Assistant Director of Development, Warner College of Natural Resources

Colorado State University Foundation; Fort Collins (CO); On-site; USD 65,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Colorado State University Foundation seeks an Assistant Director of Development for the Warner College of Natural Resources in Fort Collins, CO. The role focuses on cultivating new donor relationships, generating annual philanthropic support, and stewarding gifts while collaborating with WCNR and CSU Foundation colleagues.

The ideal candidate will have a Bachelor’s degree, at least three years in fundraising or related fields, and the ability to travel nationally.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
• Minimum of three years of fundraising or equivalent donor relations/advancement experience.
• Demonstrated ability to engage and effectively communicate with a wide variety of audiences.
• Willingness to work non-standard hours and travel nationally.
• Must have a valid driver’s license or ability to obtain one by start date and reliable transportation.

Responsibilities

• Identify and cultivate new donor relationships to generate major gifts.
• Manage a portfolio of 125 prospects with strategic planning to meet performance metrics.
• Write and present proposals aligning donor interests with WCNR fundraising goals.
• Steward current donors while developing a pipeline of new major gift prospects.
• Influence strategy and drive best practices within the development team.
• Engage alumni, donors, parents and students and collaborate cross-campus to achieve fundraising goals.
• Collaborate with faculty and the dean to enhance programs benefiting students and faculty.
• Maintain confidentiality and adhere to policies for gifts recording and acknowledgement.

Skills

Audience communication

Travel nationally

Interpersonal relationships

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Microsoft Office

Salesforce

Job description

Position Summary

The Assistant Director of Development’s (ADOD) primary responsibility is to cultivate new donor relationships, generate financial philanthropic support, and steward gifts to the Warner College of Natural Resources. In collaboration with the WCNR development team, this position is charged with continuous and meaningful donor outreach and collaborating with the WCNR team to best engage donors. The ADOD will be a consummate professional and will thrive in a fast-paced, metrics/results-driven fundraising environment with a demonstrated ability to maintain focus. The ADOD will work in a dynamic team environment, and work in collaboration with CSU Foundation colleagues and WCNR partners to ensure we maximize and celebrate the philanthropic support of our donors.

Position Information

• Position Title: Assistant Director of Development, Warner College of Natural Resources
• Organization Name: Colorado State University Foundation
• Reports To: Executive Director of Development, Warner College of Natural Resources
• Employment Type: Full-time
• FLSA Status: Exempt
• Location: Fort Collins, Colorado
• Salary Range: $65,000 - $75,000 annually

Organizational Overview

Located in the beautiful town of Fort Collins, Colorado State University?is a premier land-grant university with world-class programs in education, outreach, and research.?CSU?has a student body of over 34,000 students, 7,400 employees, 258,000 living alumni, and annual research expenditures exceeding $498 million.

The CSU Warner College of Natural Resources is one of the largest and most comprehensive natural resource colleges in the nation. Offering students the opportunity to immerse themselves in their environmental fields of choice, WCNR is a leader in natural resources education, outreach, and research both in Colorado and around the world.

The Colorado State University Foundation was founded in 1970 and is the official non‑profit perpetuity partner for Colorado State University. The CSU Foundation is in the midst of exciting growth as the University Advancement division of CSU recently transitioned to the Foundation, growing the organization to 170 employees. This merger will allow us to more effectively serve our donors, alumni, and stakeholders with a unified structure, strengthen accountability, and build the capacity to scale our fundraising enterprise. With one of the leading development teams in the country, we most recently achieved our highest fundraising year to date in 2025.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Identifies and cultivates new donor relationships toward financial philanthropic support of $50,000 or more.
• Successfully manages complex donor portfolio of 125 prospects through careful planning and strategic execution to achieve specific performance metrics.
• Writes, prepares, and presents persuasive proposals that match the donor’s interests with the College’s fundraising mission and goals.
• Applies best practices to steward and retain current donors while continually developing a pipeline of new major gift prospects.
• Makes independent decisions that impact the overall success of the unit’s goals and metrics by raising the productivity of staff and utilizing resources at the highest levels.
• Serves as a key member of the development team by influencing and driving strategy, relationships, and best practices to accomplish goals.
• Engages with alumni, donors, parents and students, working effectively with cross-campus colleagues to achieve short and long-term fundraising goals.
• Collaborates with faculty and the dean to enhance programs that will benefit students and faculty.
• Maintains a high degree of confidentiality and adheres to the industry policies and procedures for accepting, recording, and acknowledging gifts.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
• Minimum of three years of experience in fundraising, donor/alumni relations, or in Advancement/Development at an institution of higher education or non-profit OR equivalent relationship-building experience in a complex organization such as sales, banking, business development, client management or marketing.
• Demonstrated ability to engage and effectively communicate with a wide variety of audiences.
• Willingness to work non-standard hours and travel nationally.
• Must have a valid driver’s license or the ability to obtain a driver’s license or access to a licensed driver by the employment start date as well as reliable transportation.

Preferred Qualifications

• Demonstrated success in donor qualification and cultivation.
• Proven ability to identify and build relationships and connect donor/client interests with opportunities in a complex organization.
• Understanding of proposal and development writing, fundraising principles and techniques.
• Strong understanding of and passion for our natural resources.
• Adaptable to changing priorities and a fast-paced environment.
• Demonstrated understanding of all facets of fundraising including annual funds, corporate relations, foundation relations, planned giving, stewardship, and major gift fundraising
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Certified Fund-Raising Executive (CFRE) certification and/ or master’s degree.
• Demonstrates effective problem-solving skills and the ability to effectively manage demanding work situations.
• Ability to work effectively with academic and administrative leaders, faculty, and volunteer partners in the process of building relationships with prospective donors.
• Demonstrates collaborative and congenial attitude and team building ability; is open to and promotes new ideas.
• Ability to exercise considerable initiative, independent judgment, self-motivation, and discretion.
• Strong working knowledge of Microsoft Office, as well as CRM systems such as Salesforce.

As an employer of choice, the CSU Foundation offers a competitive benefits package including medical, dental, and vision coverage, generous paid time off, a robust Employee Assistance Program, CSUF-sponsored life insurance, a voluntary 403(b) tax deferred annuity retirement plan option and a 401(a) defined contribution retirement plan with 12% of the annual salary is contributed at no cost to the employee, with a two-year vesting schedule.

CSU Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Consistent with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) it is our policy to provide reasonable accommodation when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with a disability unless such accommodation would cause undue hardship.