Director of Development, Annual Giving and Alumni Memberships
About the University Western Washington University, with over 16,000 students in seven colleges and the graduate school, is nationally recognized for its educational programs, students and faculty. The campus is located in Bellingham, Washington, a coastal community of 90,000 overlooking Bellingham Bay, the San Juan Islands and the North Cascades Mountain range. The city lies 90 miles north of Seattle and 60 miles south of Vancouver, British Columbia. Western is the highest-ranking public, master's-granting university in the Pacific Northwest, according to the 2019 U.S. News & World Report rankings.
About the Department
The WWU Foundation and and the Division of University Advancement support Western's mission, which states that together with our students, staff, and faculty, we are committed to making a positive impact in the state and the world with a shared focus on academic excellence and inclusive achievement. We encourage applications from women, people of color, people with disabilities, veterans, and other candidates from underrepresented backgrounds and with diverse experiences interested in this opportunity.
The Division of University Advancement is comprised of 44 staff members who support the engagement and philanthropy work. The three leadership units are: advancement services including financial and database work; major giving including donor relations and research; and alumni and constituent relations, advancement communications and marketing, and annual giving. Advancement transitioned to the Ellucian CRM in 2020. Main offices are on campus with satellite offices in downtown Bellingham and Seattle.
The WWU Foundation manages assets of over $115 million. Current extended campaigns include a one-year $20 Million capital campaign as part of a state-funded electrical engineering and computer science building and a multi-year Campaign for Student Success, which focuses on recruitment and retention scholarships plus program excellence.
The WWU Alumni Association informs, connects, and engages the 125,000 alumni with each other and with Western. More than half of Western alumni live in Washington with significant pockets along the West Coast and in major cities across the U.S. Signature programs include Distinguished Alumni Awards, Paint B'ham Blue, an annual welcome back to students event, and WeConnect, an online mentoring program connecting alumni with each other and with students.
Leadership volunteers serve on the boards for the Foundation and Alumni Association to set strategic direction and policy, raise friends and funds, and steward the community of donors and potential donors.
About the Position
The Director of Development, Annual Giving & Membership is responsible for providing leadership and guidance to Western Washington University's annual giving and alumni membership programs, with a focus on securing lifelong, loyal Alumni Association members and donors to the University. You will also be actively engaged in identifying, cultivating, personally soliciting and stewarding a portfolio of Sapphire Life Members, leadership annual giving donors and WWU Give Day sponsors. Programmatic oversight includes the Alumni Association Membership Campaign and all aspects of the Annual Giving Campaigns including Leadership Annual Giving, telemarketing, direct mail, email solicitations, crowdfunding, WWU Give Day, Viking Athletics' team campaigns, peer-to-peer fundraising committees.
You will report to the Assistant Vice President of Alumni, Annual Giving & Communications, within University Advancement. In this role, you may be required to travel regionally and conduct some weekend and evening work.
A list of duties and associated tasks are outlined below:
Duty: Direct responsibility to develop and manage overall annual plan and be responsible for implementation, goals and results of all Annual Giving campaigns and initiatives.
Tasks include:
Work with University leadership, deans, chairs and program directors to understand University-wide and unit-based fundraising priorities in order to effectively create and communicate the case for support to key constituencies.
Ensure effective coordination between annual giving, major gifts, donor relations, marketing & communications, alumni and constituent relations (ACE) and advancement services and work collaboratively to meet goals.
Conduct detailed statistical analyses and reporting.
Research best practices, giving trends and identify new strategies to meet goals.
Responsible for the development and management of budgets, policies and procedures.
Initiate, analyze, monitor, evaluate and advance strategic annual fundraising campaigns that meet the goals of University Advancement.
Duty: Management of Annual Giving and Alumni Membership staff
Tasks include:
Mentor, train and lead a high-achieving and dedicated team of professionals and student staff to execute a multi-channel annual giving campaign to effectively engage, solicit and steward our key audiences: alumni, parents, faculty/staff, WWU retirees, Athletic supporters and friends.
The team includes the Associate Director, Leadership Annual Giving; the Assistant Director of Annual Giving, Direct Marketing and Alumni Memberships (who oversees a student staff of 2-5) and the Assistant Director, Digital Giving and Phonathon (who oversees a student staff of ~40 Phonathon callers).
Channels used to communicate and solicit our audiences include: direct marketing (direct mail and email), social media, Phonathon, texting, crowdfunding, WWU Give Day, volunteer management of peer-to-peer solicitations and personal solicitations.
Provide the essential leadership and guidance for annual giving staff to maximize productivity; work with Assistant Vice President to set performance standards, evaluate performance; implement professional development activities for ongoing mentorship.
Duty: Direct responsibility to develop and manage overall annual plan and be responsible for implementation, goals and results of all Alumni Membership campaigns and Initiatives.
Tasks include:
Oversight of Assistant Director responsible for membership renewal, acquisition and membership fulfillment activities including direct marketing (direct mail and email, texting), digital memberships cards and procurement of benefits and perks for members.
Work with the Executive Director of the Alumni Association and the Alumni Association Board of Directors to identify membership strategies to more deeply engage and steward members.
Identify new strategies to meet Alumni Association membership campaign goals and build upon existing campaigns such as Socktober and March Membership Month.
Initiate, analyze, monitor, evaluate and advance strategic annual fundraising campaigns that meet the goals of University Advancement.
Duty: Staff the WWU Give Day Committee of the WWU Foundation Board of Directors and oversee the staff member who supports the President's Society Committee of the Board
Tasks include:
Provide strategic direction to volunteers to achieve desired outcomes.
Facilitate committee meetings (3 per quarter)
Provide talking points and presentation materials for Team Lead to present at WWU Foundation Board meetings and Executive Committee meetings
Prepare reports, peer-to-peer solicitation lists and associated supporting materials such as WWU Give Day Wrap Report and other statistical analysis of WWU Give Day results, donor profiles, scripts and sponsorship packets for distribution.
Duty: Personal solicitations of leadership annual gifts, WWU Give Day sponsorships and annual scholarships
Tasks include:
Identify top leadership annual giving/scholarship prospects for personal solicitation
Personally solicit leadership annual giving/annual scholarship donors and WWU Give Day Sponsors via phone, personal visits and other personalized communications and gift proposals
Prepare necessary gift agreements to successfully close and document leadership annual gifts, including but not limited to: Annual Named Scholarship Agreements, Endowed Fund Agreements, and Letters of Intent to document pledges of $10,000 or more
Cultivate, Engage and Steward them through personal meetings, personalized impact reports and connections with student scholarship recipients and campus partners
Required Qualifications
Bachelor's degree
Five years progressively successful experience in fundraising, sales, customer acquisition and retention or applicable experience
Experience working in or overseeing an annual giving and/or alumni membership program including knowledge of all aspects of annual giving - telemarketing, direct mail, crowdfunding, email and personal solicitations
Excellent written, verbal and interpersonal communication skills
Demonstrated strong computer, analytical analysis and data base skills, including excellent Microsoft Office and Excel skills
Ability to appropriately manage highly confidential information
Demonstrated commitment to support a workplace culture in which diversity is honored, respected and celebrated
Preferred Qualifications
Management, leadership and supervisory success working in a dynamic environment
Demonstrated ability to establish fundraising and/or membership goals and manage a program to meet or exceed the goals
Outstanding organizational, research and analytical skills as well as ability to communicate complex details and statistics in effective presentations
Creative, good-natured team-member with demonstrated ability to collaborate with colleagues and volunteers
Working knowledge of Ellucian CRM Advance or similar database
Salary $70,000 - $81,650 commensurate experience, including an excellent benefits package.
Western Washington University (WWU) is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer committed to assembling a diverse, broadly trained faculty and staff. Women, minorities, people with disabilities and veterans are strongly encouraged to apply. In compliance with applicable laws and in furtherance of its commitment to fostering an environment that welcomes and embraces diversity, WWU does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and parenting status), disability, age, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, marital status or genetic information in its programs or activities, including employment, admissions, and educational programs. See WWU's Policy on Ensuring Equal Opportunity and Prohibiting Discrimination and Retaliation. Inquiries may be directed to the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance, Title IX and ADA Coordinator, Western Washington University, Old Main 345 (MS 9021), 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225; 360.650.3307 (voice) or 711 (Washington Relay); crtc@wwu.edu
WWU is committed to providing reasonable accommodations to qualified individuals with disabilities upon request. To request this document in an alternate format or to request an accommodation, please contact Human Resources Disability Services, 360.650.3774 or 711 (Washington Relay).
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