Job Description: 

The College of Wooster is seeking a Director of Annual Giving.  This position reports to the Assistant Vice President for Advancement, this position is primarily responsible for planning, directing, and implementing a successful annual giving program to raise unrestricted, annual support from alumni, parents, and friends of the College. The Director will serve a primary fundraiser for Leadership Annual Fund gifts.

The Director must have excellent management skills to successfully lead a results-oriented staff to grow volunteer engagement in fundraising, dollars raised, and alumni participation rates.

The Director also works closely with the Major Gifts and Planned Giving Program, Advancement Services and Donor Relations to leverage partnerships and integrate annual giving activity into overall fundraising efforts.  The Director also works in close collaboration with the Office of Alumni and Family Engagement on projects, including collaborating on communications, identifying new volunteer leadership, increasing the diversity of the volunteer base, especially among younger alumni, and ensuring the success of reunion-class and parent fundraising efforts.

The Director will be a proven fundraiser with demonstrated understanding of moves management, marketing and communications, and leadership of volunteer groups focused on fundraising. They will serve as an active member of the Advancement Leadership team.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 

• Serve as the leader of The Wooster Fund, with day-to-day oversight for the annual giving program and provide advice, support, and guidance to annual giving officers and support staff.
• Hire and train staff as appropriate by being versed in all aspects of an annual giving program and the work of volunteer management, personal solicitation, and broad-based campaigns. Evaluate staff performance annually.
• Provide the framework for, and oversight to, goal setting and benchmarking, recognition of volunteers and donors, events, volunteer recruitment, training and support, along with related activities of identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship for donors.
• Create, implement and evaluate a comprehensive, multi-year plan to increase donors and dollars in support of The Wooster Fund & The Fighting Scots Fund, and strengthen alumni participation.  The plan will involve multi-channel messaging including direct mail, telemarketing, online solicitation (email and social media), and personal solicitation to retain, upgrade and acquire donors.
• Partner with Office of Marketing and Communications to design and implement a comprehensive direct mail and online giving campaign to sustain annual giving efforts.
• Monitor progress towards the annual and multi-year goals. Provide a rigorous, systematic review and analysis of all Wooster Fund activities to find efficiencies. Develop appropriate elements and formats for regular, routine reporting on the Wooster Fund performance for a broad array of internal and external constituencies. Provide effective reporting and analysis to volunteers, supervisor and colleagues for use in management decision-making.
• Work effectively and collaboratively with the major gifts team to develop goals, objectives and strategies to maximize the opportunities for annual giving from their target audiences. Involve the team in strategic discussions for leveraging the Wooster Fund for qualification and cultivation of major gift prospects.
• Develop and manage the annual giving budget based on programmatic goals and objectives as reviewed and approved annually.
• Manage the retention and acquisition of Leadership Circle Society members and work closely with relationship managers to ensure accountability of this segment.
• Work with Advancement Services to ensure accurate market segmentation based on collected data, results reporting and coordination of efforts with other colleagues.
• Support Parents Advisory Council activity through leadership and involvement and by establishing cross-campus partnerships in the Student Affairs, APEX, and Admissions.
• Partner with staff in Marketing and Communications for marketing/branding and Alumni & Family Engagement in outreach and programming, attending events both on and off campus.
• Use the data base to record activity, relevant conversations and other contacts helpful to major gift, planned gift and other volunteer efforts.
• Serve as the primary liaison between the Office of Advancement and the Division of Athletics to provide oversight of athletics fundraising.

Qualification and Solicitation of Annual Gifts: 

• Develop and implement solicitation strategies for portfolio of 75-100 donors and prospective donors with the capacity to give $3,000 or more, with an emphasis on securing unrestricted support for The Wooster Fund. Solicitation activities are primarily focused on monthly personal visits and substantial contacts.
• Partner with the Director of Prospect Research to conduct feasibility of prospective donors, including alumni, parents, families, friends, faculty and staff, to determine annual travel schedule and establish goals to be met for the: 1) number of in-person visits 2) number of in-person solicitations 3) number of recommendations of prospects to the major gifts and planned giving program based on an annual review and analysis of the potential donor pool. And 4) cultivating additional donors with the capacity to give $3,000 or more to The Wooster Fund.
• Develop and manage a budget for outreach, travel, cultivation and stewardship activities.
• Document all personal visits and appropriate phone and email contacts in the database. Ensure all next steps, pledges and recommended actions are recorded and follow-up on appropriately.
• In partnership with Annual Giving Officers, create active pipeline process for movement to Major Gifts Officer portfolios and Planned Gift conversation leads.

Education/Experience: 

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Five to seven (5-7) years in development or related field; thorough knowledge of the principles and practices of higher education development and fundraising with an understanding of individual giving programs, and detailed understanding of annual fundraising programs, such as direct mail, phonathon, and personal solicitation programs is strongly preferred.
• Conversant in relevant and contemporary technologies and how they can be used in support of communicating and marketing direct mail and electronic solicitation programs, including increasing participation, and measuring and managing results.
• Proven record of leadership, management and supervisory skills. Possess a supportive and accessible management style, and a strong commitment to personal and professional development, with a proven track record motivating, training and managing a staff with diverse skills and experience.
• Superior communication skills with the ability to connect to a variety of audiences; clarity, crispness and persuasiveness in written and oral communications. Proven ability to guide a successful broad-based messaging platform including a mix of print, electronic, and social media in support of an annual giving program.
• Willingness to work evenings and weekends and travel
• Experience in personally soliciting gifts
• Extensive experience working with volunteers
• Ability to work effectively in a team environment?with a mix of faculty, parents, alumni and staff colleagues. Excellent interpersonal skills, outstanding personal initiative.
• Knowledge of modern data management practices and techniques including data-based computerized information systems, data modeling, and models of analysis that leads to effective decision making on behalf of the program.  Strong Excel skills including formulas, pivot tables, and vlookups are required, familiarity with email marketing programs (Mailchimp), Ellucian Colleague and Raiser’s Edge NXT preferred.
• Must be very detail-oriented, highly motivated, and demonstrate ability to manage multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously.  Able to manage multiple and changing priorities.  Demonstrated ability to work proactively, with excellent organizational and time-management skills.

The College of Wooster does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, sex/gender, gender identity, gender expression, medical condition, political affiliation, religion, creed, ethnicity, national origin (including ancestry), citizenship status, disability, age, marital status, family responsibilities, sexual orientation, veteran or military status, predisposing genetic characteristics, domestic violence victim status, or any other characteristic protected by institutional policy, or by state, local, or federal law. All offers of employment are subject to verification of the legal right to work in the United States as required by federal law. The College of Wooster is committed by policy and practice to diversity, equity and inclusion.