Assistant Director, Annual Giving

Babson College; Northern (KY); Hybrid; USD 74,000 - 82,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Insurance Coverage

Time Off

Retirement plan with employer match

Wellbeing programs

Job summary

Babson College is seeking an Assistant Director, Annual Giving to strengthen ties with 48,000+ alumni and drive donor engagement across major giving initiatives. You will execute personalized stewardship, multi-channel appeals, and data-informed campaigns in collaboration with the Alumni Engagement & Annual Giving team.

The role emphasizes adopting AI tools to boost efficiency, while tracking performance in Salesforce and maintaining accurate donor data.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s Degree in a relevant field.
• 4-6 years of fundraising or related experience.
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong time management, organizational, oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively.
• Strong customer service orientation and interpersonal skills.
• Strong computer skills including Microsoft Office (Excel) and CRM systems.
• Attention to detail and ability to handle confidential information.
• Willingness to travel and adapt to changing priorities.

Responsibilities

• Create and execute donor stewardship and multi-year giving strategies.
• Manage annual giving campaigns across multiple channels.
• Lead AI tool adoption and explore technologies to improve efficiency and personalization.
• Track campaign data in Salesforce and monitor key metrics.
• Lead Athletics fundraising campaigns and crowdfunding initiatives.
• Manage affinity crowdfunding campaigns via Give Campus.
• Oversee recurring donors and target 70% retention.
• Plan recurring donor campaigns using Salesforce Commerce Cloud & Salesforce Marketing Cloud.
• Support giving day campaigns and other fundraising initiatives.
• Cultivate and solicit donors up to $1,919 and manage donor data in CRM.
• Engage alumni through events like Back to Babson and other activities.
• Assume additional responsibilities as required.

Skills

Communication skills

Interpersonal skills

Time management

Organizational skills

Oral & written communication

Independent work

Customer service

Attention to detail

Multilingual

Education

Bachelor’s Degree

Tools

Microsoft Office

Excel

CRM systems

Salesforce

Job description

Introduction

Babson College is a world-class business school, empowering entrepreneurial leaders to create great economic & social value. It's an exciting launch pad for anyone who wants to make a real impact in higher education. We provide everything you need to achieve your goals, including learning opportunities, outstanding benefits, rich rewards, wellness programs, & a genuine dedication to creating a diverse, multicultural & inclusive community.

Overview

The Assistant Director, Annual Giving will support the College’s fundraising priorities by helping cultivate, solicit, and steward donors across key annual giving initiatives. Specifically responsible for working closely with numerous constituencies to enhance Babson’s relationship with its’ 48,000+ alumni; focusing on delivering an excellent donor experience; executing high-performing campaigns; and ensuring donor data is accurate and actionable. An active member of the Alumni Engagement & Annual Giving team, this individual will be relationship-driven, organized, and eager to contribute to data-information fundraising and modern campaign execution.

This is an exempt position with the following pay range: $73,603 - $81,781; the role is also eligible for bonuses based on performance and budget.

Babson College offers a comprehensive benefits package for full-time employees working at least 28 hours per week.

• Insurance Coverage: Medical, dental, vision, group life and long-term disability insurance, business travel accident insurance, and mental health benefits.
• Time Off: Starting at 3 weeks of vacation annually, 2 weeks of sick time, 1 week of paid family illness time, 6 weeks of paid parental leave, and 12 paid holidays per year. President’s holidays are determined each year.
• Retirement: Participation in a 403(b) retirement plan with mandatory employee contributions and a 4:1 employer match.
• Additional Benefits: Wellbeing programs, virtual fitness platform, and employee assistance program.

All questions or concerns about this posting should be directed to the Office of Human Resources at [e-mail].

Responsibilities

• Create and execute a first-time donor stewardship strategy aimed at converting new donors into multi-year contributors, with additional focus on student donors. Through collaboration with the Stewardship team, design personalized acknowledgment touchpoints including impact-focused outreach, milestone communications, and targeted re-solicitation messaging. Collaborate with the Annual Giving team to ensure first-time donors receive a differentiated experience that reflects the value of their initial investment in Babson.
• Manage annual giving anniversary appeals across all audiences by developing and executing multi-channel campaigns that leverage email, direct mail, text, and social media, coordinating with the Associate Director, Annual Giving Marketing on content and timing. Continuously evaluate channel effectiveness to improve future appeal performance.
• Serve as an early adopter and internal advocate for AI tools and emerging technologies within the Annual Giving team, proactively exploring how platforms and AI-assisted workflows can improve efficiency, personalization, and campaign effectiveness. Test and share practical applications that encourage broader adoption by the team.
• Monitor and manage campaign performance data across Annual Giving initiatives by maintaining accurate and up-to-date records within Salesforce Solicitation Campaigns. Track key metrics including response rates, gift counts, and revenue benchmarks.
• Lead Athletics club sports and intramural fundraising campaigns throughout the year which includes building crowdfunding pages as applicable; collaborating with the Director, Annual Giving & Direct Marketing and Associate Director, Annual Giving Marketing on campaigns, and drafting messaging for appeals and collaborating with Advancement Marketing Communications and Athletics Marketing teams on execution of email communications and social posts.
• Create and manage select affinity crowdfunding campaigns. Utilize Advancement technology platforms, including but not limited to Give Campus, to execute campaigns.
• Manage recurring donors, including stewardship for recurring gift and outreach to donors with expiring monthly and annual gifts. Achieve 70% retention rate of donors in pool from the previous fiscal year.
• Collaborate with Director Annual Giving & Direct Marketing and Associate Director, Annual Giving Marketing to plan and execute recurring donor campaigns leveraging Salesforce Commerce Cloud and Salesforce Marketing Cloud. Partner with the Associate Director, Annual Giving on stewardship and solicitation activities for the recurring segment of the Babson Loyalty Society.
• Support Annual Giving team in developing programs that drive revenue and participation. Maintain strong communication links with internal and external partners.
• Manage the College’s matching gift program including, but not limited to, soliciting matching gifts from prospects, responding to inquiries, and overseeing completed gifts.
• Manage and conduct selected fundraising activities, including direct mail, telemarketing, e-communications, personal solicitations, and event planning as assigned.
• Contribute to the planning and execution of giving days and other annual fundraising campaigns, including but not limited to Make Your Mark and the Barefoot Athletics Challenge.
• In support of the College’s fundraising campaigns, cultivate, solicit and steward constituents with capacity to make a financial philanthropic commitment of up to $1,919 to Babson College. Leverage College CRM, including Salesforce, and its reporting functionality for donor behavior analysis and to effectively manage outreach lists, including tracking of engagements, personal solicitations, and correspondence.
• Leverage engagement opportunities such as Back to Babson and other events held locally, domestically, and internationally to engage alumni. Attend and contribute to signature alumni engagement activities, including, but not limited to, Back to Babson.
• Assume additional responsibilities as required.

Requirements

WHAT EDUCATION AND SKILLS YOU WILL NEED

• Bachelor’s Degree.
• 4-6 years of experience in fundraising or relevant experience.
• Outstanding communication and interpersonal skills.
• Strong time management, organizational, oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to work independently; as well as collaboratively across multiple constituencies.
• Strong customer service orientation and interpersonal skills.
• Strong computer skills including proficiency in Microsoft Office, especially Excel, and other database or CRM systems.
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to work independently and with interruptions.
• Ability to prepare, write and send solicitations and stewardship pieces.
• Must be able to handle sensitive material confidentially.
• Ability to envision and propose new methods to perform tasks that support ET&A; take thoughtful risks; and accept new and ongoing initiatives, objectives, and solutions to gain sought-after results.
• Ability to anticipate and embrace change; demonstrate willingness to achieve, acquire, and utilize new skills and challenging tasks; and is flexible in changing conditions.

HOW AND WHERE YOU WILL WORK

• Requires work onsite a minimum of 3 days a week (Monday and a minimum of 2 other days; additional requirements based on outlined department policy); the on-campus requirement is subject to modification based on organizational need.
• Must have had a valid unrestricted U.S. Driver’s License for one year and maintain throughout employment an insurable (as determined by the College’s insurer’s criteria) or a satisfactory driving record; must successfully complete and pass the College’s vehicle training program within the first 60 days of employment; annual or more frequent review of employee’s driving record based on the College insurer’s criteria; and safety training as required by management.
• Ability to travel domestically and internationally.
• Evening and weekend work required.

ADDITIONAL SKILLS YOU MAY HAVE

• Preference to candidates who are fluent in multiple languages.
• Familiarity with Salesforce Commerce Cloud or similar e-commerce platforms is advantageous.
• Experience with Salesforce Marketing Cloud, Advertising Studio, Audience Studio, Interaction Studio, Datorama a bonus.