The Director of Annual Giving leads a team dedicated to reaching Elon University’s annual fundraising and participation goals. The person in this position is expected to be a leader within the University Advancement Division and play a vital role in helping to build a positive and productive work culture focused on results. As outlined in Boldly Elon, the university’s strategic plan, the Director will work in collaboration with the Office of Alumni Engagement and other offices across campus to engage alumni of all ages and stages while building a vibrant alumni network that benefits both students and alumni, fostering a culture of philanthropy and supporting efforts to increase alumni giving participation. The Director will provide day-to-day leadership and oversight to growing programs that engage alumni, parents, grandparents and friends of the University, and encourage their financial support of the institution at all levels.

Minimum Required Education and Experience

Bachelor’s degree in communications, Sales, Business, etc. with minimum 5 years of experience with the following relevant work experience: 5-7 years of professional experience in higher education or nonprofit fundraising or a combination of education and experience in sales, volunteer management, recruiting, marketing, or development; or equivalent combination of education and experience.

Preferred Education and Experience

Master’s degree in communications, Business or Higher Education.

Job Duties

• Fundraising
  • Develops, maintains, and executes Elon’s multi-channel annual giving plan and deploys marketing materials and strategies to execute a best-in-class program to achieve growing results for dollars and donors year after year.
  • Oversee and direct a comprehensive solicitation calendar and develops segmentation strategies in conjunction with colleagues across University Advancement.
  • Liaises with various professional schools, centers, Divisions (e.g. Athletics), boards and councils to develop annual giving, messaging, and marketing strategies for various constituencies and fundraising priorities.
  • Executes a strategic approach to identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward our alumni as partners, advocates, and investors. Directly manage a portfolio of 50 alumni by encouraging them to stay connected, informed and involved; recruiting and expanding Elon’s professional network; and encouraging leadership annual giving.
• Strategic Leadership
  • Provide leadership and direction to a team responsible for increasing constituent participation on an annual basis.
  • Lead the strategy and implementation related to growing and increasing the membership of the Elon Society and coordinate operational aspects of annual program.
  • Develops and creatively determines strategies for annual donor segments to retain long-term donors and acquire new donors based on affiliation, class year, donor types, and cultivates buy-in among University Advancement leadership on those strategies.
  • Provide leadership in executing a successful Elon Day.
• Management and Budget
  • Supervises three Assistant Directors of Annual Giving who manage staff responsible for annual giving operations including reunions and other volunteer management programs, portfolio management and direct solicitations, and the Student Outreach Program.
  • Manages a direct marketing annual giving budget to maximize efficiencies and ensure projects are on-time and on-budget.
• Communications and Engagement
  • Partners with Advancement Communications to link fundraising direct marketing efforts to the communications efforts of Elon more broadly by employing creative use of new and emerging channels (digital, text, AI, etc.) and a high volume of traditional channels (mail, email, phone).
  • Partners with colleagues in Alumni Engagement to develop coordination between fundraising programs and event strategies to further market mass fundraising efforts.
  • Collaborates with partners in Donor Relations to ensure mass stewardship programs for annual donors are effective, integrated and coordinated with direct marketing strategies.
• Operations
  • Utilize technology that includes Raisers Edge, Elon’s internal database, to run queries and exports to develop the necessary mailing and email lists for various and sometimes complex segments. Create and maintain necessary reports and records tracking progress towards goals. Utilize new technologies toward reaching goals including Artificial Intelligence (AI).
  • Liaises with Advancement Services to ensure proper data and records management of donors and prospects while maintaining coordination between online giving forms and multi-channel fundraising strategies to maximize efficiencies while adhering to proper data management principles.
  • Support Elon University events and projects (Move In, Commencement Week, etc.) and University Advancement events and projects (Homecoming & Reunion Weekend, regional events, Family Weekend, mailing/shipping fulfillment, etc.)

* Special Instructions to Applicants: Please submit a cover letter and resume along with a list of references. *