Associate Director, Annual Giving & Community Engagement

WESTERN RESERVE ACADEMY; Hudson (OH); On-site; USD 70,000 - 100,000; Full time

Job summary

Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio seeks an Associate Director of Annual and Community Giving to lead a $3 million annual fund and drive philanthropy aligned with the school’s mission. This role partners with Advancement and major gifts teams, leveraging data, storytelling, and technology to engage alumni, parents, and friends.

The ideal candidate has 3–5 years of fundraising experience, strong communication skills, and a collaborative, cross-department approach to achieve fundraising

Qualifications

• Three to five years of relevant fundraising experience, preferably in independent schools.
• Excellent oral and written communication for donor-centered messaging across channels.
• Curiosity and knowledge of new technologies in fundraising.

Responsibilities

• Partner with the Director of Advancement Operations to inform annual giving strategy using data and analytics.
• Use storytelling and segmentation to strengthen donor connections and responses.
• Coordinate annual giving efforts across reunion classes, parents, and alumni groups in a results-driven way.
• Collaborate with major gifts team to increase participation and move donors to higher giving levels.
• Recruit, organize and manage volunteers for reunion, parents, and young alumni programs.
• Work with Communications and Advancement Services to support The WRA Fund across print, social media, digital, and email.
• Manage a portfolio of WRA Fund donors with personalized outreach.
• Think strategically about data to translate fundraising objectives into actionable lists and reports.

Skills

Fundraising strategy

Donor communications

Storytelling

Data analytics

Project management

Relationship building

Cross-department collaboration

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Raiser's Edge NXT

Job description

Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio seeks an Associate Director of Annual and Community Giving to lead a $3 million annual fund and drive philanthropy aligned with the school’s mission. This role partners with Advancement and major gifts teams, leveraging data, storytelling, and technology to engage alumni, parents, and friends.

The ideal candidate has 3–5 years of fundraising experience, strong communication skills, and a collaborative, cross-department approach to achieve fundraising