The mission of Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) is to foster an exceptional culture of philanthropy by engaging supporters, volunteers, learners, and educators in significant relationships to secure resources necessary for the university to fulfill its educational mission.

As part of DAR, the Assistant Director for the Parents Fund is responsible for maximizing Parents Fund (annual) gifts to Bucknell University through personal solicitations of $2,500 or more. S/he will identify and solicit leadership donors, maintain a portfolio of parent leadership prospects, work with parent volunteers and work with the Director to set the vision and strategy for a comprehensive family philanthropy program. This position will be required to closely interact with the Parents Fund and Family Programs team regarding marketing, communications, and outreach for fundraising. The Assistant Director will also closely collaborate with the Director on annual fundraising strategies and parent-to-parent solicitations. S/he will also collaborate with colleagues across campus that support our students and parents.

We seek a candidate for this role whose experience and expertise will contribute to Bucknell’s commitment to diversity and inclusiveness.

Duties and Responsibilities:

S/he reports directly to the Director of the Parents Fund and Family Programs, and works closely with peers to support the overall vision and goals of the Parents Fund and Family Programs to deliver an integrated, successful program. S/he will closely collaborate with those managing parent communications, marketing and outreach programs, and campus partners

• Personally solicit 150+ parent prospects for annual gifts of $2,500+ each fiscal year to generate unrestricted and designated support and to assess constituent financial capacity and inclination to support the university.
• Manage a leadership portfolio of up to 20 parent prospects.
• Travel at least 5-7 days per month to qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward financial support for the University. S/he will, on average, conduct 15 or more face-to-face parent visits per month.
• Travel should be focused on 80% face-to-face solicitation and 20% discovery and stewardship visits.
• Develops and implements strategies to ensure proper cultivation and solicitation of assigned prospects, directing stewardship activities as gift commitments and payments are received.
• Manages the thank you call program. Working with parent volunteers, provide assignments and follow-up to a team of volunteers phoning parents and thanking them for gifts to Bucknell.
• Provide ongoing tracking of top-end parent gifts, including a quarterly report of those $10,000 or higher for renewability.
• Collaborate with director and manage the Parent Fund Leadership Giving Program, including the solicitation strategy, which may include volunteer management, leadership events, and coordination of leadership mailings with Family Programs Communications staff.
• Develop and execute an annual plan for the region(s) s/he travels to increase the quality and quantity of identified parent prospects in the region, and to successfully solicit parent prospects. Collaborate with colleagues who also travel to the same region(s).
• Support Parents Fund departmental initiatives to enhance parent participation and dollars raised.
• Maintain up-to-date information in the database on significant prospect calls and visits (including rating recommendations, prospect interests, and other important prospect management data), solicitations, and volunteer assignments and evaluations.
• Collaborates with the Director in development of the fundraising plan, including, but not limited to, developing goals and strategies, and achievement of metrics.
• Coordination and communication of integrated Parents Fund program plan across department.
• Track goals and objectives for personal solicitations.
• Work in conjunction with peers and parent volunteers to focus on strategies that increase parent participation.
• Ensure that all efforts communicate consistent messaging to pre-defined audiences and is done in collaboration with Parents Fund communications, marketing and outreach team.
• May serve as liaison to one or more volunteer groups, such as Development Committee of the Parents Association, to develop and implement collaborative fundraising strategies, and keep informed on pertinent information.
• Works closely with the Director to develop meeting agendas and materials needed for semi-annually meeting of the Parents Board Development committee.

General:

• Develop proficiency with the database query tool.
• Represent department, as appropriate, at division and university meetings.
• Work with staff in Advancement and Information Services to keep constituent biographic (address, phone, e-mail, employment, name, and relative) information up to date.
• Attends appropriate donor and constituent events both on and off campus.
• Participates in University events such as Family Weekend, Commencement, Homecoming, Scholarship Day and Reunion Weekend; which are university-wide efforts to be supported by all DAR staff.
• Participates in division-wide and university-wide committees and project teams to advance priority projects of the University such as staff searches.
• Ensures all donors receive a positive and personally satisfying donor experience.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

DAR Professional Guidelines:

• All Development and Alumni Relations staff are required to abide by the ethical guidelines set forth in the ethics statements of the Counsel for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), the Association of Prospect Researchers for Advancement (APRA), and the National Association of Colleges & Employers (NACE). In addition, all Development and Alumni Relations staff are required to master the Bucknell University / Development and Alumni Relations policies on confidentiality, database usage, and privacy.

Professional Development

• All Development and Alumni Relations staff are expected to participate in and contribute to their own professional growth and that of their Bucknell colleagues by participating in trainings, conferences, and other learning opportunities as student and leader when appropriate.

Development and Alumni Relations Event Support

• All Development and Alumni Relations staff members are expected to support the division’s signature events each year, including Reunion Weekend, Homecoming Weekend, Family Weekend, Scholarship Day, Employer Expo and other events as requested.

It is very important that these events be fully staffed, as defined by the event planners. During these signature events, staff members will be asked to work significant portions of the weekend. Staff members should be prepared to work on Friday evening, Saturday (day and evening) and Sunday morning, if it is deemed appropriate by the event planners. Staff members should also be prepared to assist with event preparations in the days leading up to the event, by volunteering to help with specific tasks, as requested by the event planners.

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusiveness

• All Development and Alumni Relations staff members are expected to demonstrate a commitment to diversity and inclusiveness.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree
• Three or more years of successful fundraising experience or equivalent sales/marketing experience
• Working knowledge of the principles of fundraising
• Professional experience requiring superior written and oral communication skills
• Professional experience requiring strong organizational skills, including the ability to set clear priorities and manage time well; the ability to work independently and make sound judgments; collaborative teamwork; and manage projects without close day-to-day supervision
• Demonstrated ability to work with and command the respect of colleagues, volunteers, and donors, along with experience in handling sensitive data
• Proficient with technology including knowledge of database and reporting functions and the Microsoft Office Suite
• Willingness and flexibility for frequent travel
• Driver’s License

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated record of solicitation success
• Experience in higher education fundraising

Bucknell University provides equal opportunity without regard to race, color, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, religion, national or ethnic origin, marital status, veteran status or disability in admissions, employment and in all of its educational programs and activities.

Bucknell University believes that students learn best in a diverse, inclusive community and is therefore committed to academic excellence through diversity in its faculty, staff, and students. We seek candidates who are committed to Bucknell’s efforts to create a climate that fosters the growth and development of a diverse student body, and we welcome applications from members of groups that have been historically underrepresented in higher education. Bucknell University is a private, highly ranked, national liberal arts institution that also offers strong professional programs in engineering, business, education, and music. Located in Central Pennsylvania along the Susquehanna River, Bucknell is nestled in the Borough of Lewisburg, an architectural gem that has been ranked as one of America’s best small towns.

Bucknell is a NCAA Division I (FCS) and Patriot League member institution, that sponsors 27 varsity athletics programs.