Director, Donor Relations and Stewardship

10 Children's Healthcare of Atlanta, Inc.; United States; On-site; USD 180,000 - 240,000; Full time

Job summary

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation is seeking a Director, Donor Relations and Stewardship to provide strategic leadership for donor engagement, governance and revenue enablement. This role oversees stewardship plans, donor recognition and reporting, coordinating with Marketing, Facilities, FinOps and Accounting to align initiatives and advance philanthropic goals.

The position requires 10+ years in philanthropy or nonprofit leadership, with proven success guiding executive stakeholders

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Advanced degree preferred.
• Experience leading donor relations, governance and reporting.

Responsibilities

• Serve as strategic partner to senior leadership on donor engagement and funding strategy.
• Lead development and refinement of the Case for Support and donor communications.
• Oversee donor fund management, governance and reporting processes.
• Design donor engagement journeys across portfolios and channels.
• Support campaigns with clear messaging and readiness.

Skills

Leadership

Donor relations

Cross-functional coordination

Strategic planning

Executive communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree

Job description

Shift Schedule

Work Shift Day Work Day(s) Friday, Monday, Thursday, Tuesday, Wednesday Shift Start Time 8:00 AM Shift End Time 5:00 AM Worker Sub-Type Regular

Job Description

The Director, Donor Relations and Stewardship provides strategic leadership for donor-engagement, mission alignment, donor fund governance and revenue enablement across Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Foundation. This position oversees the development and execution of stewardship plans, donor relations and recognition to enhance donor engagement. The Director ensures comprehensive donor recognition through donor walls, digital recognition, and system-wide recognition initiatives and annual donor lists. Acting as the primary liaison with Marketing, Facilities, PD&C, FinOps, and Accounting, the Director ensures alignment across departments and the execution of donor reporting and engagement strategies. Additionally, this role leads donor fund management, overseeing financial tracking, restricted gift oversight, and process improvements related to gift processing and reporting. The Director manages the Case for Support process, coordinating prioritization, updates, and donor communications. This role requires a strategic, collaborative leader with expertise in donor relations, project management, and cross-functional coordination to enhance donor engagement and advance the Foundation’s philanthropic goals.

Experience

• 10+ years of progressive experience in philanthropy, nonprofit leadership, or a related field
• Demonstrated success serving as a trusted advisor to senior or executive leadership
• Proven experience leading complex, cross-functional initiatives in matrixed organizations
• Experience influencing outcomes without direct authority
• Experience with donor stewardship, donor fund management, philanthropic governance and proposal development
• Prior people management experience, including coaching and developing teams
• Experience operating in ambiguous environments, requiring judgment, prioritization and decision framing

Education

Bachelor’s degree required

Preferred Qualifications

Advance degree preferred

Certification Summary

No professional certifications required

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Passion for child health and well-being and commitment to the Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta mission
• Strong strategic judgment with the ability to prioritize, sequence and frame complex work
• Ability to translate ambiguity into clear options, recommendations and next steps
• Advanced written and verbal communication skills, including executive-level writing and presentations
• Deep understanding of donor intent, stewardship principles and philanthropic best practices
• Ability to balance ideal outcomes with practical, achievable implementation
• Strong relationship-building and collaboration skills across internal and external partners
• Comfort navigating organizational complexity, competing priorities and stakeholder dynamics
• Demonstrated ability to lead, coach and develop high-performing teams
• High level of professionalism and accountability

Job Responsibilities

• Cross-Functional Planning & Executive Alignment: Serve as a strategic thought partner to senior leadership on donor engagement, development strategy and mission alignment. Frame complex issues and recommendations for executive decision-making, including tradeoffs, sequencing and implications. Translate organizational strategy and clinical priorities into clear, donor-ready philanthropic priorities. Advance alignment across Development, Finance, Clinical Operations and Marketing partners.
• Case for Support & Donor Messaging: Lead the development and ongoing refinement of the Foundation’s Case for Support and donor-facing messaging. Ensure consistency and clarity across proposals, donor communications and impact reporting. Partner with Foundation, Marketing and clinical leaders to align messaging with mission priorities and outcomes.
• Donor Fund Management & Philanthropic Governance: Provide executive leadership for donor fund management, ensuring donor intent, governance and reporting are clearly defined and consistently applied. Partner with Finance and Operations to align fund structures, policies and practices with donor expectations and organizational priorities. Identify and address systemic donor fund management risks, gaps and inefficiencies. Develop frameworks, guidance and decision pathways that support frontline fundraisers and executive leaders. Ensure donor fund practices reinforce trust, transparency and long-term donor confidence.
• Donor Engagement Strategy & Journey Design: Lead the design and evolution of integrated donor engagement strategies that deepen relationships across portfolios, giving levels and channels. Develop donor engagement journeys to intentionally connect stewardship, communications, events and personal outreach. Reduce channel silos by partnering across teams to deliver cohesive, donor-centered experiences. Use insight and performance data to refine engagement strategies and support donor retention and growth.
• Revenue Enablement & Campaign Readiness: Strengthen donor confidence and long-term revenue by ensuring clarity and discipline in donor engagement, fund governance and stewardship practices. Enable frontline fundraising by providing clear priorities, donor-facing messaging and guidance that support effective solicitation and renewal. Support organizational readiness for future campaigns by embedding engagement strategy, messaging frameworks and alignment work into ongoing operations with accountability for donor confidence, retention and long-term revenue durability.
• People & Team Leadership: Lead, coach and develop a team responsible for donor engagement, stewardship and related functions. Set clear expectations, foster accountability and support professional growth. Build a culture grounded in integrity, collaboration and operational excellence.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta is an equal opportunity employer committed to providing equal employment opportunities to all qualified applicants and employees without regard to race, color, sex, religion, national origin, citizenship, age, veteran status, disability or any other characteristic covered by applicable law.

Primary Location

Address 1575 Northeast Expy NE

Job Family

Director/Senior Director

Company Overview

Children’s is one of the nation’s leading children’s hospitals. No matter the role, every member of our team is an essential part of our mission to make kids better today and healthier tomorrow. We’re committed to putting you first, and that commitment is at the heart of our company culture: People first. Children always. Find your next career opportunity and make a difference doing what you love at Children’s. Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta has been 100 percent committed to kids for more than 100 years. A not-for-profit organization, Children’s is dedicated to making kids better today and healthier tomorrow. With 3 hospitals, 20 neighborhood locations and a total of 673 beds, Children’s is the largest healthcare provider for children in Georgia and one of the largest pediatric clinical care providers in the country. Children’s offers access to more than 60 pediatric specialties and programs and is ranked among the top children’s hospitals in the country by U.S. News & World Report. Children’s has been recognized as a Fortune 100 Best Place to Work, a Best Place for Working Mothers, and as a top employer for diversity and millennials. We offer a comprehensive compensation and benefit package that supports our mission, vision and values. We are proud to offer an array of programs and services that have distinguished us as a best place to work in the country.

Additional Information

Connect to our mission of making kids better today and healthier tomorrow. Have questions about the recruitment process? Check out What to Expect. https://careers.choa.org/lp/What%20to%20Expect/2895392d3ba166e6/?locale=en_US