Stewardship Coordinator

As part of a collaborative team environment, this role supports Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa’s mission by assisting with fundraising initiatives, donor engagement, and board support activities that strengthen relationships and generate resources to inspire and prepare young people for success. This position plays a key role in the execution of annual campaigns, grant writing, stewardship efforts, and development-related administrative support.

Title: Stewardship Coordinator

Area: Waterloo

Reports to: Vice-President, Development

Status: Full-Time, Salaried

Impact

This critical position is a relationship builder who provides the community with opportunities to impact local students. As part of a collaborative team environment, this role supports Junior Achievement of Eastern Iowa’s mission by assisting with fundraising initiatives, donor engagement, and board support activities that strengthen relationships and generate resources to inspire and prepare young people for success. This position plays a key role in the execution of annual campaigns, grant writing, stewardship efforts, and development-related administrative support.

Primary Responsibilities:

• Lead the planning and execution of the annual Achievement Appeal, including timeline development, content creation, audience segmentation, distribution, and performance analysis.
• Collaborate with the development team to identify and implement opportunities for donor engagement within appeal campaigns.
• Track and report on campaign outcomes to inform future strategy and ensure continuous improvement.
• Research, write, and submit grant proposals under $5,000 to corporate, foundation, and government funders that align with JA’s mission and programs.
• Maintain a comprehensive calendar of grant deadlines, reporting requirements, and renewal dates.
• Assist with grant reporting, stewardship communications, and funder updates.
• Provide support for Experiential Learning Centers (ELC) fundraising initiatives, including proposal development and event coordination.
• Implement stewardship strategies designed to acknowledge, retain, and deepen relationships with individual and institutional donors.
• Coordinate timely, personalized donor acknowledgements, impact reports, and recognition activities.
• Maintain accurate and current donor records in the CRM system, tracking engagement and communication history.
• Support the development team in creating meaningful donor experiences that foster long-term commitment to JA’s mission.
• Provide administrative and logistical support to the Board of Trustees, Area Boards of Directors, Community Impact Boards, and development-related committees.
• Prepare meeting materials including agendas, presentations, and minutes; assist with meeting logistics such as scheduling, calendar invitations, room reservations, and roster updates.
• Help engage board members in fundraising, outreach, and stewardship efforts to strengthen community connections and support.

Qualifications (required)

• Act as a team player by appropriately involving others in decisions and plans that affect them. Regularly invites and builds on the ideas and input of colleagues and work groups.
• Consistently make sound decisions on everyday issues. Demonstrate a drive to work towards resolving routine and unexpected problems with innovative and alternative solutions.
• Ability to communicate effectively with a wide variety of audiences and demonstrate capacity to actively listen. Connect with others by taking a genuine interest and relate in an open, respectful, and friendly manner.
• Inspire and energize others to action to further Junior Achievement’s mission by clarifying the purpose and impact.
• Identify and anticipate the expectations and needs of various Junior Achievement stakeholders.
• Ability to manage data appropriately and efficiently. Proven proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite products, specifically, Word, Excel, and Outlook.