Assistant/Associate Director, Skidmore Fund

Reporting to the Senior Director, Skidmore Fund, this role drives dollar growth, sets strategy, and facilitates team efforts to secure leadership-level gifts and build a pipeline for major-gift-level donors.

About the role

You will manage Skidmore’s President’s Society (PS) and Young Alumni President’s Society (YAPS)—leadership giving societies—while personally soliciting Skidmore Fund prospects. Responsibilities include developing and implementing overall plans, setting metrics, partnering for meaningful donor stewardship, and helping to manage PS volunteers. Collaboration is critical as you work closely with colleagues across Advancement to build relationships and solicit President’s Society gifts.

Responsibilities

• Oversee Skidmore’s leadership giving program for the Skidmore Fund, including management of the overall program and coordination of efforts involving multiple staff and programs within the Advancement team.
• Develop overall strategy and annual work plan to ensure the PS and YAPS programs meet or exceed annual goals, focusing on solicitation and stewardship plans, volunteer engagement, and collaboration with Advancement colleagues.
• Analyze trends and best practices in leadership giving to strengthen and grow Skidmore’s efforts.
• Develop philanthropic relationships with an assigned group of volunteers and prospects (75+), identifying capacity, interests, and inclination; educating, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors and volunteers.
• Set goals and projections for overall dollars raised and participation from your assigned pool.
• Serve as primary contact for the Chair of the President’s Society and partner with class managers to manage relationships with class President’s Society Chairs.
• Ensure all alumni scheduled for a President’s Society ask are solicited as personally as possible; assess prospects not assigned to relationship managers for short-term staff or volunteer assignments.
• Collaborate with Major Gifts, Gift Planning, Alumni Relations, College Events, Parent and Family Giving, Donor Engagement and Stewardship, and Advancement Operations staff.
• Support fundraising in key reunion classes, including volunteer recruitment and management, relationship development, goal setting (dollars and donors), planning, prospecting, donor cultivation, and direct solicitation.
• Develop overall strategy to ensure each reunion class meets and surpasses individual donor and dollar goals, focusing on managing class leadership, volunteers, and 18-month outreach efforts leading up to Reunion.
• Identify, recruit, and train class leadership volunteers and class agents.
• Demonstrate proficiency in planned giving options for appropriate classes.
• Develop and execute an annual giving effort focused on Skidmore’s faculty and staff, including direct marketing, stewardship, staff outreach, and volunteer recruitment to support the campaign.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• Fundraising experience within a higher education or nonprofit setting.
• Experience recruiting, developing, and motivating volunteers.
• Willingness to personally develop philanthropic relationships with prospective donors and volunteers.
• Well-refined organization and project management skills.
• Ability to manage multiple projects and partners simultaneously and work collaboratively with fundraisers, Advancement staff, campus-wide partners, donors, and volunteers.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage and adhere to deadlines.
• Understanding of the complexity and nuance of working with multiple volunteers of various experience levels.
• Valid driver’s license required.
• Familiarity with technology and social networking platforms.

Qualifications

• Assistant level: 1–3 years of relevant experience.
• Associate level: 3–5 years of relevant experience.

Pay

• Assistant level: $62,400 – $68,000
• Associate level: $70,000 – $78,000