Director of Stewardship and Donor Relations

Bennington College is an innovative and distinguished liberal arts college in Bennington, Vermont that has, since its founding in 1932, dedicated itself to cultivating change makers and culture shapers.  Bennington was the first to include the visual and performing arts in a liberal arts education, and it is the only college to require that its students spend six weeks – every year – at work in the world. The College invites applications to the Director of Stewardship and Donor Relations position during an opportune time to join this growing Advancement team as it goes through a reimagination and reorganization. 

Reporting to the Assistant Vice President for Operations, the Director of Stewardship and Donor Relations is a newly created position in the Office of Institutional Advancement (IA).  In cooperation and collaboration with Advancement leadership, the Director is responsible for designing, implementing, managing, and evaluating a comprehensive donor relations and stewardship program that appropriately and consistently promotes interaction with and recognition of donors at all levels to maintain and deepen our philanthropic relationships. 

This position is responsible for creating, overseeing and managing all aspects of a fully integrated donor relations portfolio, including the following, among other key priorities:  

• Stewardship – donor acknowledgments, impact reports, and leadership messaging to engage donors; 
• Development Communications – focusing on composing cases for support, booklets, program overviews, web assets, and other materials to promote fundraising; and 
• Donor Relations Programming – focusing on alumni, family and donor cultivation and engagement, campus project recognition, and other activities and touchpoints to connect with, thank, and inspire past, current, and future donors.

Bennington serves a diverse student population inclusive of members of ethnically/racially minoritized, international, LGBTQIA+, and disability communities as well as diverse gender identities, socioeconomic backgrounds, religions, and political beliefs. Our staff and faculty also reflect diverse and intersecting backgrounds and identities. All employees are expected to be respectful and responsive to these differences in the service of building community that promotes student and employee success. Each individual (faculty, staff and students) will be accountable for upholding these values.  The College’s approach to pluralism and inclusivity—both as fields of inquiry and practice—is to prioritize flexible thought, and to invite the examination of access, value, power, and privilege through its institutional policies and areas of study. We encourage applicants from diverse realms of interest, backgrounds, experience, and accomplishment to apply. 

Position Responsibilities
As the Director of Stewardship and Donor Relations, you will lead the efforts in delivering a comprehensive donor relations program with the Institutional Advancement team, recognizing Bennington College donors at all levels and encouraging their continued engagement with and support of the College through a multitude of platforms. You will work with the Advancement team on all levels of engagement, from cultivation opportunities to solicitation materials and stewardship activities to ensure donors stay engaged and involved in the school after their gift is made (including impact reports, keepsakes, etc).  You will also be in charge of all donor recognition activities, naming opportunities, gift policies and lead the scholarship program from an IA perspective.  

Key job responsibilities:

Develop a Stewardship and Donor Relations Program and Strategy

Philanthropic Naming

Scholarship Awarding

Fund Management

Pledge and Gift Agreement Creation and Management

Communications

The position will also handle related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

• A Bachelor’s degree is preferred with 8 to 10 years of direct experience in fundraising, donor relations, stewardship, development, and communications, or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Demonstrated experience with strategic planning and understanding the role of advancement in a higher education environment.
• Excellent project management skills, with an acute ability to manage multiple deadlines and track activities in a fast-paced, high-volume environment, prioritizing work to maximize department resources.
• Strong interpersonal and collaborative skills, and an ability to communicate with an intricate network of colleagues across the College as well as donors, faculty, and administrators.
• Outstanding detail orientation, and proven ability in writing, editing and proofreading, as well as verbal communication skills.
• Comfort analyzing data and utilizing it to inform strategy and programs, including the ability to build reports, create and run queries and dashboards; strong knowledge of spreadsheets.
• Demonstrated ability to work independently, as well as being an effective member of a team, showing eagerness and motivation to achieve goals and deadlines
• Advanced skills with Google Suite applications. Comfort with both writing and designing content and operating in Microsoft Word, Google Docs, and creative software platforms; Raiser’s Edge (or comparable) experience.
• Experience with planning and executing events is a plus.

 This position requires successful completion and acceptable results of a background check.