Assistant Director of Leadership Annual Giving
North Carolina State University (NC State) was founded in 1887 with the purpose of creating economic, societal and intellectual prosperity for the people of North Carolina. Today it is the largest university in North Carolina with more than 34,000 high-performing students, 8,000 pre-eminent faculty and staff and over 230,000 living alumni. NC State is known for its leadership in research, education and service and as a research extensive university, is recognized for its strengths in science, engineering and technology. The University consistently ranks among the top public national universities and as one of the best values in higher education.
Primary Function of Organizational Unit:
The mission of University Advancement at NC State University is to facilitate communication, internally and externally, and to enhance the image of the University; to provide meaningful programs and service to alumni and friends; to seek service-support participation and ambassadorship from constituents; to build and sustain a strong volunteer leadership network; to raise money from private sources; to manage the collection of private gifts for North Carolina State University; to manage an effective alumni and development database and gift systems; and to coordinate with the General Administration in areas of government and legislative priorities in Raleigh and Washington.
In 2016, NC State launched the Think & Do the Extraordinary Campaign, the most ambitious fundraising effort in the history of the university with a $1.6 billion goal. Priorities include dramatically increasing endowment to benefit students and faculty, enhancing facilities and strengthening support for current operations.
Essential Job Duties
The Assistant Director of Leadership Annual Giving is responsible for the identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of donors with the capacity to give at the level of $1,000 - $50,000. S/he will be a highly motivated professional who will be deeply involved in the fundraising efforts in support of current operations and endowment from individual donors with emphasis on new donor acquisition, upgrades, growing membership of the Chancellor's Circle and developing a pipeline for major gifts. Solicitations will be multi-channel including, but not limited to phone calls, mail, emails and personal meetings in regional areas of high alumni concentration. Reporting to the Associate Director of Leadership Annual Giving, this position will serve as a part of University Development's team and will work to support all areas of the University in conjunction with the Think & Do the Extraordinary Campaign. The Assistant
Director will be expected to develop and cultivate relationships with a portfolio of approximately 250 leadership annual giving prospects. He or she will work with the partnership with the Associate Vice Chancellor for University Development.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Plan, design, implement, and evaluate strategies to obtain outright annual gifts and pledges.
Identification, qualification, cultivation and solicitation of leadership annual giving prospects to create and grow a pipeline of Chancellor Circle members and major gift ($50,000 and above) donors.
Conduct at least 250 personal contacts with prospects and donors annually and participate in 20 solicitations per month.
Strategic development and management of a portfolio with approximately 250 prospects and donors capable of making gifts of $1,000 - $50,000.
Partner with the Advancement Research team as well as the Annual Giving team to identify prospective donors and strategically assess their philanthropic capacity
and inclination.
Be an active and collaborative team member in Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving and University Advancement.
Make donor referrals to University Development and campus-wide gift officers, as appropriate.
Provide timely post-visit follow-up including tracking moves and solicitations, and sending personalized follow up to individual prospects.
Collaboration with colleagues to help align donors' philanthropic interests with various priorities across campus.
Coordination of stewardship efforts as needed with appropriate University Advancement and other campus colleagues
Attend university-wide events and University Advancement related meetings.
Requirements:
Post-baccalaureate credentials or Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university and at least two or more years of professional-level experience in direct solicitation/fundraising or a closely related field (such as sales) are required.
Other Required Qualifications
* Ability to work effectively as part of a dynamic team in a large, complex research university;
* Experience in cold calling, negotiating, and closing business deals;
* Ability to work independently, while maintaining consistent and transparent communication with a team and leadership;
* Excellent written and verbal communication skills;
* Strong organizational and analytical skills, with a high attention to detail;
* Self-motivated and self-starting;
* Good listener;
* Optimism, perseverance and a positive attitude;
* Ability to travel around the region;
* Computer literacy
* Ability to work evenings and weekends as required.
Preferred Qualifications
* Three or more years of successful experience in fundraising, annual giving or closely related field;
* Knowledge of principles, practices and ethics of fundraising;
* Understanding of the development process and donor cycle;
* Volunteer management experience;
* Prior experience in a comprehensive capital campaign;
* Experience in higher education fundraising;
* An understanding of the land-grant, research Tier One university environment;
* Familiarity with NC State University and the Triangle.
Required License(s) or Certification(s)
A valid North Carolina Driver's License is required within 60 days of start date. Must be maintained as a condition of employment.