Assistant Director of Annual Giving & Donor Relations

Classification Title:

AST DIR, Donor Relations

Job Description:

Much of the work that The College of Education does is made possible through of philanthropy. Under the guidance of the Executive Director of Advancement, the Assistant Director of Annual Giving & Donor Relations is responsible for providing stewardship, engagement, and cultivation touches for the College’s most generous donors. Through correspondence, stewardship reporting, and engagement programming, they will seek to convey gratitude to the COE’s most loyal alumni and friends. Visits, both in person and remotely, are with alumni and friends to educate them about college priorities and present opportunities for giving back (through annual fund donations, volunteer opportunities, and other engagement). They are responsible for engaging prospects as appropriate in our fundraising pipeline through the annual fund or in the life of the college based on demonstrated interests. The Assistant Director of Annual Giving & Donor Relations will also support the annual giving efforts of COE through designing and crafting annual giving solicitations (mail, phonathon, email, and digital), supporting department and program annual giving fundraising, assisting with Giving Day fundraising efforts, and working on young alumni or other targeted fundraising strategies. Works closely with colleagues to create, sustain, and further cultivate positive relationships with donors, University of Florida COE stakeholders, and Central Advancement team members.

Annual Giving Fundraising

• Manage and facilitate fundraising projects initiatives and develop long-term strategic plan for growing annual fund, including direct marketing and digital and web-based marketing, to raise funds for college and department/program priorities. This includes setting the strategy, budget, timeline, and tactics for each project, managing them throughout the production process, analyzing results, and optimizing ROI.
• Effectively move annual donors through the solicitation pipeline, working with our annual giving, digital fundraising, and major gift teams in the College of Education and at UF.
• Participate in the fundraising and annual giving planning process; contribute to team meetings to help create team norms and processes.
• Participate in goal setting with annual giving and fundraising teams, both for the year and our upcoming campaign.
• Research and stay up-to-date on trends in the field of higher education advancement, annual giving, and philanthropy. Suggest new initiatives and/or improvements in annual giving outcomes.
• Utilize data and reporting information to strategically enhance annual giving direct marketing efforts.
• Create dynamic annual giving messaging that will connect with alumni, parents, and friends of the college.
• Perform copywriting and editing for college and department fundraising communications as needed.
• Develop Giving Day campaign strategies and Dean’s Leadership Circle initiatives, including solicitations, content, and volunteer management in coordination with the Communications team.
• Educate prospects about College priorities; and secure leadership annual fund gifts ($1K to $10K) through in-person visits and digital touch points.
• Introduce constituents to the Dean’s Leadership Circle and annual giving priorities, establish rapport and trust, and set the stage for alumni and friends to help support the college.
• Coordinate with UF Advancement and COE Communications staff on marketing/fundraising events.
• In conjunction with the Executive Director, coordinate annual gift outreach activities.
• Record donor/prospect communications in the CRM database and manage prospect tracking on annual giving donors.
• Serve as the COE liaison for Annual Giving.
• Formulate funding priorities and opportunities related to annual giving gifts at the assessed level. Must develop comprehensive understanding of mission, strategy and goals as they relate to fundraising.
• Work with COE Communication’s office to produce and distribute promotional material that highlights annual giving programs and college news.
• Participate as needed in alumni events, volunteer activities and programs.
• Draft communications for direct mail appeals, personalized letters to donors and potential donors, fundraising brochures, proposals, tailored pledge forms. Requires excellent writing skills to draft communications for the COE Communication’s office.
• Request and analyze data from UF Advancement (UFA) – Prospect Strategy and Research (PSR) and Computer Services departments to compile data for mass mailings, including segmented mailings to new donors, lapsed donors, and repeat donors.
• Manage online giving program for the college and development of social media campaigns.
• Coordinate