Assistant Director of Annual Giving, Donor Acquisition & Retention

About Vassar College

Located in the scenic Mid-Hudson Valley, Vassar College is a highly selective, residential, coeducational liberal arts college.

Vassar stands upon the homelands of the Munsee Lenape .

Vassar College is deeply committed to increasing the diversity of the campus community and to promoting an environment of equality, inclusion, and respect for difference.

The College is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action employer, and especially welcomes applications from veterans, women, individuals with disabilities, and members of racial, ethnic, and other historically underrepresented groups.

Vassar College is a smoke-free, tobacco-free campus.

Vassar College offers a comprehensive benefits package for administrators which includes :

• 22 vacation days for full time employees prorated if not full time, unlimited paid personal and sick time for use at the supervisor’s approval.
• 14 paid holidays per year which includes the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day.
• A choice of three health plans (EPO, PPO, High Deductible), Participation in FSA, Dependent Care, and Transit programs.
• Voluntary, employee paid dental insurance plan.
• Life Insurance and Voluntary Supplemental Life Insurance
• Employer paid short-term and long-term disability programs.
• 403(b) defined contribution plan after one year of service. For more information, visit : https : / / offices.vassar.edu / human-resources / benefits-and-wellness / retirement /
• New hires will be automatically enrolled in the SRA at a 4% employee contribution per paycheck.
• Tuition benefits for undergraduate programs : Eligible after applicable waiting period. For more information, visit : https : / / offices.

vassar.edu / human-resources / benefits-and-wellness / tuition /

Position Summary and Responsibilities Vassar College is midway through its ambitious and historic $500 million comprehensive campaign that will deepen our investment in financial aid and student life, expand research opportunities for our world-class faculty, and provide critical support for curricular innovation, racial justice and community engagement, environmental sustainability, admissions and career education.

The successful candidate will report to the Director of Annual Giving and work closely with our 1861 Loyalty Giving society that consists of donors who have given for three or more consecutive years to the Vassar Fund.

The Assistant Director will work with a dynamic and ambitious team that is charged with growing Vassar’s participation and raising funds to support the College’s annual fund.

Responsibilities

• Serve as the lead advocate and focus on developing a robust annual marketing plan for the 1861 Loyalty Society at Vassar.
• Develop strategies to increase retention and acquisition rates in our young alum cohort and 1861 Loyalty Society,
• Evaluate data and provide recommendations regularly to the Director of Annual Giving on ways to improve solicitation efforts.
• Partner with the College’s phonathon program to solicit and steward loyalty prospects and members.
• Create a plan to significantly increase the number of sustained donors to the Vassar Fund.
• Manage a portfolio of our alum loyalty prospects to educate them on the 1861 Loyalty Society and solicit their support of the Vassar Fund.
• Partner with the Donor Relations team to uniquely steward our loyalty society and the College’s most loyal donors (40+ years of consecutive giving to the Vassar Fund).
• Collaborate with the Volunteer & Reunion team to incorporate the loyalty giving program within their work with reunion committees and class goals.

Qualifications Required

• 1-3 years of professional experience in direct sales, fundraising, or marketing. Education and experience equivalencies will be considered.
• Adept at using social media, text, phone, and Zoom.
• Able to meet strict deadlines and goals as directed by supervisor.
• Strategic, analytical thinker who is able to work with a high degree of flexibility and use data to inform decision making.
• Strong oral and written communication skills, able to communicate the impact of donations through mass marketing and one-to-one messaging
• Strong collaboration and organizational skills.
• Excellent interpersonal skills, strong work ethic and readiness to engage alums in a personalized manner.
• Comfortable soliciting donors, articulating a strong and compelling case for support.
• Skilled at navigating and using databases, familiarity with CRM systems and entering contact reports.
• Follow high standards of ethical and honest relationships with donors and colleagues.
• Regular, predictable attendance is required; may require occasional weekend and evening work.

Preferred

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Higher education fundraising experience.
• Knowledge of Vassar College programs, etc. very helpful in fulfilling the duties of this position.
• Experience working at a higher education institution.
• Experience creating a marketing strategy and plan.
• Sense of humor.

Compensation The starting annual base salary range for this position is $58,460-$65,000.

When extending an offer, Vassar College considers factors such as (but not limited to) scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate’s work experience, education / training, key skills, internal peer equity, budget, and other market and organizational considerations.

The starting salary range represents the College’s good faith and reasonable estimate at the time of posting.