Advancement Services Coordinator

Description:
 

Job Description Summary:
 

The Advancement Services Coordinator is a core operations role that supports the Director of Advancement Services in all aspects of gift processing, donor data management, and reporting. This position is highly database-focused and spends a significant portion of time working in Raiser's Edge and related systems, entering and reviewing data, producing reports, and ensuring accuracy for Finance and fundraisers. The role is best suited for someone who enjoys detailed, process driven work, is comfortable working independently for extended periods of time, and takes pride in producing accurate, clean data and donor-facing documents. The position requires a meticulous approach to following established procedures and a high level of accuracy in all work products.

Duties and Responsibilities:

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
 

Gift processing and data entry

• Accurately enter and process gifts, pledges, recurring gifts, matching gifts, payroll deductions, and online donations into the University's fundraising database (Raiser's Edge NXT and Database View), ensuring compliance with university policies and best practices in gift recording.
• Ensure all gifts are coded correctly for funds, campaigns, appeals, constituencies, and attributes in alignment with Advancement and Finance standards.
• Scan and attach acknowledgments, pledge forms, fund agreements, and other documentation to the appropriate records to maintain a complete electronic audit trail.

Database management and data integrity

• Maintain and update alumni and donor records on an ongoing basis, including contact information, relationships, employment, and engagement data.
• Conduct regular quality control checks to identify and resolve duplicate records, missing data, and coding issues, and support data cleanup projects as needed.
• Spend a substantial portion of the workday in Raiser's Edge and Excel running queries, exports, and lists, and validating the accuracy and completeness of data.

Reporting and analytics

• Generate standard and ad hoc reports in Raiser's Edge and Excel to support Advancement, Finance, and senior leadership. SMU - Internal Data
• Assist with compiling and formatting lists for appeals, events, stewardship, and campaigns, ensuring criteria and data are accurate and well documented.
• Help analyze giving and engagement data to support strategic decision making, including tracking progress to goals and identifying trends or data issues.

Acknowledgments and donor correspondence

• Prepare and send timely donor acknowledgment letters and receipts, ensuring each communication is accurate, professional, and formatted correctly on letterhead.
• Maintain acknowledgment templates and merge fields, and support updates to language in collaboration with the Director of Advancement Services.
• Help track and manage special stewardship communications such as tribute notifications, scholarship thank you processes, and custom letters.

Prospect research and records support

• Conduct basic research on alumni and donors using tools such as LexisNexis, ResearchPoint, LiveAlumni, and public sources to update contact information and support prospect identification.
• Enter and maintain research findings, attributes, and notes in Raiser's Edge in an organized and consistent manner.

Cross functional coordination and administrative support

• Support Advancement mailings and lists for appeals, Giving Tuesday, reunions, donor events, and stewardship projects.
• Assist with event registration lists and related data tasks for alumni and donor events in coordination with the Advancement team.
• Respond to data and reporting requests from Advancement staff and other campus partners in a timely and service oriented manner.
• Provide occasional administrative support to the Advancement team, including scheduling, file organization, meeting preparation, and other duties as assigned.

Education and/or Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Minimum 2 years of experience in advancement services, gift processing, or database management in a nonprofit or higher education setting. Three or more years of hands-on experience with fundraising CRMs such as Raiser's Edge strongly preferred.
• Demonstrated experience working for extended periods with databases and datasets, including generating queries, exports, and reports to support fundraising, finance, or marketing activities.
• Experience as a project and/or event coordinator, including managing timelines, logistics, and follow-through on multi-step tasks.

Skills and Abilities:

• Demonstrated understanding of the fundraising process and the importance of SMU - Internal Data accurate donor data and timely donor stewardship.
• Comfortable spending extended periods of time working in databases, spreadsheets, and lists, with strong attention to detail and data accuracy.
• Ability to work independently for extended periods while following established workflows and procedures, and to know when to ask questions or escalate issues.
• High level of accuracy and thoroughness in data entry, proofreading, and record keeping, with meticulous attention to detail and the ability to follow detailed instructions and established procedures exactly. Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to produce clean, well formatted donor-facing letters and emails.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple tasks, prioritize deadlines, and maintain clear documentation of work.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality while handling privileged donor, alumni, and constituent information.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office (especially Excel and Word) and comfort learning new systems.
• Experience with or willingness to learn tools such as Omatic, Monday.com, LexisNexis, LiveAlumni, and ResearchPoint.
• Ability to collaborate effectively with Advancement colleagues, Finance, and other university partners, and to provide responsive customer service to internal stakeholders.
• Willingness to work occasional evenings or weekends to support Advancement activities.
• Knowledge of the mission of SMU, and connected to SMU communities: Bay Area, Sacramento, and/or Fresno.

Physical and Mental Effort Required:

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Onsite work is performed in a standard office environment with a moderate noise level.
• Able to operate standard office equipment and keyboards.
• Able to learn new tasks, remember processes, maintain focus, complete tasks independently, and make timely decisions in the context of a workflow.
• Ability to move about the office, across campus, and to occasional offsite locations to complete tasks or attend meetings.
• Able to apply and adhere to established protocols in a timely manner.
• Able to lift or otherwise move items and equipment weighing up to 20 pounds.
• Ability to sit or stand while doing deskwork for prolonged periods. pounds.  Ability to sit or stand while doing deskwork for prolonged periods.

Employee Status:

Regular

Exemption Status:

United States of America (Non-Exempt)

Time Type:

Full time

Job Shift:

Pay Range:

$33.37 to $37.00 per hour (non exempt)

Samuel Merritt University currently provides base salary ranges for all positions-on job advertisements-in the United States based on local requirements. Individual compensation will ultimately be determined based on a variety of relevant factors including but-not limited to qualifications, geographic location, and other relevant skills.