Donor Engagement Coordinator; Part-Time

Donor Engagement Coordinator (Part-Time)

Project SUN

Job Posting
Jun. 3, 2026

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 greater Kankakee and Iroquois County region.

Project SUN is in an active organizational growth phase. This is an exciting — and important — moment to join our team!

We are seeking a high-energy, detail-oriented go-getter to help us build and launch a formal fundraising program from the ground up. This is a startup role — which means you'll have real ownership, real variety, and a direct hand in shaping how Project SUN grows its base of support.

We have a list of community supporters and past donors, though many relationships are warm rather than active — most contact has been limited to e-newsletter communication. Part of this role is re-engaging those connections thoughtfully while cultivating new relationships with individuals, businesses, and community partners.

At 25 hours per week, you won't do everything at once — and that's by design. This role is built to start with the highest-impact work and grow from there. The right candidate will be comfortable setting priorities, working independently, and building toward a full program over time.

This position is designed to grow. As Project SUN's fundraising program matures, this role is intended to expand into a full-time position with opportunities for organizational advancement.

The Donor Engagement Coordinator will build and coordinate Project SUN's donor-focused fundraising programs — cultivating relationships with individual donors, business and corporate sponsors, and community supporters from the earliest stages of our development program. This role will establish the systems, communications, and stewardship practices that help donors feel valued, informed, and inspired to give and keep giving.

The ideal candidate is warm, organized, and detail-oriented — someone who is confident writing donor-facing messages, comfortable interfacing with supporters and the public, and energized by the challenge of building something new.

The work below describes the full scope of this role over time. In the first months, priority focus will be on building donor records, re-engaging warm supporters, and establishing gift acknowledgement systems.

• 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.

• 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…