"Director of Annual Giving"

Director of Annual Giving

Company: National Louis University

Job Location:

Category: Development and Fundraising

Type: Full-Time

Who We Are:

National Louis is a 135+ year old university that has been grounded in the values of innovation, access, excellence, and equity from its inception. As an institution, we believe in providing access to educational opportunity and that education is our greatest lever for social and economic mobility. We are a student-focused community that is committed to continuous improvement and superior student service. We believe that through education we are able to empower change and build healthy communities. Our hard-working community is based on collaboration and respect for all team members and students.

What You Will Do:

The Director of Annual Giving leads the planning, implementation and execution of programs which increase annual giving dollars and participation from constituents of National Louis University (NLU), including alumni, students, faculty, staff and friends. In addition to directly managing a portfolio of annual giving prospects and donors, the Director oversees annual giving operations to ensure data integrity, an intelligent segmentation strategy, ongoing communications with constituents, and the timely completion of projects to maximize engagement and fundraising results.

Essential Responsibilities

• Build and maintain a portfolio of donors capable of annual gifts up to $10,000
• Track and monitor donor and prospect touchpoints, meet regularly with donors, and implement strategic moves management
• Serve as the primary liaison to members of the 1886 Society, and execute Society recognition events and communications
• Lead and manage all facets of the Annual Giving program with a major focus on fundraising and engagement campaigns (direct mail, email, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer, and social media) and stewardship activities
• Set and monitor fundraising goals and donor participation; and create, implement, evaluate, and continuously refine strategies and programs for successful fundraising with each constituent group
• Collaborate with colleagues to identify needs across the institution, and develop compelling messaging and multi-channel outreach that increase donor retention, participation and donation amounts across all audiences
• Lead the planning and implementation of special campaigns, including NLU Day, donor birthday/anniversary recognition, and other appropriate messaging
• Develop and execute donor recognition strategies, including annual donor listings. Ensure a robust, best-in-class donor experience, from cultivation to stewardship
• Manage external vendor(s), temporary staff and/or volunteers in the execution of campaigns.
• Partner with Advancement colleagues in alumni relations and major giving to coordinate pipeline and prospect development, and donor engagement
• Supervise and coach the Advancement Associate, Annual Fund, whose responsibilities will include: direct mail management; communications content generation; targeted campaigns, solicitation and stewardship; and project management, among others
• Partner with colleagues across the institution to develop and implement a robust Student Philanthropy program that embeds a culture of philanthropy - beginning at their orientation - among current students and graduating students, and that inspires their giving to NLU

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree, required (Communications, nonprofit management, or other related field)
• Minimum of 5 years of frontline fundraising experience, preferably in annual giving within a higher education context
• General knowledge and familiarity with Microsoft Office suite, particularly Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
• Experience with CRMs (i.e. Salesforce), strongly preferred
• Effective presentation and communication skills (both written and verbal). Listens to others and is able to communicate with a wide variety of stakeholders
• Creative mindset to find new ways to address challenges and new approaches to fundraising
• Established track record for achieving results within established timelines
• Effective project management skills with the ability to quickly pivot as needs and/or priorities change
• Some night and weekend availability required for fundraising and other events

Apply Now