Assistant/Associate Director, Athletics Fundraising and Engagement

Colgate University; New York; On-site; USD 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

Colgate University is seeking two professionals for the Office of Advancement to support athletics with fundraising, marketing, and engagement initiatives. Responsibilities include project management, event coordination, and communication support, all aimed at enhancing donor engagement and strategic fundraising efforts.

Qualifications

• Minimum two years of professional experience in fundraising, marketing, or event planning.
• Demonstrated experience developing programs and measuring success.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and Google Suite required.

Responsibilities

• Manage athletics marketing solicitation projects and volunteers.
• Provide logistical support for AFE events and manage event-related communications.
• Conduct outreach to engage and cultivate potential athletic donors.

Skills

Fundraising

Event Planning

Marketing

Volunteer Management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Microsoft Office

Google Suite

Job description

Accountabilities:

The Office of Advancement is hiring two positions to support fundraising, marketing, and engagement initiatives for athletics, including the growth of annual spendable support for athletics. Together, these roles will manage a wide range of responsibilities including marketing project management, event coordination, volunteer program oversight, and communication support for coaches and fundraising groups. The work will be divided based on experience and organizational needs, with both positions playing key roles in building proactive, strategic, and effective engagement and fundraising efforts for athletics donors, alumni, and supporters. Specific responsibilities include:

• Manage all athletics marketing solicitation projects, including audience segmentation, population management, scheduling, and collaboration with Communications for design, content, and print production.
• Oversee platform management and marketing infrastructure, ensuring systems are optimized to support fundraising initiatives, including the execution of the annual March Mania Challenge.
• Track, analyze, and report on marketing efforts to assess performance, identify trends, and recommend improvements for future campaigns.
• Manage the athletics fundraising volunteer program, including recruitment, activation, communication, and stewardship of volunteers supporting athletic fundraising initiatives.
• Conduct outreach to athletics prospects who are not assigned to a front-line fundraiser, helping to engage, cultivate, and identify new potential donors for future assignment or increased involvement. In addition, there is a potential opportunity to carry a digital portfolio of athletic prospects.
• Serve as Advancement liaison to a portfolio of coaches and their respective volunteer fundraising groups, supporting strategy, communication, and fundraising efforts.
• Assist in coordinating athletics gift acknowledgment processes, ensuring timely and accurate stewardship of donors.
• Coordinate strategy and/or execution of AFE events, including full logistical support, vendor management, scheduling, and on-site execution.
• Provide proactive support for AFE events, such as team anniversary celebrations, working to anticipate needs and contribute to event success beyond a reactive support model.
• Manage coach newsletter communications, helping to build and maintain a proactive, consistent messaging cadence across the athletics department.
• Manage all event registration, invitation processes, and event-related marketing communications for AFE initiatives.
• Oversee management of athletics-related complimentary ticket and hospitality programs, including tracking, distribution, and stewardship on behalf of the Division of Advancement.
• Provide staffing support for engagement and donor events as needed, which may occasionally require evening, weekend hours, and travel.
• Providing staff support for Colgate's annual Reunion Weekend is a requirement of the position.

Professional Experience/Qualifications:

• A minimum of two years of professional experience in fundraising, alumni relations, event planning, athletics administration, marketing, and/or related fields. Significant volunteer and/or internship experience may be considered.
• Appointment at the associate director level requires four years of experience in the fields listed above.
• Genuine enthusiasm for collegiate athletics and appreciation for Division I within the context of a high academic setting.
• Demonstrated experience developing and implementing programs and meeting measurable goals.
• Experience or aptitude for measuring success and reporting on programs with quantitative and qualitative data.
• Enthusiastic commitment to advancing the University's mission.
• Demonstrated proficiency with Microsoft Office and Google Suite applications

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience with college athletics, as either a student-athlete and/or staff member
• Experience motivating internal and external stakeholders to achieve mutual goals.

Education:

A Bachelor's degree or a combination of experience and education from which comparable skills are attained.

EEO Statement:

The University recognizes that equal employment opportunity can only be achieved through demonstrated leadership. It is the Policy of the University to recruit, employ, retain, promote, and train employees on the basis of merit, ability, and valid job qualifications without regard to any characteristics protected by applicable local, state or federal laws.