The Opportunity

The Director of Annual Giving works closely with PSU Foundation (PSUF) colleagues and campus partners to develop and execute PSUF’s annual giving program. The multi-channel program focuses on increasing annual giving revenue, deepening donor engagement, and broadening the base of support across all constituent groups – including alumni, faculty, staff, parents and friends of Portland State University. The director will also drive a long-term strategy to strengthen the major gift pipeline, systematically moving annual giving donors into managed development programs.

Key Partners 

• Frontline Fundraisers  
• Engagement & Communications Team 
• IT/Data Management Team 
• Gift & Fund Management Team 
• Accounting & Finance Teams 
• Alumni Association team
• PSU Units

Measures of Success 

• Progressively increase annual giving revenue through innovation and persistence 
• Meet or exceed goals related to donor acquisition, retention, upgrades and engagement 
• Meet or exceed participation and dollar goals for leadership annual giving program 

Essential Duties

• Increases annual gift revenue while broadening the base of support through direct mail and electronic solicitations managed in close collaboration with the Engagement & Communications team and campus partners. 
• Develops and maintains strong solicitation, engagement, and stewardship approaches for key constituencies (e.g., faculty, staff, young alumni, loyal donors) 
• With key colleagues, builds and manages the leadership annual giving program (gifts of $1,000-$50,000) to move annual giving donors into relationship-based fundraising programs 
• Manages a portfolio of leadership annual giving donors and prospects. 
• With key colleagues, develops a plan to continuously improve the PSU Foundation’s annual giving program, integrating with its multi-channel digital campaigns, as well as with alumni engagement efforts.
• With key colleagues, works to benchmark and measures the engagement of alumni and key constituencies around giving, volunteerism, event attendance and other metrics. 
• Analyzes, monitors and reports annual giving progress to staff and stakeholders, including board members of both the PSU Foundation Board and Alumni Association Board.    
• Collaborates with Engagement & Communications to ensure that brand standards and the overall marketing and communications strategy is deployed consistently and effectively. 
• Performs key administrative duties, including budget management, coordinating engagement activities, setting up donor visits, and supervising and evaluating Annual Giving staff.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in relevant discipline and four or more years of related work experience, preferably in a complex organization with multiple stakeholders.
• Demonstrated success implementing strategies that directly increase organizational revenue.
• Excellent analytical, technical and communication skills, including data analysis for traditional and digital channels, direct-response performance and overall revenue performance.
• Experience with comprehensive fundraising campaigns is preferred.
• A valid Driver’s License, insurance and the ability to travel is preferred.

Expectations of All PSUF Staff 

• Safeguard constituent privacy by adhering to all applicable standards of privacy rights and ethics.  
• Ensure donor confidentiality by exercising discretion in communicating information 
• Adhere to all PSUF policies and standards of conduct, and uphold core PSUF values (collaboration, integrity, transparency, empowerment, donor-centric) 
• Actively participate in activities and practices advancing the PSU Foundation’s goal to address racial inequality for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and other minority groups, in relation to philanthropy, content development and workplace culture

Characteristics and Cultural Competencies

• Deep knowledge of best practices in annual giving for educational institutions, especially the integration of annual giving activities with pipeline development, engagement and multi-channel marketing 
• Demonstrated understanding of the significant creative, technical and analytical competencies that drive success in annual giving programs 
• Ability to build productive relationships and work in partnership with colleagues and stakeholders to advance shared goals 
• Ability to manage multiple projects and duties simultaneously while paying careful attention to details and deadlines 
• Ability to create an equitable and inclusive team environment, and to communicate effectively within the context of varying identities, cultural and racial backgrounds