Director, Annual Giving

About the role

The Director of Annual Giving provides strategic leadership for Marist University's annual fundraising efforts, developing and executing comprehensive, multi-channel campaigns that engage alumni, parents, students, faculty/staff, trustees, and friends in support of the Marist Fund and other institutional priorities.

Responsibilities

• Develop and lead a comprehensive, multi-channel annual giving program to achieve fundraising and participation goals across key constituencies including trustees, alumni, parents, faculty/staff, students, and friends of the institution through direct mail, digital engagement, leadership annual giving, student philanthropy, giving societies and personal solicitation strategies.
• Collaborate with internal and external partners, including advancement colleagues, campus stakeholders, volunteers, and donors to coordinate the Day of Giving solicitations and outreach, including collaboration across campus for direct mail, social media, and digital outreach, logistics and setup for both giving and the day of events and engagement.
• Provide strategic leadership and relationship management for the Parents Council, including volunteer engagement, philanthropy initiatives, stewardship, and collaboration on programs that enhance parent participation and philanthropic support.
• Manage a small portfolio of giving prospects through qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship activities; conducting donor visits and solicitations annually while identifying and developing new prospects for the major gift pipeline.
• Analyze annual giving performance metrics, donor trends, and results to inform strategy, improve donor retention and acquisition efforts, and support data-driven decision-making.
• Supervise and mentor annual giving staff responsible for student philanthropy, leadership annual giving, parent and family giving, donor engagement, and related fundraising initiatives.
• Partner with Alumni Relations and Advancement colleagues to develop and support engagement programming, fundraising events, and integrated donor outreach initiatives that advance institutional fundraising priorities.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in a related field
• 5 - 8 years of related work experience
• Demonstrated experience in developing and implementing multi-channel fundraising strategies, including direct mail, digital outreach, email, phone, text, social media, and peer-to-peer solicitation.
• Experience managing annual giving programs or initiatives with demonstrated success in meeting fundraising goals.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to balance multiple priorities while executing complex initiatives.
• Strong understanding of annual giving best practices including donor acquisition and retention strategies, segmentation, solicitation strategies, and stewardship.
• Excellent written, verbal, and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to build relationships with diverse constituencies.
• Experience collaborating with internal and external partners, including advancement colleagues, campus stakeholders, volunteers, and donors.

Qualifications

• Experience in higher education advancement, particularly annual giving, alumni relations, or advancement communications.
• Experience managing a Day of Giving campaign, crowdfunding, or other large scale fundraising initiative.
• Experience supervising professional staff, student workers, or volunteers.
• Experience using advancement databases, CRM systems, and analytics tools to segment audiences, evaluate campaign performance, and inform fundraising strategies.
• Experience working with outside vendors and technology partners to enhance fundraising strategy, execution, and donor engagement.