Development Associate

University of Toronto; Toronto; On-site; CAD 72,000 - 93,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading educational institution in Toronto is seeking a Development Associate, Major Gifts to enhance fundraising efforts. The role involves outreach to prospective donors, building relationships, and strategizing donor engagement to support the university's mission. Candidates should have a Bachelor's degree and three years of fundraising experience. This full-time position offers a competitive salary with a structured growth plan within a diverse team committed to philanthropy.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Professional development opportunities

Qualifications

• Minimum three years relevant experience in philanthropy and fundraising.
• Experience implementing fundraising programs for major gifts.
• Proficiency in drafting communication pieces.

Responsibilities

• Maintain relationships with donors and prospects.
• Implement components of fundraising campaigns.
• Generate donor interaction reports.

Skills

Strong organizational practices

Excellent interpersonal skills

Problem solving skills

Writing proficiency

Education

Bachelor's Degree

Tools

MS Office

Fundraising database ARBOR

Job description

Select how often (in days) to receive an alert:

Date Posted: 12/05/2025
Req ID: 46320
Faculty/Division: VP - Division of University Advancement
Department: Dvisional Relations
Campus:St. George (Downtown Toronto)
Position Number: 00055728

Description:

About us:

The Division of University Advancement (DUA) aims to sustain and enhance the University of Toronto’s academic mission, leadership, and worldwide impact, by engaging alumni and private sector constituents meaningfully in the mission of the University, building mutually beneficial relationships of increasing value and satisfaction over time.

Through our current Defy Gravity campaign, the team supports U of T’s commitment to inclusive excellence – the idea that every member of our community should thrive in an environment of belonging – and helps the University bring together top minds from every conceivable background to create a healthier, more sustainable, and equitable world. In this ecosystem, there is an emphasis on collaboration, diplomacy, teamwork and mission focus as the Division of UniversityAdvancement supports our Faculties, Campuses and Divisions as a shared service.

The Division of University Advancement at the University of Toronto is committed to a transformative agenda deeply rooted in the University’s vision for growth and innovation. We are focused on growing fundraising efforts; doubling the number of newly engaged alumni; achieving Advancement goals through the foundational integration of Alumni Relations and Development both centrally and through collaborations with divisional colleagues; creating an organization and culture that fosters diversity and inclusiveness.

Your opportunity:

We hire outstanding people from a variety of backgrounds and currently seek a Development Associate, Major Gifts to join our diverse group of talent. The mission of the Major Gifts team within DUA is to drive fundraising success at the $50K-$5M+ level in support of a broad array of programs and priorities across the university. Our driven and collegial team of frontline fundraisers and operations staff contribute to and support the ambitious fundraising objectives of partner divisions, university leaders, and special initiatives. We also focus on regional fundraising in North America and Europe. This requires taking a collaborative approach across a complex and decentralized fundraising environment.

In this role, the Development Associate, Major Gifts will play a critical role in enhancing the capacity of the team for increased major gift growth and productivity. The Development Associate will conduct a high volume of outreach and discovery calls/meetings with prospective donors to qualify major gift opportunities, generating new leads for senior fundraisers. They will work closely with senior fundraisers to help build relationships with donors and prospective donors that deepen their commitment to the university’s mission and bring them closer to making a major gift. Using knowledge of prospective donor interest and university priorities, this position advances strategy development and donor engagement by providing updated information about programs and funding opportunities to fundraisers, as well as curating and writing content for fundraisers to advance relationships. This will include crafting detailed briefing notes, helping develop donor engagement and stewardship strategies, crafting donor communications and gift proposals, setting up meetings for fundraisers, and updating our database to reflect activities and strategies. We are looking for a proactive and self‑motivated individual with a passion for university fundraising who is excited to call prospective donors to initiate engaging introductory conversations, as well as collaborate effectively with senior fundraisers to enable successful cultivation of major gifts. The successful candidate will demonstrate a high level of initiative, tact, quality control, attention to detail, confidentiality, and writing proficiency.

Your responsibilities will include:

• Identifying, fostering and maintaining relationships with donors and prospects in support of the University's priorities
• Implementing components of fundraising campaigns
• Collecting and passing on information on prospective donors
• Writing project‑specific proposals related to fundraising campaigns
• Writing briefing notes, solicitation plans and call reports to track donor interaction
• Generating reports

Essential Qualifications:

• Bachelor's Degree or acceptable combination of equivalent experience.
• Minimum three years relevant experience providing support in philanthropy and in other fundraising environments.
• Experience implementing fundraising programs in particular for donors at the major gift level
• Experience implementing fundraising programs in particular for donors at the major gift level
• Experience writing fundraising reports and correspondence from non‑template documents; briefing notes, solicitation plans
• Experience in conducting development‑related research
• Experience generating and formatting reports from multiple data sources
• Experience with fundraising database ARBOR or related database
• Experience drafting communication pieces
• Strong organizational practices, effectively managing overlapping timelines and/or competing priorities, while maintaining extreme attention to detail.
• Strong problem solving skills, with the ability to gather information, research concerns and resolve issues.
• Ability to work independently, set and reorder priorities and take action in an anticipatory manner with minimal supervision.
• Excellent interpersonal skills including the ability to work effectively in cross‑cultural situations and across a wide range of audiences.
• Ability to maintain strict level of confidentiality in the handling of account and donor information.
• Demonstrated advanced computer proficiency with MS Office (Word, Excel, Access,PowerPoint), database and fundraising software, and email.

To be successful in this role you will be:

• Diplomatic
• Meticulous
• Multi‑tasker
• Organized
• Resourceful

Closing Date: 12/19/2025, 11:59PM ET
Employee Group: USW
Appointment Type: Budget - Continuing
Schedule: Full‑Time
Pay Scale Group & Hiring Zone:
USW Pay Band 10 -- $72,119. with an annual step progression to a maximum of $92,226. Pay scale and job class assignment is subject to determination pursuant to the Job Evaluation/Pay Equity Maintenance Protocol.
Job Category: Administrative / Managerial
Recruiter: Fiona Chan

Lived Experience Statement

Candidates who are members of Indigenous, Black, racialized and 2SLGBTQ+ communities, persons with disabilities, and other equity deserving groups are encouraged to apply, and their lived experience shall be taken into consideration as applicable to the posted position.

Diversity Statement

The University of Toronto embraces Diversity and is building a culture of belonging that increases our capacity to effectively address and serve the interests of our global community. We strongly encourage applications from Indigenous Peoples, Black and racialized persons, women, persons with disabilities, and people of diverse sexual and gender identities. We value applicants who have demonstrated a commitment to equity, diversity and inclusion and recognize that diverse perspectives, experiences, and expertise are essential to strengthening our academic mission.

As part of your application, you will be asked to complete a brief Diversity Survey. This survey is voluntary. Any information directly related to you is confidential and cannot be accessed by search committees or human resources staff. Results will be aggregated for institutional planning purposes. For more information, please seehttp://uoft.me/UP .

Accessibility Statement

The University strives to be an equitable and inclusive community, and proactively seeks to increase diversity among its community members. Our values regarding equity and diversity are linked with our unwavering commitment to excellence in the pursuit of our academic mission.

The University is committed to the principles of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (AODA). As such, we strive to make our recruitment, assessment and selection processes as accessible as possible and provide accommodations as required for applicants with disabilities.

If you require any accommodations at any point during the application and hiring process, please [e-mail] .