The Director of Spartan Fund Annual Giving provides overall strategy, leadership, and direction for Spartan Fund’s annual fund program within MSU Athletics.  The Director will oversee and implement a comprehensive and strategic communication, solicitation and stewardship plan for all annual fund gifts and activities. The Director of Spartan Fund Annual Giving will serve as a point of contact for 15 Olympic sport teams donor acquisition, retention, and upgrade initiatives, including sport-specific giving campaigns: direct mail, e-solicitations, social media giving-day, special projects campaigns, etc. This position will assist with student-athlete parents campaigns, develop an Athletics Department-wide Coaches and Staff campaign, and will work collaboratively with the Director of Varsity “S” Club and coaches to engage student-athlete alumni in support of the Athletics Department. The Director will oversee and manage the Spartan Fund annual club benefits distribution efforts.

The Director will coordinate efforts with business operations, donor relations and stewardship, marketing and communications, university staff, coaches, and athletic community members to properly engage and sustain positive and mutually rewarding relations between the Athletic Department and its donors in an effort to enhance current and future fundraising.

Characteristic Duties and Responsibilities: 

Develop Comprehensive Annual Giving Calendar/Strategy/Solicitations for Spartan Fund Office

• Develops a comprehensive annual giving program with specific goals and performance metrics, including but not limited to donor acquisition, retention and upgrades, focusing on the $1K-$10K annual giving levels.
• Develops and cultivates new prospective donor relationships and works to expand the Annual Giving donor base.
• Serves as a lead for sport-specific fundraising efforts, and coordinates with head coaches and assistant coaches on fundraising strategies and stewardship efforts.
• Partnering with University Advancement, develop plan to accept gift vehicles such as PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay, and cryptocurrency, as appropriate.
  • Oversees and develops member benefits for annual Spartan Fund members, including but not limited to priority seating and parking, sport-specific initiatives, in coordination with the Senior Director of Donor Relations and Stewardship.
  • Coordinates with Marketing and Communications to develop fundraising materials, such as promotional information, solicitations, and stewardship to enhance Spartan Fund branding.
  • Establishes direct personal contact with individuals for the purposes of cultivation and/or solicitation of gifts to MSU Athletics. Also uses mail, telephone, and social media platforms to connect with potential donors to promote a level of understanding conducive to growing the Spartan Fund.
  • Coordinates with University Advancement’s Annual Giving and Leadership Annual giving offices to ensure collaborative working relationship between Athletics and University, Colleges and Units.
  • Develops and manages SF Annual Fund budget, manages programs, benefits, and resources to minimize cost per dollar raised while increasing number of donors and dollars raised from Annual Fund campaigns.

Serve as Spartan Fund Liaison for 15 Olympic Sport teams

• Serves as Spartan Fund Sport Liaison for 15 Olympic sport teams – working collaboratively to enhance base of giving for these 15 teams and across all units within the Athletics Department.
• Works collaboratively with Spartan Fund Development Officers assigned to 15 Olympic sport teams so head coaches have two point-persons from the Spartan Fund to ensure consistency in support and to maintain strong working relationships.
• Works collaboratively with Spartan Fund Director of Internal Operations to move annual giving donors into assistant and major gift officer portfolios when appropriate.
• Works collaboratively with Spartan Fund Director of Internal Operations to develop and streamline reports to head coaches/appointee to ensure identification, cultivation and stewardship is managed well to increase private support for each team/unit.

 Administrative Duties

• Coordinates with internal operations staff to ensure management of internal databases, donor records, and gift processing procedures.
• Assists Operations Team with maintaining donor/ticket office records to facilitate repeated donations and establish donor histories.
• All other duties as assigned.
• Some travel. Ability to work nights, weekends, and possible holidays.

Supervision Received: 

• Direction is received from the Associate Athletics Director/Director of Development, Communications and Annual Giving

Required Qualifications: 

Knowledge equivalent to that which normally would be acquired by completing a four-year college degree program in Communications, Public Relations, Marketing and/or Business; three to five years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in public relations, volunteer administration, professional and higher education fund raising, marketing or related field; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Desired Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree (Master’s preferred) in Sports Administration, Communications, Public Relations, Marketing and/or Business.
• 3 years of related and progressively more responsible or expansive work experience in professional fundraising, public relations, marketing, higher education fundraising or a related field; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
• At least 2 years of supervisory experience and demonstrated success in staff leadership.
• Able to demonstrate a successful track record of soliciting and acquiring annual and major gifts.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience utilizing donor software (e.g., SalesForce, Ascend, Advance and Advantage) as well as ticketing software (Paciolan)
• Working knowledge of tax law affecting charitable giving
• Knowledge of NCAA, Big Ten and University/State regulations as they pertain to fundraising areas
• Strong organizational and analytical skills with ability to initiate, analyze, monitor, evaluate and advance strategic plans and programs that support the Athletic Department mission and contribute to the overall goals and objectives of the fundraising program.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills with the ability to interact with multiple patrons in a positive and productive manner while maintaining integrity and adhering to the compliance rules of the NCAA, Big Ten, and the Michigan State University Athletic Department.
• Ability to exercise sound judgment and effectively determine when information needs to be advanced to other decision makers.
• Ability to work in a fast paced, ever-changing environment, with the ability to effectively adapt and be flexible.
• Ability to work effectively as part of a positive, team-oriented environment.
• Demonstrated ability to develop good working relationships with internal and external constituency groups (companies and sponsors) and to work collaboratively with colleagues in a team environment.
• Sound organizational ability, a high degree of energy creativity and initiative; the ability to project the unique aims and values of the Michigan State University Athletic Department and its donors and alumni.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and priorities and meet challenging and changing deadlines.
• Experience with social networking tools.

MSU is an affirmative action, equal opportunity employer.

MSU is committed to achieving excellence through a diverse workforce and inclusive culture that encourages all people to reach their full potential.  The University actively encourages applications and/or nominations of women, persons of color, veterans, and persons with disabilities.