Assistant Director, Annual Giving Programs, Family Philanthropy

Rhode Island School of Design•Providence, RI

8d•Hybrid

About The Position

Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) seeks an Assistant Director, Annual Giving Programs, Family Philanthropy to join Institutional Advancement (IA). Reporting to the Director, Annual Giving Programs, the Assistant Director, Annual Giving Programs manages a portfolio of new and existing annual giving donors as well as annual giving initiatives for families. This position plays a key strategic role in RISD’s Annual Giving efforts as we work to establish a more robust culture of philanthropy both on campus and in the wider RISD community. In their frontline fundraising work, the Assistant Director, Annual Giving Programs will employ an in-depth donor-centric management mindset to identify, cultivate, solicit and steward new and existing donors supporting RISD. They will develop an annual plan to cultivate and solicit a portfolio of prospective and current donors for annual support with a particular focus on family donors. The Assistant Director, Annual Giving Programs creates personalized engagement plans for each assigned donor and conducts meaningful personal, local and virtual visits to secure gifts. The Assistant Director, Annual Giving Programs also plays a vital role in building a robust donor pipeline, serving as a key conduit between the annual fund level and major gift level of giving. The Assistant Director, Annual Giving Programs will also play a crucial role in managing initiatives aimed at building annual giving support for families. The Assistant Director, Annual Giving Programs works closely with the Director, Annual Giving Programs, to implement a strategic plan and coordinate volunteer efforts. The successful candidate will thrive in a campus environment that is committed to advancing the principles of social equity and inclusion, environmental and climate justice, and equal access to resources and opportunities.

Requirements

Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent combination of education and experience required.
Five years of progressively responsible experience in development and fundraising or similar transferable experience is required.
Customer service experience required.
Strong preference for applicants with experience in initiating and securing a high volume of development visits and personally soliciting gifts.
Ability to work in a performance-based environment by tracking meeting goals, contacts, and raised dollars.
Knowledge of the principles and practices of development and fundraising with an understanding of individual giving programs, such as direct mail, phone-a-thons and personal solicitation programs.
Ability to interact with a variety of key constituencies - including donors, prospects, volunteers, and student workers - in a professional manner and to articulate appreciation of art and design.
Detail-oriented and thorough; skilled at anticipating and preventing potential problems and handling a wide variety of tasks with efficiency and accuracy.
Demonstrated skill in adapting to and performing work effectively in a high-volume, high-accountability, confidential environment with multiple and changing priorities.
Exceptional organizational, logistical, time management, and planning skills with the ability to manage and prioritize multiple tasks/projects simultaneously.
Ability to self-motivate and work independently.
Demonstrated ability to effectively communicate verbally, in writing and electronically.
Ability to analyze, synthesize and organize data, and present findings in a comprehensible manner for different audiences.
Ability to work and communicate effectively with a broad spectrum of divisional and institutional colleagues, within an environment that values diversity and inclusion.
Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Google drives/folders/forms.

Nice To Haves

Experience in the higher education or nonprofit sector is preferred
Preferred experience using NXT/Raiser’s Edge.

Responsibilities

Frontline fundraising responsibilities Tasked with executing solicitations and closing gifts to secure annual fund gifts for unrestricted and designated, current use purposes (Museum and College)
Conduct independent research through the Institutional Advancement database, Internet sources, and referrals from RISD representatives and volunteers to identify and appropriately engage prospective donors.
In conjunction with the combined assigned portfolio of current and prospective donors, conducts meaningful solicitation, stewardship, and cultivation visits either locally or virtually.
Develop and execute an annual solicitation plan for submitted proposals and gift closures providing gift projections of commitments.
Maintain a rigorous schedule of personal contacts with assigned prospects, creating moves management plans related to them that include strategies of engagement and solicitations.
Collaborate with the RISD Fund, Alumni + Family Relations, and Donor Engagement teams to leverage appropriate Alumni Association, 1877 Society, and volunteer opportunities for select prospective and current donors.
Seamlessly transition newly identified prospective and current donors with a major gift capacity to Philanthropy Officers for further relationship development.
Utilize Raiser's Edge NXT system, which identifies, assigns, rates, and tracks assigned prospects, to comply with department policies and procedures.
In collaboration with the Director, Annual Giving Programs, develop and implement a strategy to build out successful programs that encourage leadership annual giving from families.
Manage the activities of the Family Philanthropy Committee.
Develop invitation lists of current and potential members, follow up with potential new members and collaborate with colleagues in the division on meeting agenda development, meeting minutes, volunteer tools, and reports.
Create, track and manage the solicitation process to solicit families for annual giving support.
Partner with Major Gift + Planned Giving, Annual Giving Officers and the Advancement Communications team, as appropriate, to support solicitations through coaching, collateral materials or other types of support.
Partner frequently and transparently with the officers in Alumni + Family Relations to develop and implement synergistic programming for families.
Collaborate with Major + Planned Gifts team, Alumni + Family Relations team, Special Events team, and other campus partners to accomplish program, project or event objectives.
Implement and monitor performance of programs and evaluate effectiveness.
Develop and recommend methods or strategies to maximize effectiveness and increase dollars and donors for the annual funds.
Complete other related tasks and projects as assigned, including but not limited to assisting with planning, implementing and staffing key events and meetings, as needed.