Associate Director, Annual Giving Programs

The Associate Director of Annual Giving Programs at Northeastern University will play a key role in advancing philanthropic support of the university through their involvement in strategic planning, execution, and coordination of Giving Day initiatives and affinity-driven fundraising strategies. This position requires a dynamic individual with strong project management skills, a collaborative approach to their work, and a passion for engaging diverse constituencies.

This position will oversee all aspects of Giving Day, our signature giving program each spring. Giving Day is a critical component of our overall annual strategy aimed at increasing the number of donors year to year. Key responsibilities include:

Developing the strategy for Giving Day challenges, to drive competition and giving

Spearheading a working group model to organize workflows amongst all Giving Day stakeholders and ensure deadlines are met.

Managing the Giving Day website and serving as point person with our vendor

Partnering with various units and departments, including schools & colleges, Athletics, Cultural Centers, student programs, and the Global Campus Network to help develop and execute Giving Day strategies.

In collaboration with annual giving colleagues, developing a robust marketing plan to build awareness of Giving Day and solicit gifts from all Northeastern constituencies including Alumni, Parents, Students, and Faculty & Staff.

The Associate Director will also be responsible for expanding affinity-based giving programs with oversight from the Senior Associate Director & Director of Annual Giving, including:

Partnering with colleagues across campus to help develop and execute targeted giving strategies for various units and audiences, including schools & colleges, Athletics, cultural centers, student programs, and the Global Campus Network.

Translating constituent engagement with various areas into giving by identifying fundraising goals, developing appeal strategies in partnership with Annual Giving outreach colleagues, supporting peer-to-peer fundraising efforts, and collecting and coding relevant data.

Helping to develop targeted strategies to encourage giving across the Global Campus network, tailoring messages and content to the unique experiences of constituents on each campus, as well as our campus’s place in their local communities.

Partnering with the Director for Student Philanthropy & Engagement to work with student groups, ensuring that students maintain their affinity after graduation and support those groups through giving.

Working closely with the Alumni Relations Educational Initiatives team to deliver effective Annual Giving strategies to our schools and colleges, particularly around specific funding priorities and special events and programs.

Seeking to identify groups and audiences that have not previously been engaged with Advancement, with compelling stories that can be leveraged to increase giving.

Providing meaningful stewardship to donors who support affinity groups, focused on demonstrating the impact of giving.

This person will work closely with all members of the Annual Giving team as we work to increase donor counts across all our constituencies.

A successful candidate is someone with a strong eye for detail, who can think creatively, and has the ability to handle multiple priorities at once. Teamwork and collaboration are key.

The Associate Director must be able to represent the university and the Annual Giving & Alumni Relations team in a professional, enthusiastic manner with a customer service and team focus. Evening and weekend work are occasionally required as needs dictate. This person is required to perform their duties in person on the Boston campus. Other duties as assigned, including assisting at several events throughout the year.

Minimum Qualifications:

Bachelor’s degree required. Four to six (4-6) years of experience in development, preferably in higher education. Demonstrated skill in relationship building, gift solicitation and stewardship; excellent management, organizational, interpersonal, public speaking, and computer skills; superior communication skills (written and oral) including the ability to understand and convey university programs, priorities and issues to a wide variety of audiences; detail oriented; high level of self-confidence and enthusiasm; ability to be a self-starter; strong customer service focus; Ability to interact professionally and diplomatically with alumni, volunteers, students, parents, friends, staff, faculty, vendors and external entities; ability to work independently and collaboratively as a member of the Annual Giving team and the University Advancement division.

Key Responsibilities & Accountabilities:

Giving Day (50%)

Manage all aspects of Giving Day, including challenges, operations, marketing, and development of Giving Day website

Implement and oversee a working group model to manage collaboration and accountability among all Giving Day stakeholders and ensure workflows are efficient and deadlines are met.

Serve as primary point of contact with Giving Day website vendor, with responsibility for site build, with assistance from the Annual Giving Administrative Assistant.

Partner with various units, including schools and colleges, Athletics, Cultural Centers, student programs, and the Global Campus Network to help develop and execute Giving Day strategies.

Develop plan for centrally funded Giving Day challenges and serve as point person and advisor for gift officers soliciting challenge gifts from donors.

Work with Advancement Resources colleagues to ensure Giving Day gift processing, day-of operations, and reporting run smoothly.

In collaboration with Associate Director of Annual Giving Outreach, develop marketing plan to build awareness of Giving Day and solicit gifts from all Northeastern constituencies including Alumni, Parents, Students, and Faculty & Staff.

Affinity-driven Fundraising Strategies (50%)

Partner with colleagues across campus to help develop and execute targeted giving strategies for various units, including schools and colleges, Athletics, Cultural Centers, student programs, and the Global Campus Network.

Identify affinity groups with engaged constituents and compelling cases for giving and develop strategies to translate that engagement into giving by identifying fundraising goals, developing appeal strategies in partnership with Annual Giving outreach colleagues, supporting peer-to-peer fundraising efforts, and collecting and coding relevant data.

Develop targeted strategies to encourage giving across the Global Campus network, tailoring messages and content to the unique experiences of constituents on each campus, as well as our campus’s place in their local communities.

Partner with the Director for Student Philanthropy and Engagement to work with student groups, ensuring that students maintain their affinity after graduation and support those groups through giving.

Work closely with the Alumni Relations Educational Initiatives team to deliver effective Annual Giving appeals for our schools and colleges, particularly around specific funding priorities and special events and programs.

Seek to identify groups and audiences that have not previously been engaged with Advancement, but with compelling stories that can be leveraged to increase giving.

Provide meaningful stewardship to donors who support affinity groups, focused on demonstrating the impact of giving.

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