Director, Annual Giving

MOUNT ST JOSEPH UNIVERSITY • Delhi Township, OH

1d • Onsite

About The Position

Mount St. Joseph University seeks an innovative, strategic, and relationship-focused fundraising professional to serve as Director of Annual Giving. Reporting to the Senior Director, Institutional Advancement, the Director provides leadership for the University's comprehensive annual giving program and is responsible for developing strategies that increase donor participation, revenue, retention, and long-term philanthropic engagement. The Director develops and executes a comprehensive, multi-channel annual giving program designed to engage alumni, parents, friends, faculty, staff, and other University constituents in supporting the mission and priorities of the Mount. The Director provides strategic leadership for annual giving campaigns and appeals across direct mail, email, digital, social media, crowdfunding, giving days, recurring giving, employee giving, and other appropriate channels. A key responsibility of the position is to strengthen the donor pipeline by creating opportunities for annual donors to deepen their engagement and progress toward increased levels of giving. The Director manages a portfolio of approximately 75–100 mid-level donors and prospects, primarily in the $1,000–$15,000 range, while developing individualized cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies. The Director will collaborate with Institutional Advancement colleagues and campus partners to identify, cultivate, retain, upgrade, and appropriately transition donors within the fundraising pipeline. The Director uses data and donor analytics to understand giving behavior, identify opportunities for increased support, segment constituents, personalize solicitations, and strengthen donor retention. The position plays a central role in building a sustainable annual giving program that not only generates current-year revenue but also strengthens lifelong relationships with the Mount.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution.
• Three or more years of progressively responsible experience in annual giving, fundraising, advancement, development, nonprofit fundraising, or a related field.
• Demonstrated success developing and implementing annual giving or other fundraising strategies.
• Experience managing a personal donor/prospect portfolio and securing gifts through personal solicitation.
• Experience developing multi-channel fundraising campaigns.
• Demonstrated ability to analyze donor data and use information to inform fundraising strategies.
• Strong written, verbal, interpersonal, and presentation skills.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain effective donor relationships.
• Strong project management, organizational, and follow-through skills.
• Ability to work collaboratively across departments and with individuals at all levels of an organization.
• Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Office and Excel.

Nice To Haves

• Experience in higher education advancement.
• Experience with Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT or comparable advancement CRM.
• Experience with annual giving, mid-level giving, leadership annual giving, or direct response fundraising.
• Experience with giving days, crowdfunding, digital fundraising, or peer-to-peer campaigns.
• Experience with donor segmentation, analytics, and predictive modeling.
• Experience developing donor pipelines and transitioning prospects to major gift portfolios.
• Experience with email marketing platforms and digital fundraising tools.
• Familiarity with capital campaign fundraising.
• Experience working with alumni constituencies.

Responsibilities

• Develop, implement, and continuously evaluate a comprehensive annual giving strategy aligned with the University's Strategic Plan 2030, Institutional Advancement priorities, and annual fundraising goals.
• Establish annual giving goals, objectives, revenue targets, participation goals, and performance metrics.
• Develop and manage an annual giving calendar incorporating direct mail, email, digital, social media, crowdfunding, giving days, recurring giving, employee giving, and other appropriate fundraising channels.
• Develop strategies to increase donor acquisition, retention, renewal, participation, and average gift size.
• Evaluate annual giving results and use data to develop recommendations and strategies for future fiscal years.
• Develop strategies that create a clear pathway from first-time donor to repeat donor, annual donor to mid-level donor, and mid-level donor to major gift prospect.
• Collaborate with Institutional Advancement leadership to establish annual giving priorities and ensure alignment with broader Institutional Advancement goals.
• Manage a personal portfolio of approximately 75–100 mid-level annual donors and campaign-aligned prospects, primarily in the $1,000–$15,000 range.
• Develop and execute individualized strategies for cultivation, solicitation, renewal, upgrade, and stewardship.
• Personally solicit annual and mid-level gifts through face-to-face meetings, telephone, video, email, direct mail, and other appropriate methods.
• Identify opportunities to increase giving among current donors through upgrades, recurring gifts, multi-year commitments, and increased participation to deepen philanthropic engagement.
• Identify donors demonstrating increased capacity or engagement and coordinate their transition to the appropriate Development portfolio.
• Identify lapsed donors and develop targeted strategies for re-engagement and renewal.
• Maintain accurate and timely records of donor contacts, strategies, solicitations, and outcomes in Raiser’s Edge NXT.
• Develop and implement comprehensive strategies to acquire new annual donors and increase overall participation in philanthropy at MSJ.
• Establish targeted approaches for alumni, parents, friends, faculty, staff, students, young alumni, and other constituent groups.
• Create strategies that encourage first-time donors to renew their support and provide opportunities for recurring and increased giving.
• Develop targeted campaigns based on giving history, affinity, capacity, engagement, geographic location, and other appropriate data.
• Identify and implement strategies to re-engage lapsed donors and strengthen long-term donor relationships.
• Partner with Alumni Engagement to create opportunities that connect alumni engagement with philanthropic participation.
• Develop and manage a strategic mid-level giving program that serves as a bridge between broad-based annual giving and major gift development.
• Establish appropriate identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for mid-level donors.
• Provide strategic direction for leadership annual giving opportunities and giving societies, including the 1920 Society and other appropriate donor recognition programs.
• Develop strategies to increase participation and giving among leadership-level annual donors.
• Partner with Development staff to identify donors with the capacity and interest to progress into major gift portfolios and ensure appropriate transition and continued relationship management.
• Provide the Vice President for Institutional Advancement with regular updates on mid-level giving program, emerging major gift prospects and donor movement through the pipeline.
• Lead the strategy, planning, implementation, and evaluation of MSJ's annual giving campaigns and special fundraising initiatives.
• Provide leadership for major annual giving initiatives, including Back-to-School, Giving Tuesday, end of year appeals, Day of Giving, and fiscal year-end appeals, along with and other special campaigns.
• Develop integrated, multi-channel campaign strategies utilizing direct mail, email, digital platforms, social media, telephone outreach, and other emerging fundraising channels.
• Develop strategies for matching gifts, challenges, giving incentives, and peer-to-peer fundraising to increase participation and campaign results.
• Establish campaign goals, audiences, goals, messaging priorities, timelines, segmentation strategies, and performance measures in collaboration with the Senior Director of Institutional Advancement.
• Coordinate with Alumni Engagement and Marketing and Communications to maximize participation and visibility.
• Conduct post-campaign analysis and provide recommendations for future annual giving initiatives based on performance, donor behavior, and return on investment.
• Partner with Advancement Communications to develop compelling campaign messaging, donor stories, appeals, and digital content that demonstrate the impact of philanthropy and inspire giving.
• Identify opportunities to leverage board members, volunteers, alumni, faculty, staff, students, and other ambassadors in annual giving campaigns.
• Develop and manage compelling, donor-centered cases for support that connect annual giving opportunities to MSJ's mission, students, strategic priorities, and institutional impact.
• Create an annual solicitation calendar that coordinates appeals, donor communications, and engagement opportunities throughout the fiscal year.
• Work with Advancement Services to develop audience segmentation strategies based on giving history, affinity, engagement, demographics, and other relevant donor data to deliver targeted and personalized solicitations.
• Collaborate with Marketing and Communications to develop effective print, direct mail, email, digital, social media, video, and other campaign materials.
• Partner with Alumni Engagement to develop coordinated alumni communications and fundraising opportunities for targeted appeals to alumni, parents, friends, faculty and staff, young alumni, and other University constituencies.
• Coordinate annual giving communications with Development Officers and other Institutional Advancement initiatives to ensure donors receive appropriate and strategically timed outreach.
• Evaluate solicitation performance and donor response to refine messaging, segmentation, timing, and channel strategies.
• Use Raiser’s Edge NXT and other advancement systems to analyze donor behavior, giving trends, capacity, affinity, engagement, and campaign performance.
• Partner with the Prospect Research Manager to identify prospects with increased capacity and philanthropic potential.
• Partner with Advancement Services to ensure accurate lists, coding, reporting, segmentation, and data integrity.
• Develop and monitor annual giving dashboards, reports, and performance metrics to evaluate progress toward established fundraising and participation goals.
• Establish processes for referring qualified annual giving prospects to Development Officers while maintaining appropriate annual giving cultivation and stewardship.
• Regularly assess the effectiveness of solicitation channels, audience segments, ask strategies, and campaigns and make data-informed adjustments throughout the year.
• Develop and implement meaningful stewardship strategies for annual and mid-level donors that strengthens relationships and encourages continued support.
• Ensure donors receive timely and appropriate acknowledgement and recognition based on giving level, history, and engagement.
• Develop opportunities for donors to deepen their connection to MSJ beyond the act of giving.
• Provide strategic oversight for donor recognition and stewardship associated with the 1920 Society and other annual giving recognition programs.
• Partner with Advancement Communications, Alumni Engagement, Development Officers, and campus partners to develop impact stories, donor communications, recognition opportunities, and other meaningful engagement experiences.
• Participate in University, alumni, donor, stewardship, and community events to cultivate relationships and remain informed about University priorities.
• Serve as a knowledgeable and enthusiastic ambassador for MSJ's mission, students, programs, and strategic priorities.
• Collaborate closely with the Senior Director of Institutional Advancement, Development Officers, Alumni Engagement, Advancement Communications, and Advancement Services to develop and execute integrated donor engagement and fundraising strategies.
• Serve as a key partner across Institutional Advancement to ensure annual giving strategies are coordinated with broader fundraising, alumni engagement, stewardship, and institutional priorities.
• Provide annual giving expertise and guidance to campus partners seeking to engage alumni, parents, faculty, staff, and other constituencies in philanthropic support.
• Build collaborative relationships with academic schools, Athletics, Student Affairs, Mission & Belonging, and other campus partners to identify annual giving opportunities and philanthropic priorities.
• Partner with campus leaders to develop targeted fundraising initiatives that connect donors with programs, projects, and areas of greatest institutional need.
• Represent Annual Giving on University and Institutional Advancement committees, working groups, and special initiatives as appropriate.
• Provide strategic leadership for the University’s annual giving societies and donor recognition programs, including the 1920 Society, to strengthen donor loyalty, engagement, and philanthropic support.
• Develop and implement strategies to grow and strengthen University giving societies and leadership-level annual giving programs.
• Oversee appropriate communications, engagement, recognition, and stewardship for giving society members.
• Develop strategies for affinity-based giving opportunities, including alumni, parents, employees, athletics, academic programs, and other appropriate constituencies.
• Evaluate giving society structures, recognition levels, and benefits periodically and recommend enhancements that support donor engagement and Institutional Advancement goals.
• Monitor giving society membership, renewal, retention, upgrades, and revenue and use results to inform future strategies.
• Support the University’s capital campaign and other comprehensive fundraising initiatives by aligning annual giving strategies with broader campaign priorities and goals.
• Develop annual giving strategies that build donor participation and strengthen the pipeline of donors with potential for increased philanthropic support.
• Partner with the Senior Director of Institutional Advancement, Development Officers, and other Advancement colleagues to identify annual giving donors with the capacity, affinity, and engagement to support campaign priorities.
• Develop targeted annual giving appeals and initiatives that complement capital campaign messaging and provide opportunities for donors at all giving levels to participate in the campaign.
• Track and evaluate annual giving participation and performance as it relates to campaign goals and provide reports and analysis to Institutional Advancement leadership.
• Develop and manage the annual giving program budget.
• Monitor annual campaign expenses, vendor relationships, printing, postage, digital marketing, and other program costs.
• Manage relationships with external vendors and service providers supporting direct mail, digital fundraising, giving platforms, and other annual giving initiatives.
• Partner with Advancement Services to ensure accurate gift processing, donor records, reporting, and data integrity related to annual giving activities.
• Evaluate cost per dollar raised and return on investment by campaign and channel.
• Establish annual calendars, timelines, workflows, and procedures to ensure consistent execution of the annual giving program.
• Maintain accurate and timely documentation of donor activity, campaign results, and program performance.
• Prepare budget projections, program updates, and other operational reports for the Senior Director of Institutional Advancement and University leadership as appropriate.
• Supervise assigned staff, student workers, or other resources as applicable.

Benefits

• Tuition Remission for you and your family.
• 403b Retirement
• Excellent benefits including medical, employer HSA contributions, dental, vision, life, parental leave.
• Generous PTO.
• 16 paid holidays.
• Competitive salaries.
• Opportunity to work in a dynamic and collaborative educational environment.
• Professional development opportunities.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Manager