Director, Athletics Annual Fund

Department: Intercollegiate Athletics

Classification: Administrative Faculty

Job Category: Administrative or Professional Faculty

Job Type: Full-Time

Work Schedule: Full-time (1.0 FTE, 40 hrs/wk)

Location: Fairfax, VA

Workplace Type: On Site Required

Sponsorship Eligibility: Not eligible for visa sponsorship

Salary: Salary commensurate with education and experience

Criminal Background Check: Yes

Financial Background Check: Yes

About the Department:

To unite communities by developing champions with a mission to inspire and transform lives through the power of sports. Intercollegiate Athletics (ICA) serves 500 student-athletes in 22 NCAA Division I sports. We are a proud member of the Atlantic 10 Conference with 17 Conference Championships, NCAA Championships in Women’s Soccer and Men’s Indoor Track, an NCAA Final Four appearance with Men’s Basketball, and over 30 individual National Champions. We are student-focused, education-centered, and committed to providing transformational experiences for our student-athletes and staff. Our five priorities are Student-Athlete Experience, Competition, Resources, Storytelling & Engagement, and Championship Culture.

About the Position:

Reporting to the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Development, the Director, Athletics Annual Fund provides strategic leadership and direction for George Mason Athletics’ comprehensive annual giving program and the Patriot Club. The Director leads the development and implementation of strategies designed to acquire new donors, retain and upgrade current supporters, re-engage lapsed donors, increase unrestricted and sport-specific giving, and strengthen the pipeline of prospective major-gift donors. This position establishes the annual fund’s fiscal-year plan, revenue and participation goals, performance metrics, donor segmentation strategies, communications and solicitation calendar, benefits structure, stewardship strategy, and overall donor experience. The Director provides leadership to the annual fund team, maintains a portfolio of leadership annual giving prospects, leads Athletics parent and family giving strategy, and collaborates with Athletics Major Gifts, Central Advancement, coaches, volunteers, and campus partners to align fundraising priorities and facilitate the movement of qualified prospects through the development pipeline.

Responsibilities:

Leadership, Strategy, and Management of the Athletics Annual Fund and Patriot Club:

• Leads the overall strategy, management, and growth of the Athletics Annual Fund and Patriot Club;
• Creates and implements a comprehensive fiscal-year plan to identify, acquire, cultivate, solicit, renew, upgrade, engage, and steward Athletics donors;
• Establishes annual revenue, participation, acquisition, retention, renewal, upgrade, and donor-engagement goals and monitors progress throughout the fiscal year;
• Develops short- and long-term strategies to increase unrestricted support for Athletics and restricted support for individual sport programs and Athletics priorities;
• Directs the annual fundraising, marketing, communications, solicitation, donor-engagement, and stewardship strategy for the Patriot Club;
• Develops and manages an annual communications and solicitation calendar coordinating appeals, renewals, donor benefits, stewardship, sport-specific outreach, and special initiatives;
• Leads segmented fundraising and engagement strategies for former student-athletes, alumni, season-ticket holders, young alumni, volunteers, giving society members, fans, and other Athletics constituencies;
• Directs the strategy and implementation of Patriot Club membership benefits, priority seating and parking programs, priority points, basketball season-ticket giving requirements, and other donor benefits;
• Leads Athletics major giving society acquisition, renewal, upgrade, recognition, engagement, and stewardship strategies;
• Oversees sport-specific giving initiatives, former student-athlete campaigns, affinity-based fundraising, crowdfunding campaigns, game-day giving opportunities, and targeted special projects;
• Leads the overall Patriot Club donor experience and establishes service standards for questions related to gifts, pledges, pledge balances, priority points, seating, parking, benefits, and membership;
• Handles complex or sens