Annual Gift Director - Higher Ed. jobs in Nebraska

Position Summary

Working directly with the Director of Donor Relations and the President at NorthStar, the Associate Director of Annual Giving will implement strategies for acquiring, retaining, upgrading, and stewarding donors to build a robust pipeline of support. This position will be responsible for overseeing and growing the baseline of annual support through multiple campaigns. To that end, the Associate Director is responsible for overseeing and evaluating all aspects of the donor-centric annual fund program including annual corporate sponsorships, fund development, prioritization, and fundraising (identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation/negotiation, and stewardship) to ensure that NorthStar can fulfill its mission.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Development – Individual Portfolio, Research & Solicitation Management (65%)

• Partner with Development team and President to plan effective discovery, engagement, cultivation, and solicitation strategies that will enhance existing relationships, move donors forward in the pipeline, and discover and build new relationships.
• Manage a portfolio of 65-75 individual, family, and corporate annual fund and leadership-level donor prospects. Serve as primary gift solicitor as appropriate for identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation/negotiation, and stewardship.
• Assist in identifying, researching, and analyzing prospects for individual gift cultivation and solicitation including for institutional giving, strategic initiatives, target development areas, and special event areas as needed with a goal of growing the prospect pool and fundraising pipeline.
• Build knowledge of internal funding priorities within and beyond the Development department, consulting with internal colleagues as needed.
• Establish and maintain prospect/donor records inclusive of biographical updates, contact reports, tasks, and the “moves management” system within the Virtuous CRM database system.
• Learn and apply the processes of active listening and structured questioning to understand the prospect’s capacity and inclination to support NorthStar Foundation.
• Play a key role in the annual giving campaigns at NorthStar including the True North Fund and Camp NorthStar, in addition to providing support for the Climb Higher annual fundraising event.
• Support and manage the 42 Club program through development of the annual program plan, events calendar, and membership recruitment, and other areas as needed.
• Work as a member of the Development team and colleagues to create and implement donor-centric cultivation strategies by engaging with current and prospective donors frequently and proactively.
• Meet expectations for solicitations, gifts pledged and closed in support of the annual revenue and engagement goals. Completes a significant volume of proactive outreach calls, messages, and face-to-face solicitations to secure annual gifts.

Donor Relations and Stewardship (35%)

• Develop, implement, and participate in appropriate stewardship touches, activities, and programs for donors as relevant and needed to demonstrate to donors the impact of their philanthropy.
• Assist in identifying and contributing donor impact stories for NorthStar publications and social media platforms.
• Provide support to Development team for stewardship events as needed.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Successful candidates will have 3-7 years of progressive experience as a development/fundraising professional, preferably in the context of a small-to-medium-size nonprofit organization.
• Experience creating and executing fundraising strategies to reach position specific annual fundraising goals and ability to grow additional sources of revenue. Proven track record of meeting and exceeding goals for fundraising and performance.
• Demonstrated strong oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to build and maintain relationships with stakeholders at all levels of the organization, including Board Members, strategic partners, senior leadership, and the diverse public that NorthStar serves.
• Knowledge of how to employ communication and meeting preparation tools to achieve stated objectives for each fundraising process step including the case for support, key initiatives, and fundable opportunities.
• Commitment to represent NorthStar with enthusiasm, energy, integrity, and professionalism.
• Proven ability to work independently and as well as with colleagues and volunteers.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and calmly switch gears when priorities/objectives change.
• Computer experience in Mac and PC environments; ability to work with Microsoft Office Suite and other software as needed. Prior experience with constituent relationship manager software (Virtuous CRM, etc.)
• Ability to take advice and guidance in a positive and productive manner.
• Demonstrated multicultural competence – the awareness, knowledge, sensitivity, and skills needed to work with others who are culturally different in meaningful, relevant, and productive ways.
• Expertise in acting with excellent judgment and diplomacy and ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality.
• Bachelor’s degree from a four-year college or university required.