Assistant Director of Development, Leadership Annual Giving, Athletics

As a member of the Athletics Advancement team, this position reports directly to the Executive Director of Development for Athletics (Deputy Athletics Director for Development). This frontline fundraiser plays a key role in the athletics annual fund growth, specifically focused on growing the annual giving and leadership annual giving bands for a more robust pipeline of major gift donors.

The Assistant Director will manage a portfolio of leadership annual giving and major gift-rated prospects, with an emphasis on qualifying new donors, securing gifts of $1,000–$49,999 and developing a pipeline for future major gifts. The position will use email, phone, events and visits to deepen relationships and connect donor interests with philanthropic priorities across DU Athletics’ 18 varsity sport programs, capital projects, endowments and scholarships.

Success will require persistence, strong judgment and comfort working at significant volume. Performance will be measured primarily through donor qualifications, visits, leadership annual giving upgrades and acquisition, and pipeline growth. The Assistant Director will also identify major and planned giving opportunities and partner with colleagues to develop and execute strategies and proposals for these prospects.

Essential Functions

Frontline Fundraising and Pipeline Development 

• Partner with colleagues to design and implement strategies to identify, qualify and cultivate donors and prospects.

• Manage a portfolio of 100-200 leadership annual giving and major gift-rated prospects to build the donor pipeline.

• Qualify, cultivate, solicit and steward prospects in support of leadership annual giving and future major gifts.

• Solicit leadership annual gifts ranging from $1,000 to $49,999 through personalized and multichannel approaches.

• Identify opportunities for major and planned gifts and partner with major gift and planned giving colleagues to develop and execute strategies and proposals.

• Serve as a development liaison to assigned sport programs and key initiatives, helping connect priorities with donor interests and fundraising opportunities.

Athletics Annual Giving Program 

• Oversee the strategy of the Athletics annual giving program, including coordinating closely with University Advancement colleagues and athletics ticket office

• Develop annual fund strategy and calendar in conjunction with the Executive Director of Development for Athletics that includes direct mail solicitations, online campaigns and any other annual campaign activities.

Operational Excellence 

• Maintain accurate and timely documentation of donor interactions and contact reports in the CRM system.

• Track and report on qualifications, visits, solicitations and dollars raised.

• Manage projects and initiatives in alignment with University policies and advancement best practices.

• Travel the front range and nationally to deepen DU connections with prospects in partnership with colleagues, when appropriate.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Basic knowledge of fundraising principles and donor-engagement practices.

• Ability to build rapport with entry- to mid-level donors.

• Strong written communication skills, including the ability to prepare donor correspondence and mass solicitations.

• Ability to adjust to shifting priorities and incorporate feedback.

• Sound judgment and the ability to consider the impact of decisions on donors, colleagues and institutional priorities.

• Ability to work closely with a supervisor to develop effective portfolio-outreach and prospect-management strategies.

• Understanding of the institution’s mission, programs and priorities.

• Ability to coordinate small annual-giving campaigns or events.

• Ability to analyze data for mass solicitations and use research to prepare for internal and external meetings.

• Ability to work effectively with internal and external constituents and collaborate across Advancement and Athletics teams.

• Ability to serve as a positive ambassador for the team and Advancement.