Vicky Sutter

About Vicky Sutter

Director of Donor Engagement | National Mississippi River Museum & AquariumConnecting People to Purpose through History, Science & ConservationWith nearly 20 years in the museum and nonprofit sector, I specialize in donor engagement, fundraising strategy, and community outreach. At the River Museum, I lead efforts to build lasting relationships that support our mission to preserve history, promote conservation, and spark curiosity through science and education.Passionate about animals, the arts, sustainability, and inclusion, I strive to connect supporters to meaningful opportunities that create real impact—both for our organization and the community we serve.

Experience

1. Development Manager

   National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium

   Nov 2006 — Present

   Donor Stewardship, Donor Cultivation and Database Management:• Manage the DonorPath database• Manage the Abila database• Maintain and keep hard copy files of correspondence, materials, receipts and other related development matters.• Track and process needs to assist in building effective donor relations, including requests for materials or information.• Coordinate projects within budget, and strategically assist the organization achieve designated return on investments from fundraising events • Expand the number of corporate donors and level of support• Prepare reports and correspondence• Maintain department files and development contacts for the express use by and benefit of the organization• Manage and Track all Capital Campaign pledges, payments and correspondence• Gift Acceptance, Processing and Receipting• Coordinate bulk mailings for fundraising purposes• Development Event Coordination such as Captain’s Ball/Fall Festival• Acknowledgment of all gifts and in-kind gifts to the organization• Meticulously process gifts and gift tax receipts on a daily basis • Diligently create thank you correspondence for all donations • Manage and track annual fund campaigns • Introduce new ideas for reaching annual fund goals • Work directly with the Development Director to execute direct mail campaigns through list pulls and segmentation• Manage and track donor communication in donor software system • Keep all donor records up-to-date with recent actions, appeals, and donations • Provide reports on campaign trends and effectiveness • Provide ongoing donor stewardship and cultivation • Suggest donors who are ready to move to major gift level • Help Create and send email communications via Wordfly •

Education

• Northeast Iowa Community College-Peosta

  Medical Transcription/Transcriptionist

Skills

• Nonprofits
• Fundraising
• Microsoft Office
• Customer Service
• Social Media
• Public Relations
• Microsoft Excel
• Community Outreach
• Grant Writing
• Volunteer Management
• Event Planning
• Event Management
• Higher Education
• Recruiting
• Marketing Communications
• Facebook
• Public Speaking