Director of Donor Relations and Stewardship bei Brooklyn Law School

POSITION: Director of Donor Relations and Stewardship
REPORTS TO: Senior Director of Advancement
STATUS: Full-Time, Exempt
RANGE: $80,000 to $90,000

Founded in 1901, Brooklyn Law School is a distinguished, independent law school located in Downtown Brooklyn, New York. The Law School is searching for a Director of Donor Relations and Stewardship to join our team. The Law School’s size, vibrant employee and student population, and commitment to training the next generation of lawyers and promoting social justice, will offer a candidate the opportunity to develop and diversify practical skills and participate firsthand in operating a successful educational institution.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Advancement, the Director of Donor Relations and Stewardship is responsible for ensuring that Brooklyn Law has a comprehensive, best practice donor relations and strategic stewardship program that supports the cultivation, recognition and stewardship that strengthen donor relationship across all levels of giving.   Serving as a strategic leader and storyteller, this position will play a critical role in the Law School’s upcoming 125^th Anniversary celebration and launch of our first ever comprehensive campaign. 

Responsibilities include:

• Changed with advancing a culture of gratitude and philanthropic impact, this position is responsible for the strategic development and implementation of a high performing, comprehensive donor relations and strategic stewardship program that is designed to increase donor joy and drive fundraising growth that elevates the overall philanthropic experience to support donor cultivation and retention.
• Collaborating with Advancement Services, this position will oversee aspects of gift acknowledgments, pledge reminders, endowment and scholarship reporting and customized major and principal gifts stewardship plans
• Collaborating with Annual Giving and Alumni Engagement, this position will oversee and direct the stewardship of recognition society programs and assist with the creation and launch of a leadership annual giving society.
• Collaborates with events teams to successfully execute the vision and strategy for recognition and stewardship events
• Collaborates with the Marketing and Communications team, to effectively tell donor impact stories and emotionally connect and inspire donors
• Works closely with fundraisers, senior academic administrators, faculty, and staff to build long-term donor relations programs that enrich relations between donors and the Law School;
• This role partners closely with colleagues in Admissions, Financial Aid, Advancement Services and Finance to ensure a coordinated, personalized, and mission-driven approach to donor engagement, especially for our scholarship benefactors.
• Lead the planning and execution of annual endowment and scholarship reports, ensuring high-quality, donor-centered content that illustrates the impact of giving.
• Follow-up with scholarship recipients regarding thank-you notes and participation in stewardship events such as student thank-a-thons, giving days and receptions.
• Collaborate with the Office of Admissions and Financial Aid to ensure scholarships are awarded fairly, transparently, and in compliance with donor criteria.
• Create and maintain student scholarship profiles and related database records.
• Track donations and awards for current-use scholarships and compile historical recipient data for fundraising proposals and stewardship activities.
• Coordinate annual donor-funded prize letters with Academic Affairs, including providing student job updates to donors.
• Manage donor-funded fellowships by gathering student responses, preparing reports for donors, and coordinating with the Public Service Law Center.

Required:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent 
• Four (4) plus years of professional experience in donor relations, advancement communications, stewardship or a related field
• Demonstrated understanding of the donor cycle, fundraising and stewardship best practices and industry trends.
• Strong knowledge of donor engagement, campaigns, planned giving, annual giving, and major gifts;
• Strong project and program management skills, including experience initiating and implementing a new program or project;
• Experience with scholarship awarding and reporting processes
•  Strong project management and organizational abilities, with a keen eye for detail and quality.
• Exceptional writing and storytelling skills with the ability to translate complex data into compelling narratives.
• Experience supporting donor recognition societies and giving programs.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships with internal and external stakeholders.
• Proficiency in database management and Microsoft Office Suite; experience with CRM systems preferred
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment
• Commitment to maintaining donor and student confidentiality
• Strategic, entrepreneurial and creative approaches to tasks and challenges; and
• Considerable knowledge of donor relations and stewardship in higher education.
• Customer-service mindset with a focus on fostering positive relationships with students, alumni, and donors

Preferred:

• Experience working in higher education or nonprofit development
• Graphic design or visual storytelling skills are a plus
• Experience managing projects and coordinating cross-functional teams
• Sales Force npsp experience

Remote capabilities.

• This position is eligible for a hybrid schedule, requiring a minimum in-office presence of four (4) days per week during the academic year when classes are in session and during exam periods. During the summer and academic breaks, when classes are not in session and exams are not being administered, a minimum of three (3) days per week of in-office presence is required.

Travel:

• No travel required.

Brooklyn Law School has an excellent benefits package that includes sick, personal and vacation paid time off, a generous retirement plan, dependent tuition scholarship Pre K- undergraduate college and additional summer Friday PTO.

Affirmative Action/EEO statement 

It is the policy of Brooklyn Law School to be impartial in the treatment of all employees and applicants for employment without unlawful discrimination as to race, creed, religion, color, natural origin, citizenship status, gender, age, veteran status, disability, marital status, union affiliation, political affiliation, sexual orientation or preferences or any other legal protected status.