Associate Director, Leadership Annual Giving

The Office of Advancement is in the first year of an exciting restructuring that includes the bringing together of a comprehensive Engagement Team, reporting to the Assistant Vice President for Engaged Philanthropy. The annual giving, engagement programs, special events, and advancement communications teams are working together to redefine engaged philanthropy and find opportunities for strategic collaboration. The Annual Giving effort is vital to the current campaign where we are in the second public year of a $600 million comprehensive fundraising campaign, the largest in school history, and are more than a year ahead of schedule. While raising financial support for key University initiatives, the campaign also aims to broaden Wesleyan's donor base and build a pipeline of donors for the future. Working with an alumni body of more than 30,000, as well as current and past parents, the Advancement team inspires the Wesleyan community and cultivates support for university initiatives through outreach activities, including development/ fundraising, alumni & parent relations, and both on and off-campus events. Wesleyan's fundraising dollars have increased consistently over the last ten years. In addition to meeting fundraising goals, the campaign also aims to broaden Wesleyan's donor base and build a pipeline of donors for the future. Reporting to the Director of Annual Giving, the Associate Director is responsible for ensuring the execution of day-to-day operations and implementing a comprehensive strategy for the leadership giving program, the 1831 Society. The Associate Director's primary focus is on communicating with, meeting and soliciting leadership annual giving donors and prospective donors, while overseeing the 1831 Society solicitation program to ensure comprehensive coverage of current and prospective donor asks across the division. Responsibilities include Outreach, engage, communicate with, meet and solicit a dynamic stream of leadership annual gift prospects each year. Arrange phone, virtual and in-person visits with prospects, and travelling locally and nationally as needed Create and maintain a yearly outreach, travel and solicitation schedule. Facilitate prospect handoffs from own stream to annual giving, major gifts, principal gifts, and gift planning teams as appropriate. Execute day-to-day operations and implement a comprehensive strategy for the 1831 Society leadership annual giving program. Assess potential and create a data-informed strategy around leadership giving to increase the number of gifts and average gift size of leadership annual giving donors from the BA alumni and parent communities. Achieve year-over-year fund growth by consistently evaluating and improving programs. Track key success metrics throughout the year to both inform strategy and keep Advancement leadership informed of progress. Manage solicitation aspects of the 1831 Society program, leveraging the stewardship calendar determined by Donor Relations to retain and increase 1831 donors. Facilitate prospect handoffs across the leadership annual giving program among annual giving, major gifts, principal gifts, and gift planning teams as appropriate. Other duties as assigned. At least the first 90 days will be on campus, after that the on-campus and remote work schedule will be at the discretion of the supervisor. Hybrid work is only considered for residents of MA, VT, NH, ME, CT, RI, or NY. (Relocation assistance to CT is available for those who qualify). Minimum Qualifications Bachelor's degree and at least 5 years of successful fundraising, relationship management, project management, or related experience including working knowledge of annual giving programs in a higher education or secondary school setting. Knowledge of and experience in fundraising and the ability to recognize opportunities, identify critical, high pay-off activities and prioritize them to attain goals. Knowledge of and experience in recruiting, training, motivating, soliciting, and communicating with a donor/volunteer population. Ability to work cooperatively to achieve common goals; support cooperation, collaboration and the sharing of information. Demonstrated ability in accepting and implementing new ideas. Demonstrated ability in reacting and adapting to changing situations appropriately. Proven innovative/strategic, analytic big picture thinker with effective communication skills especially in the digital environment. Demonstrated ability to work independently and within a team environment. Ability to travel and to work nights and weekends, as required. Demonstrated commitment to work within a diverse environment and interact openly with individuals of different backgrounds. Preferred Qualifications Experienced fundraiser within an annual giving program Position is open untill filled. For full consideration please apply by October 22, 2024 when first review of applications will begin. As a part of your application please upload a cover letter and resume Compensation: $61,300 - $72,300 Work Location: Hybrid All offers to external applicants are contingent on the candidate's completion of a pre-employment background check screening ( to the satisfaction of Wesleyan University. Wesleyan University, located in Middletown, Connecticut, does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, age, gender, gender identity or expression, national origin, marital status, ancestry, present or past history of mental disorder, learning disability or physical disability, political belief, veteran status, sexual orientation, genetic information or non-position-related criminal record. We welcome applications from women and historically underrepresented minority groups. Inquiries regarding Title IX, Section 504 or any other non-discrimination policies should be directed to Vice President for Equity and Inclusion, Title IX and ADA/504 Coordinator. Wesleyan University complies with the Clery Act and maintains records of campus crime statistics and security policies. Copies of Wesleyan University's Clery Act Report are available on request and online at . Experience is taken into consideration in the determination of salary offers. For more information visit Wesleyan offers a broad range of employee benefits and development opportunities, including comprehensive group insurance plans, wellness programs and incentives, generous paid time off and retirement plans, flexible work schedules, employee and dependent tuition programs for those who qualify. Detailed information on the benefits of working at Wesleyan is located at: . We welcome your interest in Wesleyan's diverse, energetic community of employees who, by their creativity, innovative thinking, and generosity of spirit, help make Wesleyan a great place to work. In this open-minded and inclusive environment, our faculty and staff foster a liberal arts experience characterized by boldness, rigor, and practical idealism. Working at Wesleyan ( Benefits FAQs ( Internal applicants If you are currently employed at WES, you must apply for positions through Job Hubs in your Workday ( portal. 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Created: 2024-10-29