Donor Engagement Lead - Stewardship & Events

Hope College; Holland (MI); On-site; USD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Job summary

Hope College seeks an accomplished philanthropy professional to lead donor engagement, stewardship, and impact reporting. The Assistant Director collaborates with academic departments, senior leadership, and donor relations teams to honor donor intent and strengthen relationships.

This role requires managing programs, events, and data-driven outreach; weekend/night attendance is expected. The ideal candidate combines leadership, fundraising experience, and strong communication to expand support

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree (education, hospitality, communications, or a related field preferred) with at least one year of experience in an office setting.
• 5+ years of donor engagement experience in donor stewardship, event coordination, data management or related field.
• Donor engagement experience in developing data-driven strategies, best practices, and managing segmented audiences.
• Project management experience with multiple tasks and deadlines.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills with attention to detail, accuracy and follow-through.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office (Excel), Google Suite and CRM/email marketing platforms (e.g., Raiser's Edge, Slate, MailChimp)

Responsibilities

• Produce yearly impact reports for funds and donors.
• Plan and implement donor engagement plans prioritizing leadership, first-time, planned-giving, recurring, giving days and young alumni.
• Hire, train, and mentor donor engagement student workers.
• Administer donor engagement stewardship via Slate, Pledgemine, and Thankview.
• Coordinate events such as Encore Events, Scholarship Luncheons, Spirit of Hope Luncheon, with various departments.
• Support Endowed Scholarship Program including assigning need-based scholarships.
• Implement donor engagement plans with acknowledgments, donor visits, recognition, anniversaries, and celebrations.
• Document all relationship management activities in the CRM.
• Collaborate with Alumni Engagement and Family Engagement colleagues on events and logistics.
• Represent Hope College at donor events and engage with diverse constituencies.
• Engage with peer institutions to stay informed on donor relations best practices.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Skills

Leadership

Communication

Collaboration

Self-motivation

Education

Bachelor’s degree (Education, Hospitality or Communications)

Tools

Microsoft Office (Excel)

Google Suite

CRM/Email tools (Raiser’s Edge, Slate, MailChimp)

Job description

Hope College seeks an accomplished philanthropy professional to lead donor engagement, stewardship, and impact reporting. The Assistant Director collaborates with academic departments, senior leadership, and donor relations teams to honor donor intent and strengthen relationships.

This role requires managing programs, events, and data-driven outreach; weekend/night attendance is expected. The ideal candidate combines leadership, fundraising experience, and strong communication to expand support