Donor Relations Lead — Stewardship & Recognition

Northwestern University; Evanston (IL); Hybrid; USD 75,000 - 80,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health insurance

Dental insurance

Vision insurance

Disability insurance

Life insurance

Paid vacation and holidays

Tuition benefits

Job summary

Northwestern University in Evanston, IL is seeking an Associate Director of Donor Relations to lead donor recognition programs from concept to installation, coordinating signage, plaques, and related materials. You will manage stewardship activities, collaborate with gift officers across campus, and guide design, production, and installation while maintaining strong donor relationships.

The role requires project management skills, attention to detail, and flexibility to work in a hybrid setting

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or higher required or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• 4 years of development, marketing, sales or equivalent experience required.

Responsibilities

• Work with vendors to secure donor recognition items.
• Manages stewardship correspondence including acknowledgment letters, holiday cards, plaques and signage, and gift selection.
• Manages stewardship activities developed and implemented for client groups including tracking all contact in databases.
• Reviews use of database and recommends changes to create a system of prompts and reminders to ensure timely and appropriate activity.
• Develops, plans & implements personalized stewardship strategies, goals & approach for more complex, key or high-profile donors.
• Gathers data and develops strategies to realize current and life-time giving potential of individual prospects.
• Creates donor centric event materials, including programs and other collateral materials.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Creative thinking

Cross-department collaboration

Project management

Excel data analysis

Donor relations experience

Education

Bachelor's degree or higher

Tools

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Excel

PowerPoint

Job description

Northwestern University in Evanston, IL is seeking an Associate Director of Donor Relations to lead donor recognition programs from concept to installation, coordinating signage, plaques, and related materials. You will manage stewardship activities, collaborate with gift officers across campus, and guide design, production, and installation while maintaining strong donor relationships.

The role requires project management skills, attention to detail, and flexibility to work in a hybrid setting