Associate Director of Donor Relations

St. Olaf College•Northfield, MN

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Associate Director of Donor Relations is responsible for planning, implementing, and managing programs and events that acknowledge, recognize, and inform donors about their gifts to the college. This role involves planning, executing, and tracking donor journeys for various donor segments, including strategies for welcoming, retention, upgrades, and acquisition. The position also oversees stewardship and recognition events, manages the milestone giving recognition process, and collaborates with development officers on tiered stewardship for principal and major donors. Additionally, the Associate Director executes and monitors naming opportunities, tracks event and program metrics, fosters relationships with benefactors, and coordinates the production of donor stories and impact features. This role also manages student workers and supports a diverse and inclusive community.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree
Maintain a valid driver’s license and meet St. Olaf College driver authorization criteria with a satisfactory driving record.
5+ years of experience in donor relations, fundraising, events management, project management, or relevant experience.

Nice To Haves

Experience with donor events and communications
Experience with donor experience programs
Experience with Raiser’s Edge or similar customer relationship management software.

Responsibilities

Plan, implement, and manage programs and events that acknowledge, recognize, and inform donors about their gifts to the college.
Plan, execute, and track donor journeys for annual giving, endowed fund, and legacy society donors, including strategies to welcome donors and increase retention, upgrades, and acquisition; gratitude and impact touches; monitoring and evaluating progress toward goals.
Create and oversee the execution of stewardship and recognition events including the Christmas Festival Leadership Dinners, student-focused engagement and donor events, legacy giving society events, fundraising campaign events, and donor-involved dedications of campus programs and spaces.
Oversee and implement the milestone giving recognition process to recognize the College’s most important philanthropists at key moments in their giving history.
Working in collaboration with Prospect Research and Development Officers, implement tiered stewardship and recognition for principal and major donors as assigned.
Execute and monitor naming opportunities and agreements, plaques, and signage.
Track and analyze metrics for events and programs.
Use principles of continuous improvement to increase event and program effectiveness.
Foster lasting relationships between the College and its benefactors by offering excellent customer service.
Coordinate and contribute to the production of donor stories, impact features, and other communications that highlight the impact of scholarships, internship support, research funding, etc.
Manage student workers for Donor Relations.
Support, respect, and commit to embracing diverse backgrounds, values, and points of view to build a strong and inclusive community.
Complete and meet deadlines for required training and performance management cycle.
Perform other duties as assigned.