Director of Donor Relations and Stewardship

Job Description :

PRIMARY PURPOSE / GENERAL DESCRIPTION :

The Director of Donor Relations and Stewardship advances Scripps College’s fundraising and engagement efforts by fostering a culture of donor and volunteer-focused stewardship and relationship-building throughout the College.

The Director creates and manages a program for the strategic cultivation, recognition, and stewardship of individual donors and volunteers that fulfills the College’s responsibility to its constituents, and inspires ongoing support and engagement through regular contact and reporting of contribution and impact.

DESCRIPTION OF DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES :

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS :

This information is intended to be a descriptive of the key responsibilities of the position. The list of essential functions below does not identify all duties performed by any single incumbent in this position.

Perform other duties as assigned.

• Build upon, refine, and grow the College’s comprehensive program for recognition and stewardship of donors and volunteers in consultation with the Assistant Vice President of Institutional Engagement, Associate Vice President of Philanthropy and other senior colleagues in the External Relations and Institutional Advancement division.
• Lead creative, strategic, and tactical thinking in stewarding, cultivating, and strengthening long-term relationships with major donors : trustees, alumnae, parents, friends of the College, in collaboration with Engagement and Philanthropy team staff.
• Work collaboratively with prospect managers to develop stewardship plans for top donors. Play an active role ensuring the touchpoints are carried out the plans by both the philanthropy and stewardship teams as assigned.
• Work closely with the Engagement Team and Public Events Team to integrate stewardship for donors and volunteers into programming, events, and communications for alumnae and parents.
• Serve as a thought partner to The Scripps Fund staff and Planned Giving staff, to develop strategies to steward new donors, leadership annual giving donors, and planned gifts.

Steward giving societies / develop and execute communications and benefits to align with philanthropy team strategy.

Manage the stewardship of annual donors and volunteers through reports and thank you letters in consultation with appropriate staff.

Conceive, develop, and produce stewardship materials and collateral under the guidance of Marketing Communications team including reports, signage, gifts, photo books, and additional high-touch stewardship including campus visits and thank you communications from senior leaders (staff and trustees) at the College.

• Maintain a master calendar for donor and volunteer stewardship reporting that includes all endowed funds, operating and capital gift reporting, and communications.
• Fulfill the College’s requirement to endowed fund donors by generating annual stewardship that provides a financial update and a detailed narrative on the fund’s impact.

Work with the Office of the Treasurer to ensure accurate financial statements and reports.

• Conduct annual review of funds as ongoing cycle of fund audit.
• Manage the awarding of named scholarships, in collaboration with the Office of Financial Aid, and develop a culture of philanthropic awareness and gratitude among students.
• Maintain documentation and track new gift agreements with fund purposes in Advancement database / files and alert other departments to available funds and monitor their use.
• Work with the Office of Financial Aid, the Office of the Dean of the Faculty, and the Office of the Treasurer to ensure that donor-established funds, both endowed and restricted, are awarded in keeping with donor specifications;

create, establish, and monitor forms of enforcement for adherence to donor directives.

• Plan and implement donor recognition events and ceremonies including groundbreakings and dedications for donor-named rooms and buildings.
• Initiate and pursue opportunities to involve faculty, staff, and trustees in activities and events related to donor stewardship including speaker lunches, donor dinners, building dedications, etc.
• Develop tools and processes to support, and coordinate stewardship activities of colleagues across the External Relations and Institutional Advancement division.
• Supervise the Stewardship & Engagement Specialist and develop that team member as a forward-thinking and collaborative partner to colleagues across campus and throughout the division.
• Remain current on recognition trends, best practices, new strategies, services, and technologies in stewardship field.
• Incorporate the needs of diverse populations in program planning and execution.
• Actively support the College’s Principles of Community and Principles of Diversity in the performance of job duties.

REQUIRED KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES :

The successful candidate will possess the knowledge, skills and ability to successfully perform the essential functions of the position, or be able to explain or demonstrate how the essential functions will be performed, with or without reasonable accommodation, using some other combination of skills and abilities.

• Ability to employ professionalism and diplomacy that will earn the respect of colleagues and senior leaders across the College, volunteers, trustees, and donors.
• Requires exceptional professional writing, editing, analytical, and research skills. Strong prior experience composing correspondence and / or copy is preferred.
• Requires excellent organizational skills, an ability to work independently with minimal direction, and an ability to work well with others.
• Demonstrated project management skills and proven ability to effectively and efficiently manage multiple priorities with competing deadlines.
• Requires strong interpersonal skills and an ability to interface professionally with administration, faculty, and donors.

Ability to understand and articulate how stewardship supports and advances the broader fundraising agenda of the College.

• Strategic thinking skills and entrepreneurial spirit coupled with sound judgment and the ability to assess and manage risk.
• Ability to be collegial and service-oriented with an ethos of no job too big; no job too small.
• Understanding of financial principles and accounting practices relating to the administration of endowments; experience with some financial reporting.
• High ethical standards and sensitivity to the individual needs, attitudes, and situations of colleagues, volunteers, and donors.
• Demonstrated ability to motivate and influence peers, volunteers, and others.
• Must have proficiency in use of database and word-processing systems.
• Ability to create and manage list segmentation, reporting and tracking mechanisms to assist with recognition and stewardship projects.

QUALIFICATION STANDARDS :

EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE :

Bachelor’s degree is required in a relevant field, a master’s degree is preferred, or any combination of education and experience that provides the required knowledge, skills and abilities.

5 years of experience in advancement with specific experience in donor relations and stewardship is preferred. Experience in higher education fundraising is preferred.

LICENSES / CERTIFICATES :

None.

OTHER :

HOURS & CLASSIFICATION AND STATUS :

This is a regular, full-time, 12-month, benefits-eligible, exempt level position.

The regular hours for this position are 8 : 00 a.m. to 5 : 00 p.m., Monday-Friday. Hours may vary due to the needs of the College or department.

Salary range : $85,000-$100,000 annualized. The salary of the finalist(s) selected for this role will be set based on a variety of factors, including but not limited to, internal equity, experience, education, specialty, and training.