Reporting to the Senior Director of Advancement, the Associate Director of Annual Giving & Leadership Gifts is responsible for coordinating annual giving initiatives, as required.  The Associate Director manages a portfolio of donors and prospects, with responsibility for qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.

The Associate Director of Annual Giving & Leadership Gifts is a hybrid role, combining annual giving program execution with frontline fundraising, strengthening the pipeline of donors who can progress from annual support to leadership and major gift relationships.

Annual Giving Program Execution

Lead day-to-day implementation of the University’s annual giving solicitation calendar in partnership with the Senior Director of Advancement, recommending strategies to strengthen participation, retention, renewal, and revenue.

Manage direct mail projects from concept through completion, including coordination with the mail house/direct mail vendor, data requests, segmentation, production schedules, proofs, and delivery.

Lead execution of digital annual giving solicitations, including email appeals and other digital outreach, using performance data to refine segmentation, messaging, and strategy.

Support annual giving campaigns targeting alumni, parents and families, friends, faculty/staff, and other University constituencies.

Help ensure consistent messaging and branding across annual giving communications.

Track campaign results and provide reporting on response rates, participation, dollars raised, donor acquisition, retention, and other key annual giving metrics.

Collaborate with campus partners.

Donor Portfolio Management

Manage a portfolio of annual and leadership giving donors and prospects with potential for increased philanthropic engagement.

Develop and independently execute individual strategies for qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, with clear moves-management goals.

Conduct meaningful donor outreaches.

Personally solicit annual and leadership-level gifts in support of University priorities and maintain measurable portfolio fundraising goals.

Identify annual donors with increased capacity or inclination and help move qualified prospects into the University’s major gift pipeline.

Maintain accurate and timely contact reports, moves, proposals, and prospect information in the advancement database.

Partner with frontline fundraisers to facilitate appropriate donor transitions and handoffs.

“Giving Day” & Special Campaigns

Serve as a key operational partner for the University’s annual Giving Day campaign.

Coordinate campaign timelines, communications, donor segments, challenges, volunteer outreach, and follow-up.

Assist with digital and peer-to-peer fundraising strategies.

Support targeted annual giving campaigns and special initiatives throughout the year.

Evaluate campaign performance and recommend opportunities for improvement.

Requirements:

Bachelor’s degree.

Minimum six years of progressively responsible experience in fundraising, annual giving, leadership giving, alumni or constituent engagement, nonprofit development, or a related field, with direct fundraising experience strongly preferred.

Strong written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, including the ability to communicate confidently with donors and prospects.

Demonstrated ability to independently manage multiple fundraising projects, donor strategies, vendors, and deadlines simultaneously.

Demonstrated experience building donor or constituent relationships, including qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.

Strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

Ability to work collaboratively within a goal-oriented advancement team.

Willingness to participate in occasional evening and weekend events and limited travel.

Preferred Qualifications

Four or more years of higher education advancement or nonprofit fundraising experience.

Demonstrated experience with direct mail, digital fundraising, and other multi-channel annual giving campaigns.

Experience working with donors, alumni, volunteers, customers, clients, or other external constituents.

Familiarity with advancement databases, CRMs, or other relationship-management systems.

Experience coordinating projects with external vendors.

At the University’s discretion, the education and experience prerequisites may be accepted where the candidate can demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the University, an equivalent combination of education and experience specifically preparing the candidate for success in the position.