Our Lady of Good Counsel High School, a private, Catholic, college-preparatory school in Olney, MD, seeks a talented fundraising professional to serve as its Director of Annual Giving. Under the direction of the Chief Advancement Officer, the Director of Annual Giving is responsible for developing and executing a comprehensive year-round annual giving program focused on acquisition and cultivation, implementing innovative initiatives for increasing, retaining, and upgrading current and new donor’s annual support.

• Leads the school’s efforts to increase annual individual giving from alumni, parents, grandparents, alumni parents, faculty and staff and graduating seniors.
• Develops the annual giving plan, writing all appeal copy, for the year complete with timelines, strategies and objectives to include:
  • The annual Founders Day and Day of Giving to increase donations and engage alumni and parent base.
  • The annual school wide raffle to raise at least $125K annual for the Fund for Good Counsel.
  • The annual senior class campaign (in coordination with the Director of Alumni Engagement)
  • Calendar year end and fiscal year end appeals
• Manages a defined portfolio of annual giving leadership prospects and develops strategies to cultivate, solicit and steward each prospect/donor moving them through the donor pipeline towards major gifts.
• Works closely with leadership and volunteers to develop strategies aimed at increasing the number of Annual Fund leadership donors ($1,000 and above) and growing the number who give between $1K and $5K annually.
• Works closely with the Director of Advancement Services to ensure proper data entry, gift acknowledgement, ongoing updating and management of the donor database.
• Participate and report at all Advancement Committee meetings on annual giving progress and initiatives.
• Manages the rollout of the Good Counsel Giving Society to include focus on the Saint Francis Xavier Circle and the Ryken Loyalty Circle donors.
• In coordination with the Director of Advancement Services, oversees the wealth screening process for potential leadership prospects utilizing software, online resources, and institutional knowledge.
• Plans the annual Society Celebration reception and dinner focused on student impact and Grandparents’ Day.
• Coordinates with coaches, program directors and other faculty and staff to identify and cultivate donors for restricted gifts.
• In conjunction with the Assistant Director of Creative Strategies, develops all collateral materials to brand, solicit and steward annual prospects and works with vendors to ensure production.
• Develops and implements strategies to increase support from corporate matching gift programs.
• Identifies donors to highlight for stories in the Counselor magazine, website and Annual Report on Giving.
• Attends events and travels as required to steward, solicit and engage prospects and donors.

Desired Qualifications: 

• Bachelor’s degree plus three to five years of demonstrated professional experience and increased responsibility as a fundraiser for a nonprofit organization, preferably a Catholic or independent school or in higher education.
• Demonstrated experience soliciting annual gifts of $1K and above.
• Excellent written communication skills including persuasive solicitation letters, fundraising proposals, feature writing, and reports.
• Strong oral communication skills with public speaking experience working with both internal and external audiences.
• Demonstrated ability to design, implement and evaluate a comprehensive nationwide program for annual gifts, establishing goals and objectives that translate into annual operating plans and appropriate staff/volunteer assignments.
• Demonstrated understanding of digital media and social media as key platforms for fundraising.
• Extraordinary attention to detail, accuracy, and organizational skills with ability to maintain effectiveness in a busy office setting and willingness to function as a team player.
• Experience recruiting, managing, and motivating volunteers.
• Demonstrated competency with complex data and donor management software programs; working knowledge of Raiser’s Edge preferred

Required work hours: 

A minimum of forty hours per week, plus other hours as may be necessary to complete job duties including occasional travel, evening and weekend work.

Non-discrimination:

Our Lady of Good Counsel High School does not discriminate in its educational and employment policies on the basis of race, color, national origin, ethnic origin, sex, age, disability, religion, sexual orientation. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding the non-discrimination policy: Evelyn Nicholas at [email protected].

How to apply:

• All applications should be emailed to Julie Potter, Chief Advancement Officer, at [email protected].
• Complete applications shall include: 1. cover letter; 2. resume; 3. contact information for three professional references.
• Review of applications will begin immediately upon receipt with priority consideration by Friday, October 28, 2022. Only complete applications submitted via email will be considered.