Annual Giving and Engagement Officer

Tufts University•Medford, MA

2d•Onsite

About The Position

Tufts Annual Giving (TAG) oversees the strategy, design, and implementation of a comprehensive annual fundraising program, with an emphasis on leadership annual giving, donor experience officer outreach, class-based reunion fundraising, and volunteer-driven engagement to increase donor counts. TAG is responsible for the Tufts Fund for Arts, Sciences, and Engineering (Tufts Fund). The Tufts Fund is critical to the successful operation of the School of Arts and Sciences and School of Engineering at Tufts University as it currently raises more than $12 million dollars annually, with nearly 80% of that toward unrestricted budget-relieving purposes. Tufts Fund gifts support financial aid, student programs and activities, faculty, and curriculum development. Additionally, the Tufts Fund is a critical entry point for student and young alumni participation and donor acquisition across all giving levels driving the University’s philanthropic pipeline. TAG provides strategic direction and support for annual giving staff university-wide, which includes the seven additional school-based annual fund programs that are run independently. Together, these programs raise an additional $11 million towards annual fund achievement at Tufts. To support these efforts, TAG administers central services including execution of university-wide direct mail efforts, management of university-wide giving initiatives, developing analyses and reporting tools, providing industry best-practices and benchmarking support and ensuring that as much of the programmatic work as possible is uniform across Tufts University.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree
2+ years of relevant experience in fundraising, student engagement, event planning, or a related field.
Strong organizational and project management skills.
Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with an ability to connect with diverse audiences.
Interest in and ability to leverage Excel and other technology to organize, prioritize, track, and manage a large constituency base at a personal level.
Creative thinker with a passion for developing innovative engagement strategies.
Experience managing social media and creating content across formats (reels, static posts, stories); familiarity with design tools such as Canva is preferred.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.
Excellent knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite software applications, including Word and Excel.
Familiarity with database management and reporting tools is a plus

Nice To Haves

Familiarity with design tools such as Canva is preferred.

Responsibilities

Plan and execute signature student giving campaigns, including #TuftsGivingTuesday and April Giving, including full campaign infrastructure: dedicated crowdfunding giving pages, cohesive branding, group-specific giving links, toolkits, and multi-channel outreach.
Independently identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward challenge donors for April Giving and other campaigns; manage all aspects of challenge fund logistics and group activation.
Recruit, hire, and manage three student employees; conduct regular leadership development training for student workers and TSAC volunteers; recruit and manage class ambassador volunteers for each undergraduate class year.
Maintain a consistent, high-visibility on-campus presence through regular themed tabling activations staffed by the Officer and student employees; use tabling as a primary vehicle for peer-to-peer donor outreach and philanthropic education.
Build and maintain sustained, relationship-driven partnerships with the Office for Campus Life, Club Sports, and Varsity Athletics (SAAC); attend partner events, hold regular meetings, and serve as a resource to those offices.
Train student groups on fundraising best practices and philanthropic storytelling; provide toolkits, group-specific giving links, and campaign support to maximize student organization participation in giving campaigns.
Manage the Tufts Student Alumni Collective (TSAC) social media presence, managing a consistent posting cadence of original content including reels, static posts, and stories that highlight events, campaigns, student organization features, and philanthropic education.
Maintain and evolve the TSAC brand identity, including logo, color palette, and visual standards; develop marketing materials in partnership with the student graphic designer that reflect a cohesive brand voice across all channels.
Use social media scheduling tools (e.g., Loomly) to plan and publish content; coordinate multi-channel campaign communications across email, social media, and in-person events to maximize student engagement and giving.
Integrate stewardship touchpoints across all campaigns and events; collect and distribute thank-you notes, handwritten acknowledgments, and personalized video messages (e.g., ThankView) to donors in ways that feel personal and meaningful.
Plan and execute on-campus stewardship events (e.g., Get the Scoop, pizza celebrations for 100% participation teams) to thank student donors and reinforce a culture of giving.
Develop donor recognition strategies including exclusive branded items and recognition opportunities; ensure challenge donors receive personalized acknowledgment from student groups they supported.
Plan and execute Senior 100 Days, including venue, catering, speakers, format, branded giveaways, and promotional outreach in partnership with the Office for Campus Life; manage logistics for student and a cappella group participation in Tufts Night at Pops and the Illumination Ceremony.
Table at Senior Week events to take final gifts, collect volunteer sign-ups and non-Tufts email addresses, and build the pipeline of engaged young alumni for the Tufts Annual Giving team.
Recruit and manage a 1st Reunion volunteer committee for the most recent graduating class; assign GiveCampus peer outreach, support volunteer engagement, and work toward 100% committee giving participation.
Work closely with Tufts Annual Giving colleagues to support larger team efforts, including reunion staffing, call nights, BOLD events, and fiscal year-end outreach.