Stewardship Officer

Description

Position Classification Title: Stewardship Officer

FLSA Status: Full-Time | Exempt

Reports To: AVP of Advancement Communications

About Us:

The New Mexico State University Foundation is seeking a collaborative and mission-driven Stewardship Officer to join our team in Las Cruces, NM. We are committed to building meaningful relationships with alumni, donors, campus partners, and each other while upholding our core values of integrity, teamwork, stewardship, innovation, and fun.

We offer a supportive and engaging work environment where team members are encouraged to grow professionally while contributing to the mission and future success of NMSU.

Job Summary: 

The Stewardship Officer develops and implements donor relations and stewardship strategies that strengthen donor engagement, recognition, and long-term support. This role serves as a primary liaison to fundraisers and campus partners to create meaningful donor experiences, oversee stewardship communications and reporting, and ensure donor funds are used and documented appropriately. 

As NMSU approaches a comprehensive campaign, this position will also help develop and manage campaign-specific stewardship strategies and donor recognition efforts. 

Essential Functions: 

Stewardship Plan Integration & Program Management

• Design, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive donor relations, stewardship, and reporting program that consistently advances donor engagement.
• Operationalize the Foundation’s stewardship plan, including calendars, touchpoints, and recognition, ensuring high-quality, personalized execution and continuity of donor experience.
• Affirm and uphold Foundation standards for the timely and proper use of donor gift funds according to donor intent and provide training, tools, and updates to campus partners and Foundation colleagues.

Collaboration & Liaison Responsibilities

• Serve as a strategic partner to fundraisers (gift officers, leadership, and advancement teams) to curate personalized stewardship touchpoints and engagement experiences tailored to donor interests, giving levels, and impact areas.
• Act as a campus liaison, partnering with colleges, departments, and program leaders to identify and leverage existing academic, cultural, research, student-life, and experiential opportunities that matter to donors.
• Manage key relationships with university personnel to secure timely report components, impact stories, data, and content necessary for donor communications and fund reporting.

Event Leadership & Donor Experiences

• Lead the planning and execution of stewardship-focused events and experiences (e.g., donor recognition receptions, society gatherings, impact showcases, campus visits), ensuring meaningful, mission-centered interactions with students, faculty, and leadership.
• Provide support in the creation and coordination of broader advancement events; staff events as needed.

Donor Communications & Reporting

• Create high-quality donor communications, including acknowledgment letters, cards, emails, impact updates, and endowment/gift fund reports.
• Contribute to brainstorming and development of innovative, unique, and personalized stewardship and engagement opportunities across channels (print, digital, and in-person).
• Input and maintain donor relations activities within the tracking system, ensuring accurate, timely documentation and reporting.

Continuous Improvement & Operations

• Stay current on industry best practices in donor relations, stewardship, and reporting; recommend and implement process and program enhancements.
• Participate in monitoring and analysis of programs to identify needs, gaps, and opportunities for improvement.
• May help recruit, maintain, and manage volunteers in support of stewardship programming.

Campaign Stewardship Responsibilities

• Develop and maintain a campaign-specific stewardship plan aligned with campaign phases (quiet, launch, public, close), defining clear recognition standards, touchpoint cadence, and audience segmentation (e.g., leadership, major, planned, annual).
• Coordinate with gift officers and leadership to ensure campaign donors receive timely, tailored recognition and engagement, and that stewardship activity is consistently tracked across units.
• Prepare campaign-aligned impact communications and recognition opportunities to reinforce donor commitment throughout the campaign lifecycle.

Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree in Management, Business, Communications, Marketing, or related field.
• Knowledge of fundraising, donor relations, and stewardship principles and practices.
• Strong interpersonal, organizational, and communication skills, including donor interaction and business etiquette.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience (internships, volunteer leadership, or professional) in donor relations, fundraising, event coordination, higher education advancement, nonprofit communications, or related fields.
• Demonstrated ability to coordinate cross-functional projects, manage timelines, and deliver high-quality events/communications.
• Familiarity with CRM or donor management systems and reporting tools.