Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) seeks an Associate Director, Gift Administration to join its Institutional Advancement team. This is an exciting opportunity to join a team who is responsible for engaging RISD’s alumni, parents, students and donors in meaningful ways and encouraging them to financially support the college.

The Associate Director, Gift Administration reports to the Director, Gift Administration + Recording Secretary and is responsible for ensuring the timely management of Gift Agreements/Statements of Intent between donors and RISD. The incumbent is responsible for managing gift and fund record reporting, the process for securing gift agreements, from drafting through review, and creates and audits digital gift agreement documents in Soft Docs.

The Associate Director, Gift Administration proactively engages with fundraisers in the development of gift agreements and provides information to, and responds to inquiries from, the Office of Finance and Administration regarding gift accounting.

We seek applications from equity-minded candidates who will thrive in a campus environment that is committed to advancing the principles of social equity and inclusion, and equal access to resources and opportunities.

Essential Functions: 

Gift and Fund Records Management and Reporting:

• Manage new gift reporting to the Vice President of Institutional Advancement (VPIA), Cabinet, deans and department heads and budget managers for new expendable and endowed gifts
• Prepare and review data for quarterly Fund Management Reports (FMRs) for VPIA and IA Stewardship office, updating fund records in Raiser’s Edge as needed
• Conduct regular reconciliation of restricted expendable and endowment funds with the Office of Finance and Administration to ensure accuracy of Raiser’s Edge fund records
• Monitor and maintain Fund Records in IA’s central database, Raiser’s Edge, ensuring accuracy and completeness of fund records, their associated attributes and relationships, including stewardees and founding donors
• Create and maintain digital files for all fund-related documentation, including executed gift agreements, amendments and inbound and outbound correspondence from RISD faculty/staff, donors, attorneys, stewardees and other related parties

Gift Agreement Management:

• Leverage knowledge of RISD’s Gift Acceptance and Naming Policies to translate and prepare Gift Agreements/Statements of Intent
• Seeks and gathers input from fundraisers, IA Communications, IA Stewardship and other IA colleagues to develop language for Gift Agreements in accordance with RISD’s Gift Acceptance and Naming Policies and donors’ intentions
• Manage workflows for moving Gift Agreements/Statements of Intent from templated drafts to executed documents through Asana project management and a rigorous approvals process. Recommend workflow improvements and modifications and/or software solutions.
• Resolves issues in accordance with established Gift Agreement Guidelines. Escalates issues to the Director, Gift Administration + Recording Secretary and/or VPIA when necessary for outreach to RISD’s General Counsel or VP Finance as required by proposed gift terms and considerations

Required Knowledge/Skills/Experience: 

• Ability to work and communicate effectively with a broad spectrum of divisional and institutional colleagues, within an environment that values diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Previous experience with relational databases/constituent relationship management software
• Strong attention to detail, including close reading and comprehension of text
• Strong verbal and written communication skills with the ability to shift priorities and deal with changing demands in an effective manner
• Intermediate knowledge of MS Office and Google Suites
• Demonstrated ability to work with a high degree of speed and accuracy
• Ability to analyze and adjust work procedures to achieve maximum efficiency and donor responsiveness
• Appreciation for a collaborative environment with involvement of multiple stakeholders in Gift Agreement/Statements of Intent management
• Bachelor’s degree is required, preferably in business, finance, or accounting, or equivalent level training and/or experience with legal contracts or related field
• Minimum of five (5) years of fundraising, gift administration, or non-profit accounting experience

Preferred Knowledge/Skills/Experience: 

• Knowledge of IRS and CASE (Council for the Advancement and Support of Education) guidelines on gift management and reporting
• Knowledge of fundraising, gift administration, and/or non-profit accounting
• Experience with Project Management software

Work Schedule: 

35 hours per week; 12 months per year

Documents Needed to Apply: 

• Resume (Required)
• Cover Letter (Required)