Executive Director, Annual and Leadership Giving

Cornell University•Ithaca, MI

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Cornell University’s Alumni Affairs and Development division plays a central role in fostering lifelong engagement and philanthropic support across the university’s global community. The university’s To Do the Greatest Good capital campaign ends this June, having raised $6.6B+ on a $5B goal, and will culminate with the Cornell’s first $1B+ fundraising year. Serving as the bridge between Cornell and its alumni, parents, friends, and supporters, the division advances the institution’s mission by building meaningful relationships and inspiring investment in Cornell’s people, programs, and future. Its work reflects the belief that every gift makes a difference. Cornell's annual fund is an increasingly vital source of philanthropic support that touches every corner of the university. Cornell's Alumni Affairs and Development division offers candidates an opportunity to contribute meaningfully to a highly respected, innovative, and mission-driven organization where engagement and philanthropy have a direct and lasting impact. Annual fund gifts help support many of Cornell’s top priorities, including financial aid, educational excellence, research, and a wide range of initiatives that improve lives far beyond campus. This support is especially important in helping Cornell remain a place where all students can thrive and feel a strong sense of belonging. Cornell's annual fund plays a critical role in closing the gap, preserving affordability and accessibility, and ensuring students from all financial backgrounds have the opportunity to pursue their ambitions and make the most of the Cornell experience. The Executive Director (ED) of Annual and Leadership Giving is the senior institutional leader accountable for the strategy, performance, and continuous evolution of Cornell University’s annual and leadership giving program. The ED is responsible for overseeing the annual and leadership giving model at Cornell and for ensuring that it delivers sustained growth in unrestricted, broad-based, and leadership giving with a strategic focus on growing the annual fund, strong donor retention, upgrading donor investment, and maintaining a healthy pipeline. This role sets the overall direction, defines success, aligns resources across the team verticals, and makes ongoing strategic adjustments in response to performance, donor behavior, and institutional priorities. Reporting to the Senior Associate Vice President for Alumni Affairs and Development, the ED manages a dynamic team of approximately 23, including five program leads, and provides strategic leadership for the team and across central and unit-based annual giving functions ensuring that all team leads and verticals operate cohesively to achieve shared and measurable goals and desired outcomes. The ED also works closely with the Annual Fund National Chair and other trustees to advance the overall strategy and drive fundraising success. The ED actively engages as a senior leader in efforts to advance the goals, mission, and values of the Division.

Requirements

A bachelor’s degree
A minimum of ten years of fundraising or related experience.
Expertise and track record of success leading an annual giving program.

Nice To Haves

Senior leadership experience in annual giving, leadership giving, or closely related advancement functions within a complex organization.
Demonstrated success leading mature fundraising enterprises with accountability for enterprise outcomes.
Ability to provide management oversight, leadership, and direction with at least five years of significant supervisory experience.
Strength in developing strategic and comprehensive fundraising plans and executing against these plans to achieve goals and objectives.

Responsibilities

Overseeing the annual and leadership giving model at Cornell and for ensuring that it delivers sustained growth in unrestricted, broad-based, and leadership giving with a strategic focus on growing the annual fund, strong donor retention, upgrading donor investment, and maintaining a healthy pipeline.
Setting the overall direction, defining success, aligning resources across the team verticals, and making ongoing strategic adjustments in response to performance, donor behavior, and institutional priorities.
Managing a dynamic team of approximately 23, including five program leads, and provides strategic leadership for the team and across central and unit-based annual giving functions ensuring that all team leads and verticals operate cohesively to achieve shared and measurable goals and desired outcomes.
Working closely with the Annual Fund National Chair and other trustees to advance the overall strategy and drive fundraising success.
Actively engaging as a senior leader in efforts to advance the goals, mission, and values of the Division.

Benefits

Comprehensive health care options
Generous retirement contributions
Access to wellness programs
Employee discounts with local and national retail brands
Health and personal leave
Three weeks of vacation
13 holidays: Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Memorial Day, Juneteenth, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and the day after, and an end of the year winter break from December 25-January 1.
Two additional floating holidays
Tuition-free Extramural Study and Employee Degree Program
Tuition aid for external education
Cornell Children's Tuition Assistance Program