Donor Engagement Coordinator (Part Time)

Project SUN is a nonprofit dedicated to strengthening the children's behavioral health system of care in the greater Kankakee and Iroquois County region through a coordinated network of services and supports that address the needs of the whole child. We help parents and guardians learn what to do if their child struggles with emotions, behaviors, or mental health concerns. Using a collaborative approach, we connect families with other parents who have lived experience — building the skills and resources needed to actively participate in care planning and delivery, and educating families on children's behavioral health and wellness topics. Our team works to elevate community knowledge about mental, emotional, and behavioral health issues and advocates for policies and resources to expand these services for children and their families across the region. Project SUN is in an active organizational growth phase, making this an exciting and important moment to join our team.

About the role

We are seeking a high-energy, detail-oriented go-getter to help build and launch a formal fundraising program from the ground up. This startup role offers real ownership, variety, and a direct hand in shaping how Project SUN grows its base of support. You’ll re-engage warm community supporters and past donors while cultivating new relationships with individuals, businesses, and community partners. At 25 hours per week, the role is designed to start with high-impact work and grow over time. The right candidate will be comfortable setting priorities, working independently, and building toward a full program. As Project SUN’s fundraising program matures, this role is intended to expand into a full-time position with opportunities for organizational advancement.

Responsibilities

• Donor Cultivation, Stewardship & Individual Giving
  • Audit existing donor and supporter records; identify warm contacts and develop a prioritized re-engagement plan — moving relationships from newsletter-only to genuine two-way connection.
  • Build and lead ongoing donor cultivation: identify prospects, initiate contact, and steward relationships through the giving cycle with timely thank-yous, acknowledgements, and meaningful touchpoints.
  • Help design and launch Project SUN's first individual giving campaigns — annual appeal, giving day participation, and a monthly giving option — and track results for leadership.
  • Support donor retention through a new-donor welcome series, renewal outreach, and lapsed donor reactivation strategies.
• Sponsorship & Community Support
  • Identify and cultivate prospective corporate and business donors; help develop Project SUN's first formal business giving program with sponsorship tiers and benefits.
  • Build and manage a sponsor pipeline; deliver sponsor benefits, coordinate stewardship, and support renewal outreach.
  • Represent Project SUN professionally with business and community partners.
• Systems, Data, Collaboration & Mission Alignment
  • Set up and maintain clean, accurate donor records in Bloomerang — building initial record structures, tagging, segmentation, and gift acknowledgement workflows from the ground up.
  • Work with program staff to gather impact stories for donor communications — always with appropriate consent and ethical storytelling practices.
  • Engage and support board members in friend-raising and fundraising; build simple tools and low-barrier entry points for board involvement.
  • Coordinate with communications and finance staff to align donor messaging and ensure accurate gift documentation and reconciliation.

Requirements

• 1-3 years of experience in donor relations, fundraising, nonprofit operations, or a relationship-centered role — or equivalent transferable experience.
• Strong and compelling written communication skills: thank-yous, donor updates, campaign emails, and stewardship content.
• Excellent organizational skills and follow-through; comfortable managing multiple priorities independently.
• Comfort with donor databases/CRMs or a demonstrated ability to learn quickly (Bloomerang experience a plus).
• Professional, warm interpersonal style and ability to represent Project SUN with donors, partners, and community members.
• A self-starter mindset — comfortable with ambiguity and energized by building programs, not just maintaining them.

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience with donor segmentation, stewardship planning, and donor retention strategies.
• Familiarity with gift processing and acknowledgement compliance.
• Experience supporting fundraising events or donor cultivation gatherings.
• Experience launching or building new programs in a startup or growth-phase nonprofit.
• Parent or primary caregiver of a child, youth, or young adult who has experienced significant social, emotional, behavioral, developmental, or mental health needs and received services from one or more child-serving systems (e.g., mental/behavioral health, special education, child welfare, juvenile justice, developmental disabilities).
• Spanish or other language skills a plus.

Success Measures – First 90 Days

• Donor records audited, organized, and segmented in Bloomerang; basic reporting tools in place.
• Re-engagement outreach underway for warm and lapsed supporters; initial conversations initiated with priority contacts.
• Gift acknowledgement workflow established, tested, and ready for active use.
• Stewardship calendar drafted with key touchpoints and outreach moments mapped for the year ahead.
• First individual giving campaign in development or launched.
• Strong working relationship established with the Executive Director and key staff; clear communication rhythms in place.

Additional program-building milestones — business giving program, board engagement tools, story-collection process — are expected to develop through the first six months as capacity allows.

Pay

$24-26 per hour, commensurate with experience.

Schedule

• Part-time, 25 hours per week (negotiable).
• Hybrid remote/onsite in the Kankakee and Iroquois County region.
• Some evening and weekend availability may be needed around events, meetings, or campaign peaks.

Reports to: Executive Director, with collaboration from the Board and Development Committee as the fundraising program grows.