Stewardship Officer

NORTHERN ILLINOIS FOOD BANK•Geneva, IL

1d•Onsite

About The Position

The Stewardship Officer is responsible for advancing Northern Illinois Food Bank’s donor stewardship strategy and executing high-quality communications that drive retention, trust, and long-term engagement. This role plays a critical part in the Food Bank’s financial success by ensuring donors feel valued, understand their impact, and are inspired to give or engage again. This position will help design and implement a comprehensive, multi-channel stewardship program that supports the full donor journey, with a strong focus on both first-time donors and donor retention. The Stewardship Officer will collaborate across teams to create meaningful, segmented stewardship experiences triggered by key donor actions. Through both strategy development and hands-on execution, this role will help evolve stewardship at the Food Bank from strong acknowledgment practices to a more robust, impact-driven, and increasingly automated yet personalized donor experience, from first gift to planned gift.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required.
2–4 years of experience in fundraising, stewardship, or communications.
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Excellent project management and organizational skills.
Ability to work on multiple projects at once.
Experience working independently and collaboratively across teams.
Proficiency in Microsoft 365; experience with CRM (specifically Raiser’s Edge) and email platforms preferred.
Detail-oriented with strong accuracy and follow-through.
Ability to handle confidential information with discretion.

Nice To Haves

We welcome applicants who are bilingual

Responsibilities

Develop, manage, regularly evaluate and refine our donor stewardship strategy, including segmentation and communication cadence of various segments of donors, in collaboration with Annual Fund, Strategic Gifts, Database, CFO, and Marketing teams, to align with donor retention goals
Support Corporate Foundation Organization team on executing their stewardship strategy.
Implement stewardship journeys based on donor triggers such as giving, initiating an online fundraiser for the Food Bank, volunteering, and event participation.
Write and manage donor-facing stewardship communications across direct mail, mail, email, phone, and social media.
Coordinate donor welcome packets.
Assist with weekly acknowledgment letter fulfillment by updating letters quarterly, continually revisiting fulfillment process to identify opportunity for impact sharing, and acting as a back up to Philanthropy Operations team around acknowledgement letters.
Manage production processes of stewardship and cultivation pieces including printing, mailing, and vendor coordination.
Monitor stationery inventory and stewardship materials.
Execute outreach campaigns to Feeding America-generated warm prospect lists twice annually.
Engage with donors via phone and email to support donor inquiries.
Utilize our donor CRM software, RE NXT, to track and monitor donor touchpoints.
Perform other related duties, responsibilities, and special projects as assigned or required.