The Director of Board Management and Special Fundraising Programs is a member of the Duke Annual Fund and Reunion team in the Duke Office of Alumni Engagement & Development and reports to the Director of Fundraising Strategy and Operations.

The Director works in direct partnership with the Senior Assistant Vice President of the Annual Fund and Reunion to manage the Duke Annual Fund Advisory Board (AFAB).  This individual is responsible for planning and executing programming for two in-person meetings each year and virtual/regional programming between meetings.  S/he will manage the nomination, recruitment and on-boarding of new members. The director will oversee AFAB task forces that work in partnership with Annual Fund staff liaisons to act on key opportunities or address gaps in giving or participation.  Additionally, s/he will ensure 100% in giving from AFAB members working with fundraising colleagues across Duke and engaging in personal solicitations.  The director will maintain a portfolio of current and former AFAB members who do not have a Duke prospect manager.

Additionally, this individual will develop, execute and oversee Annual Fund fundraising programs and projects including, alumni parents, reunion gift campaigns, regional engagement and giving work Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee and Missouri, and any additional projects as identified by Annual Fund senior leadership or AFAB volunteers.

Manage the Duke Annual Fund Advisory Board (AFAB) including recruitment, meeting planning, engagement, solicitation, and stewardship. 45%

• Plan fall and spring on campus AFAB meetings and virtual/regional engagement opportunities between meetings for the 40+ member board. Work closely with AFAB Chairs, Annual Fund AVP, and Special Events to create meeting agendas and programming to educate AFAB members on Duke and Annual Fund priorities and provides them with insider access to the university.
• Work with campus partners to recruit a diverse board who will move the mission of the Duke Annual Fund forward and serve as reunion, inter-reunion, young alumni, multicultural advancement and regional ambassadors for the university. Focus on recruiting up and coming Duke leaders.
• Orient new AFAB members to the board by providing them with an overview of Duke’s 16 Annual Fund’s, role of AFAB, history of the Duke Annual Fund, and Alumni Engagement and Development.
• Create and implement strategy for engaging school and unit AFAB representatives.
• Coordinate with AED and School and Unit colleagues to develop and implement strategies to maximize giving from AFAB members
  • Personally solicit unmanaged AFAB members
  • Where managed, work with campus partners to solicit AFAB members for Annual Fund support and comprehensive gifts to Duke including special Annual Fund challenge gifts
• Engage members between meetings to assist with Annual Fund solicitations and stewardship priorities.
• Provide concierge service to AFAB members to assist with any Duke matters.
• Work with Annual Fund staff on priority areas for AFAB assistance which will help move the goals and strategy forward for each program.
• Assist Annual Fund staff members working with AFAB working groups to ensure goals are set for each working group and benchmarks are met between meetings.
• Create and implement AFAB Emeriti member program which will engage AFAB Emeriti members on special Annual Fund initiatives and continue to educate and inform them on Annual Fund priorities and progress.
• Personally solicit unmanaged AFAB Emeriti members and work with AED and school and unit colleagues on Annual Fund strategy for managed AFAB emeriti members.

Special Fundraising Projects 45%

• Alumni Parents
• Develop Alumni Parent Annual Fund fundraising dollar and donor goals and create strategies to reach these goals.
• Work with the Senior Director of Alumni Admissions to create engagement opportunities for alumni parents to connect with each other and other members of the Duke Community on-campus, regionally and/or virtually. Develop metrics to evaluate progress.
• Manage the philanthropic relationships of top rated unmanaged alumni parents including identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Share incoming Alumni Parent data with RDDs and Regional Engagement Officers and work to develop strategies to engage Alumni Parents regionally.
• Provide meaningful stewardship opportunities for this constituency.
• Serve as Team Lead and Duke resource to unmanaged Alumni Parent Leadership Annual Fund donors.
• Work with the Duke Parents Program and Senior Director of Alumni Admissions to plan and staff Annual Fund donor reception during Family Weekend for Leadership Annual Fund Alumni Parent donors.
• In collaboration with the Senior Director of Alumni Admissions, plan and staff additional activities/events for Alumni Parents during Family Weekend
• Manage a portfolio of unmanaged rated Alumni Parents to cultivate relationships and personally solicit and steward Annual Fund donations
• Staff AFAB working group around Alumni Parent programming and outreach
• Explore opportunities for identifying and recruiting alumni parent families to serve as class representatives and volunteers for the Annual Fund.
• Develop strategy for engaging non-alumni parent spouses of alumni. Act as a liaison for these non-alumni parents to introduce them to Duke and share and provide varies opportunities for engagement.
• Work with the Marketing, Communications and Stewardship, Associate Vice President of Alumni Engagement and Development and Senior Director of Alumni Admissions to create and execute a multi-channel alumni parent communications strategy including welcome messaging and ThankView videos.
• Coordinate and assist with Senior Gift solicitations for students of Alumni Parents in conjunction with the Young Alumni team.
• Reunion Gift Campaigns
• Utilizing data and prospect analytics, identify reunion class co-chairs (10-20 per class) and class reunion team (40-60 per class).
• Recruit, onboard, train and manage all reunion volunteers; and solicit for Annual Fund gifts where appropriate.
• Set and achieve ambitious, yet realistic reunion fundraising goals for the reunion class. Using previous class giving history and detailed prospect analysis, determine dollar and donor goals.
• Develop presentations and toolkits to train volunteers who engage in peer-education and solicitation and take an active role in developing motivational strategies to enhance the volunteer experience.
• Conduct volunteer trainings via Zoom and hold monthly conference calls with reunion co-chairs.
• Using volunteer preference and prospect analytics, assign classmates to reunion volunteers for peer-to-peer solicitation with focus on leadership Annual Fund gifts.
• Actively coordinate with the Reunion Team colleagues on Reunion Weekend programming, volunteer management, communications messaging and calendar and regional reunion events.
• Maintain on-going communication with volunteers and Duke staff regarding class progress toward fundraising goals.
• Annual Fund Gift Officer for Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Mississippi, and Louisiana.
• Work with AED Regional colleagues in these areas to engage alumni and identify, solicit, and steward Annual Fund prospects.
• Provide major gift referrals to Regional Development Directors and School and Unit colleagues.
• Additional projects as identified by Annual Fund senior leadership or AFAB volunteers.

Serve as an active member of the Duke Annual Fund team 10%

• Attend Annual Fund staff and team meetings
• Participate in and attend Annual Fund and AED events as needed.
• Contribute to overall Annual Fund processes such as Rating Routine, identification of reunion co-chairs, etc.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Behavioral Competencies

• Ability to influence – Level 2
• Curiosity and Information Seeking – Level 4
• Dealing with Ambiguity – Level 4
• Decisiveness and Judgement – Level 3
• Organizational Awareness – Level 3
• Goal and Task Management – Level 3
• Expresses ideas Orally and in Writing – Level 3
• Flexibility – Level 3
• Models Integrity and Ethics – Level 3
• Listening – Level 5
• Self-Management – Level 3
• Leadership – Level 3
• Continuous Learning – Level 3
• Collaboration – Level 3

Required Qualifications at this Level:

Education/Training

Work requires communications, analytical and organizational skills generally acquired through completion of a bachelor’s degree program.

Experience

Work requires five years experience in alumni affairs, public relations, fund raising, sales and promotions, marketing, student activities or a related field in order to acquire skills necessary to administer, coordinate and/or participate in general fund raising activities and proposal development. Or an equivalent combination of relevant education and/or experience.