Associate Director, Major Gifts

University of Toronto•Toronto, ON

23h•Onsite

About The Position

The Division of University Advancement (DUA) at the University of Toronto is seeking an Associate Director, Major Gifts to join their transformative agenda focused on growth and innovation. The Major Gifts team's mission is to drive fundraising success at the $50K-$5M+ level to support university programs and priorities. This role involves engaging alumni and private sector constituents, building relationships, and enhancing fundraising efforts. The team supports ambitious fundraising objectives of partner divisions, university leaders, and special initiatives, with a focus on regional fundraising in North America and Europe. This requires a collaborative approach within a complex and decentralized fundraising environment. The Associate Director will manage a portfolio of approximately 100 donors and prospects, developing strategies to engage individuals capable of making significant gifts. This includes creating customized campaign strategies, individualized approaches, and managing projects with volunteers or staff. The role also ensures proper stewardship post-gift. Additionally, the Associate Director will maximize fundraising impact during Presidential and Vice President, Advancement travel by identifying, prioritizing, and preparing high-potential donor engagements. This involves close collaboration with various university offices, Alumni Relations, and other partners to develop travel strategies, briefing materials, and follow-up plans. The successful candidate must be highly organized, able to coordinate people and projects under pressure, and build effective partnerships across the institution and with external constituencies.

Requirements

Bachelor's Degree or acceptable combination of equivalent experience.
Eight years experience in a senior fundraising role, with a proven track record of success in cultivation and solicitation
Demonstrated experience at the giving level of $50,000 and above
Experience developing customized campaign strategies and individualized strategic approaches to targeted donors
Experience designing and implementing successful cultivation and solicitation strategies
Experience in volunteer engagement such as recruiting and training volunteer
Experience with planning projects independently that are often large and complex
Ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with major donor prospects and existing major donors
Ability to establish collaborative and productive relationships with the administration and faculty in order to advance interests
Extensive judgement in decision-making situations involving the conceptualization and implementation of new projects and in the interactions with major gift donors, volunteers and senior leaders within the University
Ability to work under pressure and meet fundraising goals
Ability to work as a collaborative and engaging member of the team
Strong writing and presentation skills; ability to create and present proposals to donors
Strong project management skills, with the ability to manage competing timelines, managing multiple complex initiatives simultaneously with short turn around times, and prioritize effectively to meet deadlines
Demonstrated attention to detail and excellence in written communication, including the ability to produce high quality briefing materials, donor correspondence and proposals

Nice To Haves

Achievement oriented
Communicator
Diplomatic
Meticulous
Team player

Responsibilities

Cultivating and soliciting current and prospective major gift donors through tailored stewardship programs
Meeting face-to-face with current and potential donors to discuss giving interests and opportunities
Developing and implementing strategic prospect identification, cultivation, solicitation and recognition plans
Determining the appropriate involvement of members of the university community and volunteers in the cultivation, solicitation and recognition process
Evaluating a prospective donor’s giving capacity and readiness to give
Identifying, evaluating and recommending the necessary steps to bring the prospect closer to making a major financial commitment to the University
Providing strategic leadership for new elements of the Division or Faculty’s advancement and fundraising programs and activities
Directing the activities of a group of staff-appointed employees all performing a similar function