Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Donor Relations Coordinator

🎯 Role Definition

The Donor Relations Coordinator is responsible for executing donor stewardship and retention strategies that strengthen relationships, increase lifetime giving, and enhance the donor experience across all giving levels. This role manages timely gift processing, acknowledgment and recognition, donor communications, and events while maintaining accurate records in the constituent relationship management (CRM) system. The ideal candidate combines excellent written communication, attention to detail, CRM proficiency (e.g., Raiser’s Edge, Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud), and a service-oriented approach to deliver personalized stewardship and measurable fundraising outcomes.

Core objectives include: ensuring acknowledgments and tax receipts are issued quickly and compliantly; segmenting donor audiences to improve engagement; executing stewardship campaigns and recognition programs; producing actionable reports and analyses that inform development strategies; and coordinating donor-facing events and meetings that deepen donor commitment.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Development Assistant / Fundraising Assistant
Volunteer Coordinator or Community Outreach Specialist
Administrative Assistant in a nonprofit development office

Advancement To:

Donor Relations Manager / Stewardship Manager
Development Manager or Major Gifts Officer
Director of Development / Head of Individual Giving

Lateral Moves:

Events Manager / Special Events Coordinator
Prospect Researcher / Data Analyst (Fundraising Data)
CRM / Database Administrator (e.g., Raiser’s Edge, Salesforce)

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop and implement a comprehensive donor stewardship plan that outlines personalized touchpoints, recognition levels, and engagement tactics for individual, corporate, and foundation donors to maximize retention and increase lifetime value.
Produce timely and accurate gift acknowledgments, tax receipts, and thank-you communications for all gifts (online, mail, in-kind, pledges), ensuring compliance with nonprofit accounting and IRS requirements.
Maintain and update donor records in the CRM (Raiser’s Edge, Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud, or similar) to capture giving history, interactions, interests, household relationships, and solicitation outcomes for reliable reporting and outreach.
Segment donor lists and create targeted stewardship and renewal campaigns using giving history, demographics, and engagement metrics to increase donor renewal rates and upgrade potential.
Coordinate and manage stewardship events and donor cultivation activities including thank-you receptions, stewardship calls, site visits, VIP donor briefings, and virtual donor briefings from concept through execution.
Draft, edit, and produce compelling written stewardship materials (personalized letters, impact reports, quarterly stewardship emails, recognition plaques, and anniversary communications) that clearly communicate donor impact.
Manage the recognition program: maintain donor walls, ensure accurate listing in print and digital recognition, and coordinate naming opportunities and donor agreement documentation with Development and Finance teams.
Process gifts daily, reconcile donations against bank deposits, coordinate with Finance on deposit reports, ensure correct gift coding (restricted vs. unrestricted), and resolve processing discrepancies promptly.
Implement standard operating procedures for gift processing, acknowledgment workflows, pledge tracking, and memorial/tribute gift handling to maintain efficiency and audit readiness.
Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual donor reports and dashboards (retention rates, upgrade metrics, lapsed donor analysis, gift trends) to inform leadership and frontline fundraisers.
Support major gift officers by preparing briefing documents, donor profiles, and customized stewardship plans for top-tier prospects to facilitate personalized cultivation and solicitation.
Conduct prospect research and prepare one-page profiles on mid-level and major donors, pulling publicly available philanthropic history, interests, board affiliations, and giving capacity insights.
Coordinate stewardship-related mailings, e-blasts, and segmented email campaigns with Marketing/Communications to ensure consistent messaging and brand alignment.
Reconcile monthly reports with Finance and Development databases to ensure gift revenue, pledges receivable, and donor restrictions are accurately recorded.
Administer recurring giving programs (monthly donors, sustaining societies), including onboarding communications, retention campaigns, and automated acknowledgment setup.
Track and manage pledge fulfillment: send reminders, process payments, update records, and escalate delinquencies following established policies.
Oversee memorial and tribute gift workflows: process notifications to honorees/families, prepare tribute letters, and ensure appropriate recognition in publications or programs.
Ensure donor confidentiality and data privacy by following organization policies and legal requirements (e.g., GDPR where applicable) and maintaining secure handling of donor information.
Coordinate and support stewardship-related segments of capital and annual campaigns, including tracking progress toward donor recognition thresholds and assisting with campaign-specific recognition events.
Train and support volunteers and staff on stewardship protocols, gift acknowledgment templates, and CRM best practices to ensure a consistent donor experience.
Manage vendor relationships for donor recognition items (plaques, printing, mailing houses), track budgets, and ensure timely delivery of recognition materials.
Develop and maintain stewardship metrics and KPI dashboards to monitor donor engagement, retention, and upgrade rates; deliver insights and recommendations to leadership for continuous improvement.
Serve as a backup to the database administrator or gift processing lead during absences, including batch processing, data imports/exports, and data quality reviews.
Coordinate logistics for donor visits including itineraries, briefing packets, material preparation, stewardship collateral, and follow-up notes to ensure meaningful, personalized donor interactions.

Secondary Functions

Support cross-departmental collaboration with Programs, Finance, and Marketing to align stewardship messaging with program outcomes and financial reporting.
Participate in regular development team planning meetings, providing input on donor-facing strategies, database needs, and stewardship initiatives.
Assist with special projects such as donor surveys, alumni outreach, and stewardship-focused impact research that supports fundraising campaigns.
Provide administrative support for gift agreements, stewardship calendars, and donor recognition schedules.
Continuously review stewardship processes and recommend improvements to raise efficiency, enhance donor experience, and increase donor retention.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

CRM proficiency: hands-on experience with Raiser’s Edge, Salesforce Nonprofit Cloud, or Blackbaud CRM for gift entry, segmentation, exports, and reporting.
Gift processing and reconciliation: knowledge of gift coding, pledge tracking, monthly donor processing, and receipts management.
Microsoft Office suite: advanced Excel skills for pivot tables, VLOOKUP/XLOOKUP, and data analysis; strong Word skills for templated acknowledgments and mail merges.
Email marketing and marketing automation platforms: experience with tools like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or Pardot for segmented stewardship campaigns.
Event coordination tools and logistics: experience managing donor events, RSVP systems, and vendor contracts.
Data hygiene and database management: experience with deduplication, segmentation, import/export processes, and maintaining data integrity.
Reporting and analytics: ability to produce KPIs, dashboards, retention/upgrade analyses, and ad-hoc stewardship reports.
Prospect research tools: familiarity with WealthEngine, iWave, DonorSearch, Guidestar, or similar research platforms.
Basic finance collaboration: understanding of nonprofit accounting concepts related to restricted funds, pledges receivable, and gift acknowledgments.
Digital publishing and content tools: experience producing stewardship collateral, impact reports, and digital recognition content.

Soft Skills

Exceptional written communication: ability to craft personalized, donor-centric acknowledgments, stewardship narratives, and impact stories.
Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills: comfortable interacting with donors, board members, volunteers, and executive leadership.
High attention to detail and accuracy: meticulous approach to gift processing, recognition, and CRM data entry.
Project and time management: ability to manage multiple stewardship initiatives and event timelines with competing deadlines.
Problem solving and initiative: proactive in identifying gaps in stewardship processes and proposing practical solutions.
Confidentiality and professional discretion: handles donor financial information and sensitive conversations with integrity.
Adaptability and service orientation: responsive to donor needs and able to pivot priorities during campaigns or urgent stewardship moments.
Collaborative team player: works well across departments and supports fundraising colleagues to achieve shared goals.
Cultural competence and emotional intelligence: tailors stewardship approaches to diverse donor interests and backgrounds.
Customer-service mindset: focused on creating a seamless, respectful, and rewarding donor experience.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in communications, nonprofit management, business administration, public relations, marketing, or related field — or equivalent experience in donor relations/fundraising.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Nonprofit Management, Communications, Public Administration, Business, or a related discipline. Certifications in fundraising (CFRE) or database management preferred.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Nonprofit Management
Communications / Public Relations
Business Administration / Marketing
Public Policy / Social Sciences
Data Analytics / Information Management (for CRM reporting)

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

2–5 years of progressively responsible experience in donor relations, stewardship, gift processing, or nonprofit development.

Preferred:

3–5+ years in donor stewardship or development operations with demonstrated experience in CRM management (Raiser’s Edge or Salesforce), event coordination, and proven success improving donor retention and engagement metrics.