Assistant Director, Annual Giving - Athletics

Position Overview

The Assistant Director of Annual Giving is a member of a Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) team focused on achieving the fundraising and constituent relations goals of the Division of Recreation and Intercollegiate Athletics (DRIA). Under the supervision of the Director of Development, the Assistant Director plans, administers, coordinates, and implements fundraising and constituent relations activities within DRIA's DAR. The Assistant Director serves as a frontline fundraiser and works collaboratively on fundraising activities for approximately six varsity programs and their respective sports boards.

Areas of focus include annual and major gift fundraising; planning and implementation of sport-specific events; development and execution of annual fund marketing and fundraising initiatives; preparation and distribution of sport-specific communications; and direct engagement with coaches, sports boards, and leadership donors to build meaningful relationships and philanthropic support.

This role offers a unique opportunity for an emerging fundraising professional to gain broad exposure to annual and major gift fundraising within a nationally recognized Division I athletics program while helping advance strategic fundraising priorities and enhance the student-athlete experience at Penn.

Duties

• Maintain a rigorous local, regional and national travel schedule, meeting with current donors and prospective new constituents. Document visit activity with detailed contact reports in Atlas. 

• Working with the Sr. Associate Athletics Director, Development and Alumni Relations, the Director of Development and Director of Annual Giving, engage in all aspects of Penn Athletics DAR marketing communications including determination of target audience and creative theme, production of materials and delivery to constituent audiences via direct mail, e-communication, etc.

• Collaborate with the Sr. Associate Athletics Director, Development and Alumni Relations, the Director of Development, and Director of Annual Giving to develop, plan, and execute the Athletics Annual Fund marketing plan, creating messaging and “appearance” of all direct mail, email and telephone annual fund solicitations.

• Collaborate with the Director of Development and Assistant Director of Events to create and execute a schedule of events throughout the year for assigned sports. Assist in coordinating logistics including catering, venue, creation of event bios and appropriate post event follow-up.

• Manage a portfolio of approximately 150 annual giving and leadership annual giving prospects through all stages of the donor lifecycle, including identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.

• Assist and execute all activities related to Penn Athletics Sports Board oversight. This includes, but is not limited to, scheduling board calls/meetings, developing agendas/supporting documentation, performing key research, taking meeting minutes, managing any necessary follow-up action items, and being an active participant during board proceedings.  

• Establish and maintain direct contact with leadership donors, building individual relationships and relationships with Penn Athletics.

• Collaborate with the Director of Development on prospect research and compile and prepare various data for reports and analytics relative to assigned sports.

• Coordinate with the Senior Associate Director of Administration & Volunteer Management on effective donor stewardship.

• Perform other coordinator duties in the department that are not sport-specific and therefore not expressly assigned to another staff member.

• Work effectively with Central Development resources of the University.

• Perform additional duties as assigned.

Volunteer Management

Identify, recruit, train, and support volunteers. Cultivate volunteers for future leadership roles on Department advisory boards and other alumni leadership activities. Responsibilities include:

• Work closely with volunteers as door openers and special event hosts.

• Engage volunteers in prospect identification and evaluation process.

• Oversee select prospect assignments to volunteers, including, the provision of pre-and post-contact support and, as appropriate, accompany volunteer members on cultivation/solicitation visits.

• Keep volunteers informed about the Department and its fundraising priorities.

• Work closely with sports boards formulating board strategies and tactics.

• Jointly develop events calendar for assigned sports.

Collaboration with University Development Staff

Work closely and in collaboration with Athletics Development staff, including but not limited to Director of Development, Assistant Director of Annual Giving, Assistant Director of Events, and other Athletics gift officers on individual prospects, special events and development of overall strategic plan for the department. Collaborate with on-campus fundraising staff, including colleagues in central development office (Principal Gifts, Leadership Gifts, Major Gifts (Regional), Planned Giving, and Annual Giving/Reunion Program as well as School/Center development directors and Alumni Relations staff).  Responsibilities include:

• Conduct cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship visits at the request of and/or in combination with colleagues in central development and Schools/Centers.

• Staff fundraising visits by Athletic and University leaders, e.g. President, Athletic Director, coaches and senior development officers.

• Work closely with other Major Gift Officers and on-campus Alumni Relations colleagues in the development of on-campus events and programs that will lead to increased high-level involvement of prospects and donors.

• Collaborate with central fundraising staff, including Principal Gifts, Leadership Gifts, Major Gifts, Penn Fund Reunion, Planned Giving and School/Center Development Directors.

The University of Pennsylvania’s and the Penn Champions Club’s success depends on great minds that represent a wide array of perspectives and backgrounds, and our pursuit of equity and inclusion is infused in every aspect of its work—from teaching and learning to campus life, from research to practice, from patient care in our health system to welcoming patrons through our arts and culture centers. Penn is dedicated to making a meaningful impact locally, nationally, and globally, to benefit society and the world and to improve lives. Our work in Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) upholds this University-wide effort through our every interaction with alumni, parents, friends, and donors; through the connections we foster with our colleagues; and through the initiatives and programs that our work supports. The work of DAR is rooted in relationship building, in cultivating trust through respectful, honest exchanges, and inspiring engagement and philanthropy through sharing bold ambitions to shape a better world in which all people may thrive. We believe that authenticity, transparency, and empathy are critical to create an inclusive environment in which our staff as well as Penn’s alumni, parents, donors, and other friends can feel they belong. As a team, we draw our strength from our diversity, and we achieve outstanding results through our collective dedication to Penn’s mission to create a more just and equitable world.