Director of Lettermen's Association

GAMECOCK CLUB•Columbia, SC

1d•$65,000 - $95,000•Onsite

About The Position

The Director of the Lettermen’s Association will lead efforts to strengthen lifelong connections between South Carolina Athletics and its former student-athletes. Reporting to the CEO of the Gamecock Club, the Director will grow Association membership, build a comprehensive annual giving program, increase philanthropic support, and expand and maintain an accurate database of former student-athletes. The Director will serve as a primary relationship manager for the former student-athlete community, creating opportunities to reconnect, participate, and give back, regardless of membership or giving history and across sports, generations, and geographic locations. The Director will supervise the Assistant Director and work closely with the Lettermen’s Association Advisory Board to shape priorities and advance the Association’s mission. The role leads strategy and coordinates execution through the Assistant Director, Advisory Board, volunteers, and collaboration with Gamecock Club, Athletics, and University partners. The Director develops membership and retention strategies; manages an annual giving program; cultivates, solicits, and stewards donors; and coordinates with Gamecock Club development staff on major gift opportunities. The position oversees former student-athlete engagement programs, including reunions, recognition activities, athletics gatherings, networking, mentorship, and career connections. The Director also serves as the primary staff liaison to the Advisory Board, supervises and develops the Assistant Director, leads database improvement, coordinates communications and operations, develops an annual operating plan and budget, and reports progress to the CEO and Advisory Board. Evening, weekend, and travel commitments may be required as needed.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree and demonstrated experience in fundraising, alumni relations, membership development, athletics administration, or a related field.
Proven ability to build relationships and translate outreach into measurable membership, engagement, or fundraising results.
Experience developing annual giving campaigns, soliciting support, and stewarding donors.
Demonstrated ability to supervise staff, delegate effectively, and coordinate work across departments.
Ability to build productive relationships with advisory boards and volunteer leaders.
Strong organizational, communication, and interpersonal skills.
Ability to manage multiple priorities and work independently.
Experience using constituent relationship management systems and data to guide outreach and measure results.
Ability to work effectively with former student-athletes, donors, volunteers, coaches, and University partners.
Sound judgment, discretion, and commitment to responsible handling of constituent information.

Nice To Haves

Experience in collegiate athletics or an athletics fundraising organization.
Demonstrated success building or expanding an annual giving program.
Experience supporting an advisory board.
Familiarity with the experiences and interests of former student-athletes.

Responsibilities

Develop and execute a strategic membership plan with measurable recruitment, renewal, retention, and reactivation goals.
Evaluate and strengthen membership benefits, communications, and experiences to encourage continued participation.
Create a consistent process for introducing graduating student-athletes to the Association and maintaining their connection to South Carolina Athletics.
Recruit and engage former student-athletes as volunteer ambassadors.
Build and manage an annual giving program with defined priorities, donor segments, solicitations, and stewardship.
Develop an annual fundraising calendar in collaboration with Gamecock Club fundraising and communications staff.
Grow donor participation, philanthropic support, donor retention, recurring gifts, and average gift size.
Personally cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio of former student-athletes and other supporters.
Partner with Gamecock Club development staff to identify and advance major gift opportunities and coordinate prospect management and donor communications.
Communicate the distinction between Association membership dues and philanthropic giving, including the purpose and impact of each.
Develop a year-round engagement strategy for former student-athletes at all levels of involvement.
Oversee reunions, recognition activities, athletics gatherings, networking opportunities, and other programs.
Partner with coaches, sport administrators, and Athletics staff to reconnect former student-athletes with their teams and the broader athletics program.
Create opportunities for former student-athletes to support current student-athletes through mentorship, career connections, and other appropriate involvement.
Gather feedback to ensure programming reflects the interests and needs of the former student-athlete community.
Serve as the primary staff liaison to the Lettermen’s Association Advisory Board and maintain regular communication with its members.
Work with the Advisory Board to shape priorities and strengthen membership, fundraising, and engagement initiatives.
Coordinate Advisory Board meeting schedules, agendas, materials, and follow-up.
Engage Board members as ambassadors, volunteer leaders, and relationship builders; support member recruitment and onboarding in accordance with governing processes.
Translate Board input into actionable plans aligned with Gamecock Club priorities and report on progress and results.
Supervise, mentor, and evaluate the Assistant Director, setting responsibilities and goals and supporting professional development.
Delegate responsibilities and coordinate workloads for membership services, outreach, events, communications, and daily operations.
Establish shared roles and work plans with Gamecock Club staff, Athletics personnel, University partners, and volunteers.
Work with the CEO to align priorities with staffing, resources, and budget.
Lead efforts to identify, locate, and reconnect with former student-athletes across sports and eras.
Oversee accurate records of contact information, sport and participation history, membership status, giving history, and engagement.
Coordinate record reconciliation and data-completeness improvements with Athletics, University partners, and Gamecock Club staff.
Establish processes for recording outreach, updating information, and tracking participation in the designated database.
Use data to identify engagement gaps, prioritize outreach, and evaluate membership and fundraising performance.
Develop an annual operating plan and budget aligned with Gamecock Club priorities.
Coordinate with communications staff to develop and distribute content highlighting former student-athletes, promoting involvement, and demonstrating giving impact.
Oversee a communications calendar for membership, fundraising, events, and broader engagement.
Provide regular progress reports to the CEO and Advisory Board on membership, fundraising, database growth, and engagement.
Represent the Association and Gamecock Club at events and meetings, including evenings, weekends, and travel as needed.
Establish annual performance targets with the CEO across membership, fundraising, database growth, engagement, Advisory Board participation, staff development, major gift referrals, programs, communications, and stewardship.