Executive Director, Donor Relations and Events

The Executive Director of Donor Relations and Events is responsible for the university’s comprehensive effort to acknowledge, recognize, and engage donors at all levels—by celebrating philanthropic impact and leveraging donor relations and events to drive continued fundraising success.

As a member of the development leadership team, this role drives the vision for donor relations overall in addition to leading multiple teams responsible for programmatic stewardship activity including broad-based and highly personalized reporting, creating and facilitating curated donor experiences, and executing events. 

This position is a strategically integrated part of the development team, working in close partnership with frontline fundraising leadership to ensure that donor relations and stewardship play a central role in advancing Vanderbilt’s most ambitious campaign to date and sustaining its momentum in the years ahead. This hire will play a pivotal role in shaping that future by bringing deep expertise in donor engagement, strategic insight across the donor pyramid, and a creative and adaptive approach to planning and implementation They will serve as a key thought partner and high-impact collaborator across the development enterprise.

About the Work Unit:

The Department of Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) assists Vanderbilt University in securing the resources, both human and financial, that are required to achieve its mission and goals. The Department is responsible for the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of individuals and organizations whose charitable objectives are consistent with those of Vanderbilt University’s teaching and research programs. Learn more about our department at https://www.vanderbilt.edu/dar/

Key Functions and Expected Performance:

Collaborate on Vision and Resources

Actively collaborate with leaders from across Development and Alumni Relations to create, develop, and iterate on a clear and compelling donor relations vision and strategy

Prioritize and align human and financial resources to maximize impact

Seek continuous process improvement to increase efficiencies, maximize human capital, and advocate for essential projects related to databases, reporting, and business processes

Develop and Deploy Strategy

Create high-impact stewardship programs for all levels and types of giving: endowment, capital, current-use, encompassing the full donor spectrum from annual gifts to planned gifts

Design and implement a highly integrated and collaborative principal donor engagement effort alongside fundraisers, communications, and university leaders 

Build on existing objectives and key results (OKRs) to establish a robust set of measures to capture the reach and range of donor relations activity—and the impact on fundraising

Operationalize Creative Tactics 

Deliver high-quality personalized donor communications and creative and engaging broad-based communications at scale for all donors

Optimize financial reporting for personalization and a laser-focus on donor impact

Source ideas and support creative and out-of-the-box ideas to enhance event experiences for our constituents, with an emphasis on operationalizing unreasonable hospitality for our top supporters

Embrace a digital-first mindset to tell compelling stories of impact that reinforce Vanderbilt’s growing brand-strength and the role that philanthropy plays 

Execute Effective Events

Drive dynamic and purpose-driven events that deliver top-notch donor experiences spanning intimate, personalized gatherings to broader receptions and celebrations 

Partner closely with related offices and functions at the university to execute unique Vanderbilt experiences that are rooted in our mission and our fundraising and engagement objectives

Embrace informed resource allocation to demonstrate the value, return on investment, relationship impact, and brand enhancement driven by event activities

Mentor and Cultivate the Team’s Talent Pipeline

Lead a team of professionals with an emphasis on deploying strengths, growing individual career plans, and leaning into collaboration and creativity

Cultivate a strong core team that exhibits radical ownership of the donor relations team’s work and direct engagement with leadership across the division in driving key initiatives 

<