Description

The Director of Annual Giving and Advancement Communications is a critical member of the University Advancement team, responsible for developing and managing a comprehensive annual giving program to build financial support through various donor initiatives. The Director will design and implement effective communication strategies to increase alumni participation, inspire financial contributions, and cultivate long-term donor relationships.

Essential duties and responsibilities:

• Develop and manage a comprehensive annual giving program, using email, direct mail, phone, social media, personal visits, events, and volunteer engagement strategies.
• Develop annual performance goals and key performance indicators related to donor participation, retention, leadership annual giving, Giving Day performance, parent philanthropy, and campaign response rates.
• Support Peace and University Advancement strategies, assisting the VP for University Advancement in planning, organizing, and executing departmental goals and objectives.
• Collaborate with the Director of Advancement Services to implement measurable metrics for success and maintain an ongoing evaluation and reporting system for annual giving programs.
• Foster growth in annual giving through best practices in gift processing, data management, and donor relations.
• Oversee and manage annual giving societies, including senior class gifts, crowdfunding campaigns, and faculty/staff campaigns.
• Support fundraising initiatives for institutional priorities through annual giving campaigns and donor engagement strategies. Develop and manage student giving programs, including senior gift initiatives.
• Work closely with the Director of Alumni Relations and Advancement Communications and Donor Relations Specialist to develop and implement annual giving events.
• Develop and manage the annual giving budget, including requests, records, and expenditures.
• Collaborate with Advancement colleagues to identify, qualify, and refer leadership giving prospects for major gift cultivation while maintaining responsibility for annual giving strategies.
• Lead Advancement communications strategy, including donor communications, annual giving appeals, stewardship messaging, campaign communications, website giving content, email marketing, social media collaboration, and fundraising publications.
• Serve as the primary Advancement liaison to Marketing and Communications to coordinate fundraising messaging and donor-focused storytelling.
• Manage Advancement communication calendars and annual solicitation schedules.
• Develop segmented annual giving strategies for alumni, young alumni, parents, faculty/staff, friends, and leadership-level donors.
• Direct strategy, planning, execution, volunteer engagement, and assessment for Giving Day and other annual fundraising campaigns.

Requirements

Minimum Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field and five years of experience in fund raising, annual giving, marketing, or another relevant field. Equivalent combinations of education and experience may be considered
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent project management and data analysis skills
• Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively as part of a team

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s Degree
• Experience in a higher education environment
• Experience using CRM or donor database systems
• Knowledge of best practices in direct mailings, digital fundraising, and donor stewardship
• Leadership/Supervisory experience
• Experience developing successful Annual Giving campaigns