the primary point of contact for committee members. Considering this portfolio of duties, the Manager of Donor Relations & Stewardship is also expected to cultivate and maintain a modest pool of donors and will have an annual revenue goal associated with that pool. The Manager of Donor Relations & Stewardship supervises the Membership Engagement Coordinator and serves as a key partner to fundraising staff in developing meaningful stewardship and engagement opportunities.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree and minimum of four (4) years of successful professional fundraising OR 8+ years of comparable experience.
- Experience soliciting, securing, and stewarding corporate gifts/sponsorships preferred.
- Strong interpersonal skills.
- Excellent written, verbal, and listening skills, including ability to make effective presentations to individuals and groups.
- Proven ability to work effectively with a diverse population of donors and prospects, board members, staff, and community leaders.
- Demonstrated success in working both independently and as a team member to create and implement fundraising strategies at the major gifts level.
- Strong sense of organization, planning, and time management.
- Proficiency in Microsoft Office products.
- Must be able to work some evenings and weekends.
- Travel required; must have a valid passport.
- Proven ability to work effectively with a diverse population of donors and prospects, board members, staff, and community leaders.
- Knowledge of donor software programs, preferably Blackbaud products
Responsibilities
- Develop and lead a comprehensive donor relations and stewardship strategy that supports donor retention, engagement, and philanthropic growth.
- Establish stewardship standards, recognition policies, and engagement practices across all advancement programs.
- Cultivate, solicit, and maintain a pool of 30-50 donors.
- Create and maintain stewardship matrices for annual, major, planned, campaign, and endowment donors.
- Ensure consistent, personalized, and timely stewardship experiences across all donor constituencies.
- Oversee all donor recognition programs, including annual donor listings, recognition walls, naming opportunities, giving societies, and tribute recognition.
- Develop and implement donor impact reporting initiatives that communicate the outcomes and importance of philanthropic support.
- Coordinate stewardship reporting for major donors, endowment donors, planned giving donors, and campaign supporters.
- Partner with fundraising staff to create customized stewardship plans for leadership donors and prospects.
- Provide strategic oversight of the museum’s membership program and supervise the Membership Engagement Coordinator.
- Partner with the Manager of Leadership Annual Giving to establish clear pathways from membership to philanthropic giving.
- Oversee member and donor engagement programs, ensuring alignment with institutional priorities and fundraising objectives.
- Collaborate with Events staff to create meaningful donor, member, and volunteer committee experiences.
- Oversee stewardship, communications, recognition, and benefit fulfillment for donor circles, giving societies, and volunteer support groups including fundraising event committees.
- Partner with Managers of Philanthropy on engagement strategies for National Council, Board Alumni Council, planned giving societies, and other donor communities.
- Collaborate with Marketing, Communications, Curatorial, Learning & Creativity, and Advancement colleagues to develop donor-centered communications and stewardship materials.
- Ensure donor communications reflect the museum’s mission, values, and commitment to exceptional hospitality.
- Promote a museum-wide culture of stewardship and donor appreciation.
- Develop stewardship metrics and regularly assess donor engagement and retention outcomes.
- Manage budgets associated with stewardship, recognition, and membership engagement initiatives.
- Serve as a strategic thought partner to Advancement leadership on donor experience and relationship-building initiatives.
- Perform other duties as assigned.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Mid Level
