ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:
Annual Giving
- Develops, implements, and manages a strategic and comprehensive annual giving program to increase unrestricted annual revenue to the College’s Loyalty Fund from alumni, faculty, staff, and friends of the college.
- Oversees multi-channel solicitation strategies including direct mail, email, social media, and personal outreach.
- Establishes and tracks performance indicators for the annual giving program and adjusts strategies as needed to meet fundraising goals.
- Collaborates with marketing and communications to create compelling fundraising messages and campaigns.
Donor Stewardship
- Develops and manages a comprehensive stewardship program that recognizes and honors donors at all levels, ensuring timely and meaningful acknowledgment of gifts.
- Oversees the planning and execution of stewardship events, donor recognition programs, and the annual report of donors.
- Works with the development team to ensure accurate donor data management and reporting in the donor database.
Relationship Management and Donor Cultivation
- Builds and maintains relationships with key donors, alumni, and volunteers to encourage ongoing support and engagement.
- Collaborates with others to identify annual giving donors with the capacity for increased giving and move them through the pipeline to major gifts.
- Partners with Office of Alumni Engagement to foster a culture of philanthropy among current students, young alumni, and other constituencies.
Team Leadership and Collaboration
- Collaborates with colleagues across the college to ensure alignment of annual giving and stewardship strategies with institutional goals and priorities.
- Manages the annual giving budget, ensuring cost-effective strategies and maximum return on investment.
Reporting and Analysis
- Analyzes giving trends, donor behavior, and program effectiveness to inform decision-making and strategy adjustments. Stay current on the latest higher education annual giving and stewardship best practices, innovations, and new growth strategies.
- Prepares and presents regular reports to the Vice President of Development and other stakeholders on the progress to goals of annual giving and stewardship efforts.
- Utilizes data-driven insights to continually refine and improve fundraising and stewardship practices.
- Performs other related duties as assigned.
MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS TO PERFORM WORK:
- Bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, business administration or closely related field; Master’s degree or certification in fundraising preferred.
- Seven (7) years of direct experience in fundraising with a focus on annual giving and donor stewardship in a higher education or non-profit environment preferred.
- Proven track record of successful fundraising, particularly in annual giving programs.
- Occasional travel for donor meetings and events.
- Occasional evening and weekend work required to support fundraising events and activities.
- Proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, utilizing Outlook, Word, Excel and Microsoft Teams.
- Proficient in Raiser’s Edge fundraising database and digital fundraising tools.
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
- Excellent communication, interpersonal, and relationship-building skills.
- Strong leadership and team management skills with the ability to inspire and motivate others.
- Strategic thinking and analytical skills with the ability to use data to inform decisions.
- Highly organized, detail-oriented, and ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously.
- Ability to work independently with little direction.
- Ability to meet schedules and timelines.
- Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with others.
- A commitment to the mission and values of Columbia College.
PHYSICAL DEMANDS:
Requires sedentary work that involves walking, standing, lifting, carrying, pushing and pulling some of the time and involves exerting up to 10 pounds of force on a recurring basis or routine keyboard operations.
WORKING CONDITIONS:
Work environment risks exposure to no known environmental hazards.
EOE M/F/D/V
