What are the responsibilities and job description for the Stewardship Coordinator position at Mars Hill University?
The Stewardship Coordinator supports donor-centered stewardship, donor recognition, scholarship reporting, advancement communications, and data integrity for Mars Hill University. This position helps ensure that donors, alumni, parents, friends, and organizational partners receive timely appreciation, meaningful communication, and clear evidence of the impact of their philanthropy. The Stewardship Coordinator works closely with Annual Giving, Major Gifts, Alumni Engagement, Advancement Operations, students, and campus partners to strengthen donor relationships, improve donor retention, support fundraising campaigns, and advance a culture of gratitude and accountability across University Advancement. Essential Responsibilities Donor Stewardship and Acknowledgment • Coordinate donor acknowledgment and stewardship processes to ensure timely, accurate, and meaningful communication with donors. • Prepare, review, and support donor thank-you letters, stewardship correspondence, pledge reminders, and other donor-centered communications. • Help maintain consistent standards for donor appreciation, recognition, and follow-up across the Advancement Division. • Track stewardship activity and help ensure that donors receive appropriate communication after making gifts. • Support efforts to strengthen donor retention, repeat giving, and long-term philanthropic engagement through thoughtful stewardship. Impact Reporting and Donor Communications • Develop impact reports, stewardship updates, and donor communications that demonstrate the value and impact of philanthropic support. • Create student, donor, alumni, and program impact stories that connect giving to the mission and life of the University. • Support fundraising campaigns through donor-centered storytelling, stewardship materials, and meaningful follow-up communication. • Gather information, stories, quotes, photographs, and outcomes from campus partners to support donor reports and communications. • Collaborate with Advancement colleagues and campus partners to ensure stewardship materials are accurate, compelling, and aligned with University messaging. Scholarship Stewardship and Donor Recognition • Support scholarship stewardship processes, including scholarship reporting, student thank-you communications, donor updates, and recognition materials. • Coordinate donor recognition initiatives that honor giving, celebrate generosity, and strengthen donor relationships. • Assist with stewardship events, donor recognition activities, scholarship-related gatherings, and other Advancement programs as needed. • Help ensure that scholarship donors receive meaningful updates about the impact of their support. • Maintain accurate records related to scholarship stewardship, donor recognition, and reporting requirements. Advancement Systems and Data Integrity • Maintain accurate and up-to-date donor, alumni, parent, friend, and organizational records in the University’s advancement database. • Support consistent data entry, coding, record updates, constituent tracking, and database hygiene. • Monitor data quality and help identify and correct duplicate records, outdated information, coding inconsistencies, and other data integrity issues. • Develop and document procedures that support accurate, consistent, and efficient use of Advancement systems. • Serve as a resource to Advancement colleagues on database use, reporting processes, stewardship tracking, and operational best practices. • Support ongoing improvements to advancement systems, workflows, and data management practices. Campaign Support, Reporting, and Administration • Collaborate with Annual Giving, Major Gifts, Alumni Engagement, and Advancement Operations to ensure consistent donor care and follow-up. • Support fundraising campaigns by preparing stewardship materials, impact stories, donor lists, reports, and communication plans. • Track stewardship communication, donor recognition, reporting completion, and related outcomes. • Help evaluate stewardship processes and recommend improvements that increase efficiency, consistency, and donor satisfaction. • Support Advancement events, meetings, mailings, and special projects as needed. Qualifications and Skills • Bachelor’s degree preferred. • Experience in advancement, stewardship, donor relations, communications, higher education, database management, or related work preferred. • Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, and donor-centered communication skills. • Strong organizational, planning, and project management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines. • High level of accuracy, attention to detail, and discretion in handling donor and constituent information. • Comfort working with databases, reports, spreadsheets, digital communication tools, and donor records. • Ability to identify data inconsistencies and support accurate recordkeeping and reporting. • Demonstrated ability to work effectively with donors, alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff, volunteers, and campus partners. • Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends as needed for University events and Advancement activities. Desired Attributes • Warm, gracious, and professional presence. • Commitment to the mission and values of Mars Hill University. • Strong appreciation for donor generosity and the role philanthropy plays in student success. • Collaborative spirit and willingness to work across Advancement and campus departments. • Detail-oriented, dependable, and committed to accurate, donor-centered stewardship outcomes.