Director, Donor Relations and Stewardship

Description

POSITION SUMMARY: 

The Director, Donor Relations and Stewardship provides leadership and strategic direction for donor stewardship initiatives to strengthen existing donor commitment and forge new relationships with Concordia Seminary. The Director provides supervision and direction to the Donor Relations and Stewardship team in the implementation of a comprehensive donor relations and stewardship program that appropriately and consistently promotes quality interaction with and recognition of donors at all levels.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Provide leadership and strategic direction in the design and coordination of a comprehensive, best practices engagement and stewardship program for donors at all levels of giving and participation.
• Oversee donor research operations that inform and enhance the donor engagement process including periodic database wealth screening, prospect/donor research and major gift officer portfolio design.  Actively participate in donor engagement strategy meetings and gift proposals as needed. 
• Manage data/information tracking processes regarding acknowledgement and recognition, ongoing communications and continued cultivation of past, present and future donor to enhance their relationship with the Seminary and increase the likelihood of their continued contributions.
• Lead the gift processing team in the daily execution of gift acceptance procedures; direct and document gift batch processing and oversee the team responsible for batch data entry, gift record maintenance and pledge processing. 
• Serve as a key liaison with the Finance and Accounting team regarding gift processing and posting, and audit preparedness.
• Discuss with and provide data for consultants for direct mail and gift by phone programs.
• Ensure the quality of the Seminary’s donor database by developing and implementing processes that enhance overall data quality and the accuracy of the database.  
• Discuss with and provide data for consultants for direct mail and gift by phone programs.
• Implement best practices in donor acknowledgement letters, and provide review and control of all gift acknowledgements including receipts, thank you letters and pledge statements.
• Work collaboratively with the Technology Services team to develop, refine and maintain the database infrastructure and functionality including the development and maintenance of needed gift reports, including those for special campaigns.
• In collaboration with the Financial Aid team, ensure timely acknowledgements to donors of beneficiaries of special gift programs, e.g., Adopt-A-student, as well as endowment fund beneficiaries and scholarship recipients.
• Oversee and otherwise ensure  the timely production and distribution of annual endowment fund reports to donors.
• Stay current on CASE (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education) and other ethical standards of gift processing, IRS charitable contribution guidelines and other pertinent reporting guidelines, and issues of donor privacy and record management; and collaborate with Seminary Advancement division leaders on the development of relevant policies and procedures.
• Prepare and maintain an annual budget for the Donor Stewardship department.

Qualifications

QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Five years of professional and supervisory experience required; experience in a higher education setting is a plus.
• Knowledge of general business, accounting and fiscal management.
• Excellent interpersonal communication skills and well-developed customer service orientation.
• Strong organizational and planning skills
• Active member of an LCMS congregation preferred.

• Strong computer literacy required; familiarity with Raiser’s Edge and Financial Edge platforms preferred.

• Ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality.

POSITIONS SUPERVISED:

Senior Gift Processor

Gift Processor

Donor Stewardship Specialist

Student Workers

Salary : $70,000 - $74,000