Description

The ideal candidate will be someone who can lead a diverse team of high-achieving fundraising professionals by seeing the potential in others and helping them achieve success by understanding and developing their strengths through an individualized approach to leading each team member. The ideal candidate can also demonstrate skill in (i) working with team members to sort through complexity, (ii) exploring alternative courses of action, as well as (iii) determining and executing the best possible outcomes. Flexibility in learning and understanding new subject matters as well as the ability to sell ideas and gain support for programs within the organization through effective relationship building are also desired strengths.

While fostering a team environment of trust, innovation, and professionalism, the Director of Fundraising will lead strategic and tactical efforts to make the Annual Fund the preferred destination for unrestricted gifts by the Aggie Network in support of Texas A&M University and The Association of Former Students. This role will also provide oversight and management of stewardship efforts for donors of major gifts to the Endowed Century Club, Aggie Ring Scholarships, and other endowment-level or capital gifts to The Association.

Essential Functions

Develop, execute, and assess strategic and tactical Annual Giving activities.

• Foster an environment of trust, innovation, and professionalism among the Fundraising Team.
• Lead Annual Giving Team’s development and execution of fundraising and stewardship strategies and tactics, including the development of an annual fundraising strategic plan.
• Drive innovation of all fundraising strategies, including development of strategies and tactics for increasing recurring donors, Young Alumni giving, and leadership-level giving as well as improving donor retention, the schedule of appeals, and the content of appeals.
• Collaborate with senior management to determine appropriate Annual Fund goals and measurements of success.
• Report Annual Fund results, as well as short-term and long-term strategies, to senior management, Board of Directors, and peers.
• Oversee research and assessment of demographic and psychographic trends to determine effective solicitation tools and strategies.
• Oversee tracking and analysis of past results of fundraising appeals to maximize ROI.
• Develop and execute research projects related to fundraising issues and strategies.
• Assess need for, retain, and manage outside consultants for specific projects and initiatives to improve fundraising results.
• Lead the development and execution of matching gift programs through assigned staff.
• Set call center fundraising objectives, evaluate call center results, and collaborate with Ruffalo Noel Levitz personnel to achieve call center fundraising goals.
• Explore and develop strategies for data mining using the Advance database to enhance ROI of fundraising appeals.
• Stay current on new and emerging trends in alumni giving through the cultivation of relationships with peers at other institutions, as well as through professional development.
• Lead efforts to benchmark results against peer institutions and identify opportunities for improvement through analysis of benchmarking.
• Participate in donor growth strategy team to reach established Association goals as part of Texas A&M’s Lead by ExampleCampaign through 2020.
• Collaborate with Association teams to develop strategic initiatives for the program and marketing departments to support The Association’s fundraising efforts.

Provide direction and consultation for Annual Giving and Development staff direct reports.

• Appraise, coach, and motivate direct reports to be an effective and efficient team.
• Encourage collaboration and promote a team culture among assigned direct reports.
• Develop role clarity and a high-performing team through a strengths-based approach of matching mission-critical tasks with a thorough knowledge of staff skills and talents.
• Analyze workload to ensure efficient and effective donor service, including walk-ins and phone calls to Annual Giving office.
• Prepare and manage expense budgets for Annual Giving and Gift Recognition.

Provide oversight and management of major gift stewardship efforts.

• Oversee accurate and timely record-keeping activities for Endowed Century Club, Aggie Ring Scholarships, and Memorial Scholarships in compliance with internal and legal standards.
• Oversee production of accurate and timely statements for endowment accounts.
• Manage efforts to provide timely and appropriate stewardship recognition to major gift donors.
• Occasionally fulfill personal stewardship activities as needed by Vice President of Development.
• Oversee efforts to identify prospects for Endowed Century Club or leadership-level Annual Fund gifts.

Participates and provides input on various Association-wide activities which may include:

• Actively contributing to efforts to achieve donor growth goal of 100K by 2020.
• Providing on-site event support for Board and Leadership Council Meetings.
• Participation on internal event and task committees.
• Participation in Association events including, but not limited to, All-Aggie Grad Party, Ring Delivery, Reunions, Distinguished Alumni Gala and Game Day events, as needed.
• Represents The Association as needed at events.

Acts as an ambassador for The Association by meeting Team Expectations; supporting The Association’s fundraising, branding, and communications efforts; and fostering relationships with former students, current students, parents, faculty, staff and friends of Texas A&M. Occasional other duties as assigned.

Supervision

• Received: Vice President of Development.
• Given: Fundraising Specialist, Fundraising Coordinator, Development Specialist, Fundraising Analyst, Fundraising Assistant, Coordinator of Gift Recognition, Student Assistant.

Requirements