Community Relations Coordinator

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Joliet; Crest Hill (IL); On-site; USD 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health Insurance

403B retirement plan

Paid time off

Employee Assistance Program

Flexible Spending Account

Job summary

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Joliet is seeking a Development Coordinator to strengthen parish engagement, mobilize volunteers, and coordinate donor outreach across the Diocese. You will build relationships with pastors, volunteers, schools, and civic partners while supporting fundraising events and communications.

This role requires strong public speaking, excellent organizational skills, and experience with CRM systems like Raiser's Edge NXT.

Qualifications

• Relevant nonprofit outreach or donor relations experience preferred.
• Strong presentation and public speaking skills for diverse audiences.
• Ability to cultivate relationships with parish leaders, volunteers, and donors.
• Results-oriented, organized, and able to work independently with teams.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office and CRM/volunteer management systems.

Responsibilities

• Develop, strengthen, and maintain relationships with parishes across the Diocese.
• Serve as primary contact for parish outreach, mission presentations, and donor engagement.
• Coordinate parish drives, in-kind support, and communication with partners.
• Coordinate agency volunteer efforts with program staff and leadership.
• Track volunteer inquiries, opportunities, and follow-up activities.
• Identify volunteer needs, match individuals with opportunities, and coordinate logistics.
• Plan and coordinate in-kind donation initiatives and community drives.
• Communicate current needs to external partners and donors.
• Align community engagement with the development plan and follow up on major gifts.
• Coordinate outreach to elected officials and community partners; represent the agency at events.
• Attend fundraising and stewardship events as assigned.
• Perform other duties within the position guidelines.

Skills

Public speaking

Relationship building

Organizational skills

Microsoft Office

CRM systems

Tools

Raiser’s Edge NXT

Volunteer management systems

Outlook

Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Description

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Joliet offers 43 paid days off per year, excellent medical benefits, and an employer-sponsored 403b plan that requires no contribution from employee. We prioritize your well-being and financial security. Do you want to use your skills and talents to make a lasting difference in the world? At Catholic Charities Diocese, of Joliet we are mission-driven, focused on positive results for people and believe that people should be treated with dignity and respect. If you feel the same way, we encourage you to join us in making a difference! Discover an extraordinary career opportunity that combines competitive pay with outstanding benefits.

General Responsibilities

1. Develop, strengthen, and maintain relationships with parishes throughout the Diocese of Joliet, including pastors, parish staff, ministry leaders, school leaders, and volunteers.
2. Serve as a primary Development Department contact for parish outreach, mission presentations, volunteer engagement, drives, in-kind support, and other agency-approved parish partnership opportunities.
3. Coordinate parish drives and parish-based support efforts, including Undy Sunday and other approved collection drives, ensuring appropriate communication, tracking, acknowledgment, and follow-up.
4. Coordinate agency volunteer efforts in partnership with program staff, Development, Communications, and agency leadership.
5. Serve as a central point of coordination for volunteer inquiries, volunteer opportunities, follow-up, and tracking.
6. Work with division and program leaders to identify volunteer needs, match individuals and groups with appropriate opportunities, and coordinate volunteer communication, orientation logistics, recognition, and stewardship.
7. Plan and coordinate in-kind donation initiatives and community, parish, school, and corporate drives that respond to identified program needs, ensuring donations are properly documented, acknowledged, processed, and distributed according to Agency standards.
8. Work with program staff to understand current in-kind needs and communicate those needs clearly to external partners, donors, parishes, schools, civic groups, and businesses.
9. Partner with the Assistant Director of Development and other Development colleagues to align community engagement with the overall development plan, identify individuals who may wish to deepen their involvement, and support appropriate follow-up for individual and major gift opportunities.
10. Coordinate and document Agency outreach to elected officials, public leaders, civic organizations, and community partners, including contacts, meetings, site visits, tours, briefings, and follow-up items.
11. Represent Catholic Charities at selected community events, civic meetings, parish gatherings, volunteer fairs, and other external functions that advance parish engagement, volunteer involvement, in-kind support, donor relationships, advocacy awareness, or Agency visibility.
12. Attend and support Agency fundraising, donor engagement, and stewardship events as assigned.
13. Other duties as assigned within the guidelines of this position.

Great Employer Provided Benefits

• Time-off: 14 Holidays - 15 Vacation days - 5 Paid Leave days and 9 Sick days
• Medical/Dental/Vision Health Insurances
• Flexible Spending Account
• Short-term Disability Insurance
• Long-Term Disability Insurance (employee paid optional)
• Life and AD&D Insurance
• 403B Retirement Plan with employer contributions
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)

Requirements

1. Relevant work experience required, preferably two or more years in nonprofit outreach, parish engagement, volunteer coordination, community relations, communications, public service, or another public-facing role.
2. Strong presentation and public speaking skills, including the ability to tailor mission-focused presentations to parish, volunteer, donor, civic, and community audiences.
3. Ability to initiate, cultivate, and maintain positive relationships with parish leaders, volunteers, donors, civic organizations, elected officials, staff, and community partners.
4. Results-oriented, resourceful, organized, and able to work independently while collaborating with staff across programs and departments.
5. Positive relationship skills with staff, donors, clients, volunteers, parishes, and community partners in a multicultural environment.
6. Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Outlook, Word, Excel, Teams, and PowerPoint; experience with volunteer management systems, Raiser’s Edge NXT, or other CRM systems preferred.
7. Strong written, verbal, organizational, and interpersonal communication skills.
8. Passage of required background clearance.
9. Valid driver’s license, reliable transportation, and proof of liability insurance; Spanish-language proficiency is a plus but is not required.
10. Support for the mission and values of Catholic Charities and respect for Catholic Social Teaching; adhere to the Agency’s Code of Ethics and the standards outlined in the Employee Handbook.