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Serving as a senior strategic partner to the Executive Director, the Associate Director of Annual & Leadership Giving (Reunion & Volunteer Campaigns) designs, builds, and executes a comprehensive, revenue-driven reunion and peer-to-peer volunteer solicitation program. This role is responsible for elevating Lafayette's reunion philanthropy model to new heights by implementing strategic goal setting, robust volunteer recruitment and training, targeted solicitation messaging, and specialized stewardship frameworks. Additionally, this position maintains an active personal frontline fundraising portfolio and partners closely with the Executive Director to establish forward-looking departmental policies and industry best practices for managing volunteer solicitors.
Position Responsibilities & Essential Functions:
1. Reunion Campaigns & Class-Based Fundraising (40%)
• Program Building & Execution: Partner closely with the Executive Director to plan, coordinate, and implement a sophisticated, multi-year reunion fundraising strategy aimed at achieving class giving milestones for overall dollars raised and donor participation.
• Volunteer Architecture: Identify, recruit, onboard, and train high-performing alumni volunteer committees for milestone reunion classes, equipping them with clear expectations, timelines, and direct peer-to-peer solicitation skills.
• Goal Setting & Campaign Analytics: Establish inspiring fundraising goals and individual class giving patterns in tandem with the Executive Director, monitoring committee performance and progress towards goals utilizing the division CRM.
• Reunion Stewardship & Honor Rolls: Develop and implement a comprehensive reunion stewardship framework, including the creation and rollout of milestone giving honor rolls and donor-recognition strategies to celebrate and sustain long-term commitment.
• Cross-Functional Reunion Synergy: Partner in lockstep with Alumni Engagement colleagues responsible for reunion programming to ensure class-based fundraising campaigns and volunteer pipelines are strategically integrated with event timelines, maximizing both attendance and milestone giving totals.
2. Volunteer Solicitation Program Development, Policy, & Operations (30%)
• Program Material Development: Build out the foundational operational infrastructure for Lafayette's peer-to-peer volunteer solicitation program, designing comprehensive training modules, volunteer solicitor toolkits, targeted appeal messaging guides, and strategic solicitation assignment pools.
• Operational Partnership: Partner closely with Advancement Operations to identify, evaluate, and implement best-in-class tools and technological platforms necessary to track, manage, and scale a premier volunteer solicitor program.
• Policy & Best Practices: Work in lockstep with the Executive Director to author and implement forward-looking tracking procedures and industry best practices to govern volunteer-led outreach, optimizing solicitation pipelines while ensuring data integrity.
• Cross-Functional Alignment: Work collaboratively with Major Gift Officers, Alumni Relations, and Advancement Operations to ensure peer-to-peer pools are strategically managed, assignments are tracked, and crucial donor feedback gathered by volunteers is seamlessly routed back into the CRM.
3. Frontline Fundraising & Pool Management (25%)
• Portfolio Management: Manage an active, high-yield portfolio of 100-125 leadership annual giving prospects, focusing heavily on leadership-level prospects within upcoming and current milestone reunion years.
• The Dual Ask: Actively qualify, cultivate, solicit, and close leadership-level annual fund gifts ($2,500+), seamlessly executing the "dual ask" by aligning donor affinity with overarching campaign benchmarks and restricted priorities.
• Performance Metrics: Meet or exceed explicit annual metrics established by the Executive Director for face-to-face/virtual visits, solicitations, pipeline conversion, and total dollars raised.
4. Other Duties as Assigned (5%) Required Qualifications
Education, Experience and knowledge:
• Bachelor's degree required in relevant field (such as Communications, Marketing, Public Relations, or Event Management) preferred.
• One to three years of advancement, alumni relations, volunteer engagement/management and/or equivalent experience with annual fund/giving experience preferred.
Key Competencies
• Experience in fundraising; soliciting and closing annual fund gifts.
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• A level of energy and a team orientation.
• Experience working with large databases and capability to perform detailed data analyses.
• An ability to communicate with volunteers/prospects/donors/colleagues effectively and efficiently through direct face-to-face and remote via technology.
• An ability and willingness to take initiative and possess a sense of humor.
• Ability to work collaboratively across departments.
• Familiarity with annual fund and alumni engagement strategies and best practices.
• Proficiency in using relevant software and tools (Google suite, CRM systems, Microsoft Office, Hustle texting platform, ThankView, various forms of technology including social media vehicles, email marketing tools, etc.).
• An ability and willing to conduct travel
• Flexibility to work evenings and weekends during events, as needed.
Working Conditions
This position requires an individual to be able to work nights and weekends as needed.
Please provide a cover letter, resume, and contact information for three references. https://apply.interfolio.com/190200
Lafayette College is committed to creating a diverse community, one that is inclusive and responsive, and is supportive of each and all of its faculty, students, and staff. All members of the College community share a responsibility for creating, maintaining, and developing a learning environment in which difference is valued, equity is sought, and inclusiveness is practiced. All Lafayette operations reflect the College's commitment to Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion (DEAI) initiatives, and Lafayette welcomes applicants from diverse backgrounds.