The Leadership Gifts Officer is responsible for the qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of a leadership annual gifts portfolio of donors and prospects, as well as the revamp and management of the Spire Society. The Leadership Gifts Officer works with the College-wide development team in supporting the needs of the College. They will focus on growing the base of philanthropic support within the Spire Society, a leadership annual giving program including donors who make a three-year commitment of $1,000 annually or more to the College. The role is focused heavily on the discovery, qualification and solicitation of prospects with the capacity to give $500 – $25,000 annually. Success in this position will be evaluated through predetermined metrics including the number of visits completed, number of solicitations made, participation rate of prospects engaged, and number of Spire Society memberships secured and renewed/upgraded, both directly and indirectly.

The Office of Institutional Advancement operates as a team-oriented environment and the Leadership Gifts Officer works to maximize fundraising and increase the involvement of alumni in the life of the College. The Leadership Gifts Officer is expected to work collaboratively and constantly seek ways to increase effectiveness and efficiency.

Job Responsibilities: 

Discover, Identify, Cultivate, and Solicit Leadership Annual Gift Prospects 60%

• Using Gravyty, actively manage a large portfolio of prospects, repeatedly moving prospects through the Discovery / Identification / Qualification / Cultivation / Solicitation / Stewardship process, as well as moving prospects in and out of their portfolios with regularity.
• Complete personal, face-to-face donor visits, Zoom video calls, phone calls, and Spire Society solicitations. Specific goals and metrics will be set annually with supervisor.
• Maintain a presence in assigned geographical regions, including sufficient travel to engage prospects in those regions, as well as partnering with Alumni Engagement to be certain the College is well represented overall in those regions.

Manage the Spire Society 30%

• In collaboration with and under the direction of the Director of the Fisher Fund, perform an overall revamp to the Spire Society. The Leadership Gifts Officer would oversee the Spire Society on a day-to-day basis, providing structure and strategically aligning the program into the Fisher Fund, as well as the major gift pipeline.
• Maintain all Spire Society records within CRM Advance, continuously updating/improving data (a current function of Advancement Services).
• Create and manage Spire Society membership lists, including a master list of members, a list of members with outstanding pledges, a list of members with expired memberships who have yet to renew, and more within CRM Advance (a current function of Advancement Services).
• In collaboration with and under the direction of the Director of the Fisher Fund, manage and coordinate the Spire Society renewal process, happening on a quarterly basis with support from the Development Team.
• In collaboration with and under the direction of the Director of the Fisher Fund, oversee the recognition process for Spire Society, mailing welcome packets on behalf of the division/President’s Office and properly documenting the stewardship process (a current function of the President’s Office/Executive Asst. to the VP of Advancement/Advancement Services).
  • Revamp welcome letter/pin into a welcome packet (including letter, swag, decade piece, etc.).
• Manage the monthly Spire Society pledge reminder letter process (a current function of the Executive Asst. to the VP of Advancement/Advancement Services).
• In collaboration with and under the direction of the Director of the Fisher Fund, create and update Spire Society marketing materials, including Spire Society decade pieces, pledge forms, etc.
• Manage electronic Spire Society honor rolls.
• In collaboration with and under the direction of the Director of the Fisher Fund, rethink and revamp incentives of the Spire Society, encouraging new members to join and existing members to renew at greater levels.

Special Events 5%

• Represent the College at on- and off-campus events.
• Provide recommendations and input on invitation lists for College events that involve donors or prospects.
• Identify opportunities for events that engage prospects, with special attention given to intimate or unique experiences, coordinating with the Director of Alumni and Constituent Engagement on execution.

Other Duties as Assigned by the Department 5%

Education/Experience: 

• Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree and 1-3 years of development or related experience, with preference for experience in a higher education setting.
• Track record of successful experience with institutional advancement, fundraising, marketing, event planning, and/or volunteer management.
• Sophisticated interpersonal skills, with ability to develop relationships with those that have the capacity to support the College with a gift.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

Physical and Mental Demands: 

• Ability to establish priorities, work independently, and adjust to changing priorities.
• Maintain professional attitude and demeanor.
• Exercise sound judgment.
• Maintain a high level of confidentiality.
• Ability and willingness to travel, sometimes extensively.
• Ability to work nights and weekends on occasion.
• Sense of humor.

Equipment to be used: 

• MS Office Suite (Excel, Word, Outlook, PowerPoint)
• Banner (data warehouse for all functional areas across campus)
• Ellucian CRM Advance
• Zoom
• Gravyty
• iModules
• Printer
• Copier
• Telephone

Work Hours: 35 hours per week.

It is the policy of St. John Fisher College to provide Equal Employment Opportunity to all employees and applicants for employment in accordance with the applicable federal, state, and local laws governing non-discrimination in employment in each locality in which the College has employees.

The College does not discriminate against applicants or employees in hiring, promotion, termination or the terms and conditions of employment on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, sex, perceived sex, gender identity, gender expression, the status of being transgender, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship, age, disability, marital status, military status, veteran status, predisposing genetic, characteristics or genetic information, arrest or conviction record, status as a victim of domestic violence, or any other characteristic protected by law.