Associate Director of Annual Giving & Membership; Morris Arboretum & Gardens
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Posted Job Title
Associate Director of Annual Giving & Membership; Morris Arboretum & Gardens
Job Profile Title
Associate Director B, Development, Fundraising
Job Description Summary
The Associate Director of Annual Giving & Membership is a senior member of the Morris Arboretum & Gardens Development team responsible for leading the Arboretum's unrestricted giving strategy through the Annual Fund, Collectors Circle, and Membership programs, which collectively generate approximately $2 million annually. This position provides the strategic vision, leadership, and execution necessary to strengthen donor acquisition, retention, stewardship, and revenue growth across all annual giving programs.
Reporting to the Director of Development, the Associate Director develops and implements a comprehensive, data-driven strategy that integrates membership, annual giving, and leadership annual giving into a cohesive fundraising program. The position serves as the primary fundraiser for unrestricted annual giving, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors while creating pathways for members and annual fund supporters to increase their philanthropic engagement.
The Associate Director supervises the Manager of Annual Giving & Development Data Systems and provides strategic oversight of development operations supporting annual giving, membership, gift processing, donor communications, and fundraising analytics. Working collaboratively with Development, Marketing, and Visitor Experience leadership, this position ensures a consistent donor experience and strengthens the Arboretum's culture of philanthropy through coordinated communications, events, and stewardship initiatives.
Job Description
Responsibilities:
Strategic Leadership & Annual Giving
- Develop and implement the strategic vision for the Arboretum's unrestricted giving programs, including the Annual Fund, Collectors Circle, and Membership.
- Establish annual fundraising goals, performance metrics, and multi-year growth strategies using data-driven analysis and fundraising best practices.
- Develop messaging and solicitation strategies that strengthen donor acquisition, retention, upgrades, and overall philanthropic participation.
- Monitor fundraising performance and provide regular progress reports and recommendations to Development leadership.
Leadership Annual Giving & Donor Engagement
- Direct the Collectors Circle, the Arboretum's leadership annual giving society ($2,500+), serving as the primary relationship manager for many leadership annual fund donors.
- Personally cultivate, solicit, and steward leadership annual giving prospects and donors.
- Partner closely with Major Gift Officers to identify, qualify, and transition donors along the giving pipeline while supporting renewal efforts for assigned prospects.
- Develop strategies to increase leadership annual giving participation and grow unrestricted philanthropic support.
Membership Program Leadership
- Provide strategic oversight of the Arboretum's membership program, including acquisition, renewals, upgrades, retention, and lapsed member recovery.
- Develop annual membership communication and solicitation calendars.
- Collaborate with the Director of Visitor Experience to strengthen member engagement, recruitment, and retention initiatives.
- Evaluate and implement new membership and annual giving strategies based on constituent data and industry best practices.
Staff Leadership & Development Operations
- Supervise the Manager of Annual Giving & Development Data Systems.
- Provide strategic oversight of development data systems, ensuring data integrity, gift processing accuracy, reporting, and donor stewardship.
- Ensure development systems effectively support fundraising strategy, donor management, and University reporting requirements.
- Establish priorities and ensure timely completion of gift acknowledgements, reporting, and constituent communications.
Events & Marketing
- Partner with Development and Marketing colleagues to develop integrated fundraising campaigns across print, digital, social media, and web platforms.
- Collaborate with the Assistant Director of Donor Engagement and Major Gifts staff to plan and execute membership, Collectors Circle, and annual giving events.
- Ensure annual giving messaging aligns with the Arboretum's overall marketing strategy and institutional brand.
External Relations
- Represent Morris Arboretum & Gardens within Penn's Central Annual Giving community and other University development initiatives.
- Maintain knowledge of emerging trends and best practices in annual giving, membership, and donor engagement to continuously strengthen fundraising performance.
- Perform additional duties as assigned.
Qualifications:
- Bachelor's degree and 2-3 years of progressively responsible fundraising experience, preferably in annual giving, membership, or leadership annual giving, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
- Demonstrated success cultivating, soliciting, and closing leadership annual gifts or unrestricted philanthropic support.
- Experience developing and executing strategic annual giving and membership programs.
- Strong understanding of fundraising principles, donor stewardship, and membership development.
- Demonstrated supervisory and project management experience.
- Experience using CRM and fundraising database systems (Raiser's Edge, Blackbaud products, Salesforce, or similar).
- Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret fundraising data and translate insights into strategy.
- Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills.
- Experience planning donor cultivation and stewardship events.
- Ability to collaborate effectively across departments and build relationships with donors, volunteers, and colleagues.
- Commitment to the mission of Morris Arboretum & Gardens and an appreciation for the role unrestricted philanthropy plays in advancing that mission.
About Morris Arboretum & Gardens
Morris Arboretum & Gardens of the University of Pennsylvania inspires an understanding of the relationship between plants and people through education, research, and horticultural displays. Located in the Northwest section of Philadelphia, Morris Arboretum is home to a collection of more than 13,000 woody plants and serves as a destination for plant enthusiasts, a center for education and research, and a hub for botany, horticulture, and urban forestry.
For more information about Morris Arboretum & Gardens, visit: https://www.morrisarboretum.org
Job Location - City, State
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Department / School
Morris Arboretum
Pay Range
$65,628.00 - $80,000.00 Annual Rate
Salary offers are made based on the candidate's qualifications, experience, skills, and education as they directly relate to the requirements of the position, and in alignment with salary ranges based on external market data for the job's level. Internal organization and peer data at Penn are also considered.
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