Manager, Stewardship & Gift Administration

Towson University•Towson, MD

About The Position

Gift Agreements and Documentation: Oversee the drafting, review, execution, and recordkeeping of gift agreements (pledge agreements, naming agreements, memoranda of understanding, and MOU amendments), and related documentation. Ensure gift agreements align with donor intent, institutional priorities, and legal, financial, and policy requirements. Serve as a liaison with internal partners (e.g., development, financial aid, legal counsel, and advancement leadership) to facilitate timely review and approval of gift agreements. Maintain accurate and complete gift agreement records, including stewardees and beneficiaries, within advancement systems. Reporting and Fund Stewardship: Independently manage the stewardship donor portal (BBSM), including content updates, data coordination, and user access, to support transparent and timely donor reporting. Manage the production and distribution of endowment reports and scholarship profiles, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and alignment with donor intent. Assist with the development and preparation of donor-centered narratives and impact stories for inclusion in annual stewardship and endowment reports. Manage the production and distribution of annual impact and financial reports for designated operating and term professorship funds, in partnership with department faculty. Partner with Advancement colleagues to ensure financial data is accurate, clear, and aligned with donor intent. Identify opportunities to enhance the clarity, impact, and effectiveness of stewardship reporting. Acknowledgements and Donor Communications: Manage process for personalized donor acknowledgments, including drafting and coordinating correspondence on behalf of senior university leaders, ensuring timely, accurate, and meaningful communication with donors. Oversee the creation and maintenance of acknowledgement templates and standardized language. Develop and coordinate stewardship-related content for donor holiday cards, special occasion mailings, and stewardship-focused webpages, ensuring messaging is consistent with institutional voice and donor intent. Stewardship Program Management: Develop, implement, and manage a comprehensive, division-wide donor stewardship program that reflects Towson University’s commitment to donor engagement, transparency, and accountability. Establish and implement comprehensive stewardship standards, timelines, best practices, and quality controls for donor acknowledgments, reports, and recognition, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and compliance across all communications. Collaborate with donors, development officers, fund program directors, and foundation staff to ensure consistent and coordinated stewardship efforts across the university. Monitor stewardship deliverables to ensure accuracy, quality, and on-time completion. Donor Recognition and Events: Partner with and provide assistance to University Advancement Marketing and Communications to plan and execute the Celebration of Donors & Scholars signature event. Provide strategic input for celebrating gifts and stewarding donors, offering solutions that support the university’s efforts to maintain and strengthen high-quality, individualized relationships with donors. Data Integrity and Systems Oversight: Ensure stewardship, market value, acknowledgement, and gift agreement data are accurately recorded in the university’s advancement systems. Develop and maintain procedures and documentation related to stewardship and gift administration workflows. Utilize data and reporting tools to track stewardship activities and measure program effectiveness. Supervision and Collaboration: Recruit, hire, train and provide functional oversight and guidance to student worker involved in stewardship and gift administration processes, as applicable. Train and support development and advancement staff on stewardship policies, procedures, and expectations. Foster strong working relationships across Advancement and campus partners.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree.
Three years of related experience.
Candidate must be highly organized and able to manage multiple workflows, deadlines, and priorities simultaneously with strong follow-through and attention to detail in tracking documents and correspondence
Excellent written, verbal, editing, and proofreading skills, especially for donor correspondence, acknowledgments, and agreements
Possess exceptional inbox and communication management: able to efficiently maintain and prioritize two high-volume email inboxes, ensuring timely responses, clear documentation, and appropriate task follow-up
Demonstrate initiative and ownership, taking proactive steps to identify needs, resolve issues, and improve processes without waiting for direction
Strong computer skills including competence in Microsoft Office Suite, specifically Word and Excel
Familiarity with advancement databases and CRM systems.

Nice To Haves

Degree in a discipline emphasizing professional writing, editing, and written communication.
Experience with fundraising and development operations: understanding the full gift lifecycle from receipt through acknowledgment and stewardship.
Experience with systems including Blackbaud Stewardship Management (BBSM), Ellucian Advance, Blackbaud Financial Edge NXT, Sharepoint, Salesforce and DocuSign.
Event planning experience preferred.

Responsibilities

Oversee the drafting, review, execution, and recordkeeping of gift agreements (pledge agreements, naming agreements, memoranda of understanding, and MOU amendments), and related documentation.
Ensure gift agreements align with donor intent, institutional priorities, and legal, financial, and policy requirements.
Serve as a liaison with internal partners (e.g., development, financial aid, legal counsel, and advancement leadership) to facilitate timely review and approval of gift agreements.
Maintain accurate and complete gift agreement records, including stewardees and beneficiaries, within advancement systems.
Independently manage the stewardship donor portal (BBSM), including content updates, data coordination, and user access, to support transparent and timely donor reporting.
Manage the production and distribution of endowment reports and scholarship profiles, ensuring accuracy, consistency, and alignment with donor intent.
Assist with the development and preparation of donor-centered narratives and impact stories for inclusion in annual stewardship and endowment reports.
Manage the production and distribution of annual impact and financial reports for designated operating and term professorship funds, in partnership with department faculty.
Partner with Advancement colleagues to ensure financial data is accurate, clear, and aligned with donor intent.
Identify opportunities to enhance the clarity, impact, and effectiveness of stewardship reporting.
Manage process for personalized donor acknowledgments, including drafting and coordinating correspondence on behalf of senior university leaders, ensuring timely, accurate, and meaningful communication with donors.
Oversee the creation and maintenance of acknowledgement templates and standardized language.
Develop and coordinate stewardship-related content for donor holiday cards, special occasion mailings, and stewardship-focused webpages, ensuring messaging is consistent with institutional voice and donor intent.
Develop, implement, and manage a comprehensive, division-wide donor stewardship program that reflects Towson University’s commitment to donor engagement, transparency, and accountability.
Establish and implement comprehensive stewardship standards, timelines, best practices, and quality controls for donor acknowledgments, reports, and recognition, ensuring consistency, accuracy, and compliance across all communications.
Collaborate with donors, development officers, fund program directors, and foundation staff to ensure consistent and coordinated stewardship efforts across the university.
Monitor stewardship deliverables to ensure accuracy, quality, and on-time completion.
Partner with and provide assistance to University Advancement Marketing and Communications to plan and execute the Celebration of Donors & Scholars signature event.
Provide strategic input for celebrating gifts and stewarding donors, offering solutions that support the university’s efforts to maintain and strengthen high-quality, individualized relationships with donors.
Ensure stewardship, market value, acknowledgement, and gift agreement data are accurately recorded in the university’s advancement systems.
Develop and maintain procedures and documentation related to stewardship and gift administration workflows.
Utilize data and reporting tools to track stewardship activities and measure program effectiveness.
Recruit, hire, train and provide functional oversight and guidance to student worker involved in stewardship and gift administration processes, as applicable.
Train and support development and advancement staff on stewardship policies, procedures, and expectations.
Foster strong working relationships across Advancement and campus partners.