Senior Asst Director, Donor Cultivation

Our client is actively searching for a **Senior Asst Director or Asst Director, Donor Cultivation **to join their team

If you are a dynamic individual seeking a new career opportunity, read further

The University Advancement Office supports University’s giving mission by fostering meaningful relationships and strategic partnerships with philanthropists, alumni, business community partners, corporations that result in goodwill and philanthropy towards education and research that underpin a shared sustainable future.

Reporting into the Director, Stewardship, the Senior Assistant Director of Donor Cultivation is responsible for managing and enhancing relationships with loyal and lapsed donors. This role focuses on developing and executing strategies to recognize and engage existing donors, with the aim of increasing their giving levels. Additionally, the Director will work to reactivate lapsed donors, re-establishing their connection with the University and encouraging renewed support. The role involves crafting personalized engagement plans, coordinating recognition initiatives, and implementing targeted strategies to elevate donor contributions and foster long-term commitment.

**The responsibilities of this role are**:
**Donor Engagement and Recognition**:

- Develop and implement strategies to deepen relationships with loyal donors, including personalized communication, tailored engagement activities, and recognition programs.
- Design and execute recognition initiatives that celebrate donor contributions, enhance their connection to the University, and encourage increased giving.
- Monitor and assess donor engagement levels, using insights to refine strategies and enhance effectiveness.

**Cultivation and Upgrading**:

- Create and execute targeted cultivation plans to encourage loyal donors to increase their giving levels. Identify opportunities for upgrading their support and implement strategies to facilitate this transition.
- Develop personalized engagement strategies for potential major gifts from current donors, including meetings, special events, and exclusive updates.

**Reactivation of Lapsed Donors**:

- Analyze data to identify lapsed donors and understand the reasons for their disengagement.
- Develop and execute reactivation strategies to reconnect with lapsed donors, including personalized outreach, special appeals, and targeted communication.
- Track and evaluate the effectiveness of reactivation efforts, adjusting strategies as needed to improve outcomes.

**Collaboration and Reporting**:

- Collaborate with other development teams and departments to align donor cultivation efforts with broader fundraising and organizational goals.
- Prepare reports on donor engagement, recognition, and reactivation activities, providing insights and recommendations for continuous improvement.

**Strategic Planning**:

- Contribute to the development of strategic plans for donor cultivation and engagement, ensuring alignment with University’s overall fundraising strategy and objectives.
- A degree in any discipline
- Understanding of philanthropy as it relates to higher education.
- Knowledge of good donor relationship management
- **Minimum of 10 years’ experience preferably in higher education (or a comparably complex organization) in development, stewardship, advancement, or a related function, involving a range of senior stakeholders.**:

- Demonstrated success in achieving strategic outcomes in a large and complex environment.
- Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to communicate to a wide range of audiences with gravitas.
- Excellent ability to innovate and deal with ambiguity and organizational sensitivity with tact and diplomacy; to be opportunistic, responsive, resourceful, and resilient.
- Demonstrate a clear understanding and awareness of ethical considerations pertaining to advancement work, as well as an understanding and appreciation of cultural and intercultural sensitivities.