Director, Donor Relations & Stewardship

ABOUT THE ROLE

Position Summary

The Director, Donor Relations & Stewardship is responsible for developing and leading a comprehensive donor stewardship program that strengthens relationships, demonstrates the impact of philanthropy, and inspires continued and increased support for Bar-Ilan University. The Director will create thoughtful, consistent, and personalized donor experiences across giving levels, with particular attention to major and principal gift donors.

Working closely with frontline fundraisers, Marketing & Communications, Development Operations, AFBIU leadership, and colleagues at Bar-Ilan University, the Director will establish stewardship standards, develop donor recognition and impact reporting programs, create meaningful engagement opportunities, and ensure that donor commitments are appropriately acknowledged and fulfilled.

This position serves as the strategic lead for the donor experience. While Marketing & Communications may support writing, design, storytelling, and production, the Director will determine the stewardship strategy, audiences, objectives, timing, personalization, and desired relationship outcomes.

Responsibilities

STEWARDSHIP STRATEGY

Develop stewardship standards for all donor levels.
Together with fundraisers, create customized stewardship plans for major and principal gift donors.
Manage stewardship calendars and fulfillment schedules.
Collaborate with the team and manage re-engagement plans.

DONOR COMMUNICATIONS

Coordinates thank-you letters, acknowledgements, and personalized correspondence.
Manage annual endowment and scholarship report process.
Create donor recognition guidelines and coordinate donor recognition opportunities.
Work directly with marketing to oversee the production of stewardship materials, including impact reports and donor updates.
Collaborate with marketing on producing multi-channel experiences and developing donor-centric content.

PROJECT MANAGEMENT

Track stewardship commitments.
Ensure stewardship deliverables are completed on time.

FUNDRAISER SUPPORT

Prepare donor stewardship briefings for meetings.
Train fundraisers on stewardship strategies and documentation.
Benchmark and identify opportunities for meaningful donor engagement.

EVENTS AND DONOR ENGAGEMENT

Develop small, high-touch stewardship opportunities for major and principal gift donors, such as faculty briefings, parlor meetings, leadership gatherings, and campus visits.
Identify opportunities to use visiting BIU faculty, leadership, researchers, students, and alumni as stewardship touchpoints.
Develop appropriate pre- and post-event stewardship strategies, so events are part of an ongoing donor relationship rather than stand-alone activities.
Coordinate with gift officers on personalized follow-up and next steps for priority donors following events.
REPORTING AND ANALYTICS

Monitor stewardship completion rates and overdue commitments
Collaborate with DevOps to produce stewardship dashboards and reports
Develop metrics for success and report on stewardship effectiveness by analyzing donor retention and engagement metrics

Core Competencies and Experience

REQUIRED:

Strong understanding of donor relations, stewardship, fundraising, and relationship-based philanthropy.
Ability to think strategically about the entire donor experience rather than individual communications or activities.
Exceptional project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage numerous donor commitments, deadlines, and priorities simultaneously.
Strong written and verbal communication skills with a donor-centered approach to communication.
Strong attention to detail, particularly related to donor preferences, recognition, reporting requirements, and gift commitments.
Ability to develop scalable systems while maintaining a highly personalized approach for major and principal gift donors.
Collaborative working style and demonstrated ability to influence and coordinate across departments without necessarily having direct authority over those teams.
Strong understanding of the partnership between Development, Marketing & Communications, Finance, Operations, and university partners.
Ability to use donor data and analytics to inform stewardship strategies and measure effectiveness.
Strong commitment to donor service and creating thoughtful, meaningful, and highly professional donor experiences.

PREFERRED:

Bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree a plus.
Minimum of 3–5 years of progressively responsible experience in donor relations, stewardship, development, advancement, major gifts, or a related nonprofit fundraising field.
Experience developing or managing comprehensive donor stewardship and/or donor relations programs strongly preferred.
Experience working collaboratively with frontline fundraisers and senior organizational leadership.
Experience working with Marketing & Communications teams on donor-facing materials and storytelling.
Experience with a fundraising CRM required; experience with Raiser’s Edge NXT strongly preferred.
Experience in higher education advancement, an American Friends organization, Jewish philanthropy, Israel-related fundraising, or another complex mission-driven organization is highly desirable.
Experience working across geographic or international teams is a plus.