Associate Director, Development - Annual Giving

Seattle University; Seattle (WA); Hybrid; USD 85,000 - 120,000; Full time

Job summary

Seattle University seeks an Associate Director of Development to engage donors and alumni, building pipelines for annual gifts and helping move prospects toward major gifts. You will collaborate with Development Officers and senior leaders to align strategies with SU’s priorities and campaigns.

The role focuses on stewardship, multi-channel outreach, and timely reporting, supporting SU Gives and other giving campaigns in a donor-centric, Jesuit-Catholic environment.

Responsibilities

• Identify, cultivate, and solicit leadership annual gifts within a donor portfolio.
• Annually solicit 150+ prospects and report progress to partners in Advancement.
• Coordinate multi‑channel outreach to donors (email, social media, video messages, texting).
• Arrange in-person or virtual meetings and manage donor communications and solicitations.
• Ensure timely gift processing, acknowledgement, and documentation in the university system.

Job description

Months Per Year

Work Model

Hybrid Work Eligible

Seattle University will be one of the most innovative and progressive Jesuit and Catholic universities in the world, educating with excellence at the undergraduate, graduate, and professional levels. We embrace an intersectional framework for defining diversity in its broadest sense, including differences in gender, gender identity, race, ethnicity, generational history, culture, socioeconomic class, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, citizenship status, political perspectives, geographic origin and physical ability. Seattle University strives to be a welcome, open and safe campus climate for all who learn, live and work at Seattle University.

Seattle University's Core Competencies

• Effective Team Collaboration: Works harmoniously with others towards a common goal, leveraging individual strengths to achieve shared objectives.
• Emotionally Intelligent Communication: Engages in a skillful exchange of information, thoughts, and feelings, verbally and non-verbally.
• Ethics and Integrity: Demonstrates an unwavering commitment to honesty, professionalism, and alignment with our Jesuit mission in all actions and decisions.
• Flexibility and Innovation: Embraces change, approaching problems with curiosity adaptability, and is committed to making a positive impact.
• Mindful Inclusion: Fosters mindful inclusion by consciously creating a workplace that celebrates differences, embraces cultural humility, and empowers uniqueness.
• Outcomes-Driven Orientation: Sets clear objectives, pursues excellence, and delivers measurable outcomes while upholding Jesuit Catholic values.

Job Description Summary

Reporting to the Assistant Vice President, Development (AVPD), the Associate Director works to connect donors, alumni, parents, and friends of Seattle University with philanthropy that benefits the Seattle University community. The Associate Director will specifically work to engage, solicit, retain and upgrade annual giving level prospects and donors ($1,000-$25,000) to assist in building and sustaining a pipeline of major and/or planned gift prospects. The Associate Director will work closely with Development Officers and the Assistant Vice President for Development to share and keep open communication on strategies and successes and work together to ensure a seamless experience for Seattle University donors.

Position Description

The Associate Director will work closely with the AVP Development, AVP of Advancement Services, and the Director of Prospect Development to develop a strategy and portfolio of discovery prospects.

Responsibilities

Donor Relations & Communication (80%)

• The Associate Director identifies, cultivates, and solicits leadership annual gifts while actively stewarding prospects through proposal development stages in conformity with the university's prospect management protocol.
• Establish fundraising goals and provide reports on progress to partners within University Advancement.
• Annually solicit a portfolio of 150+ assigned prospects, securing annual gifts in the $1,000-$25,000 range, using multi-channel communication tools, including email, social media, ThankView (video), and texting; in addition to in-person or virtual one-on-one meetings.
• Promote philanthropic opportunities, such as university and college giving priorities, crowdfunding projects, Seattle U Gives, President's Club, and other annual giving campaigns
• Build, manage, and engage a donor portfolio for current and future solicitations. Prioritize personal visits with identified prospects.
• Establishes fundraising goals and reports on progress.
• Make qualification face-to-face visits beyond those in the portfolios (discovery).
• As needed, arrange and lead visits for donors and prospects with key university partners, including alumni, and industry stakeholders.
• Works as part of the Annual Giving team and with UA annual giving staff regarding annual giving efforts such as SU Gives and direct mail.
• Responsible for securing matchings and other incentives to amplify giving.
• Ensures annual donor impact reporting is correct and timely for endowed and recurring gifts.
• As needed, ensures timely and appropriate acknowledgement for all gifts, verifies that gifts are properly recorded in the appropriate fund and are documented in the university's gift processing database

Strategic Alignment and Institutional Knowledge (15%)

• Work with Advancement and Seattle University staff to plan strategies for cultivation and solicitation of prospective donors for annual gifts as well as transitioning donors who are ready to move into major gift pools/portfolios. Understand and track the progress towards achieving SU's Strategic Directions.
• Develop and maintain broad knowledge of the university, such as Jesuit/Catholic traditions and values, admissions, athletics, colleges, and continuing education.
• Learn the values and programs that make Seattle University different from other area universities.
• Develop a ne