Associate Director, Development, Annual Giving

Abundance Network; United States; Hybrid; USD 124,000 - 142,000; Full time

Job summary

Stanford Athletics, housed within the Office of Development, seeks an Associate Director of Development to staff donors, lead the Buck/Cardinal Club, and manage a volunteer board. You will cultivate and steward annual fund gifts, partner with campus gift officers, and organize events to engage alumni and donors.

The role requires strong fundraising experience in higher education, strategic thinking, and the ability to collaborate with diverse stakeholders to advance Stanford’s mission.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and five years of fundraising experience in higher education.
• Ability to develop and implement fundraising strategies.
• Excellent verbal and written communication, and relationship-building with diverse stakeholders.

Responsibilities

• Staff a portfolio of high-level annual fund donors and close annual gifts.
• Lead the Athletics Directors Circle and manage a volunteer board.
• Serve as development liaison for multiple varsity programs to meet fundraising goals.
• Oversee events (pregame hospitality, VIP receptions) to cultivate annual giving prospects.
• Attend home events to engage donors, volunteers, coaches, and student-athletes.

Skills

Data analysis

Donor stewardship

Communication

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Microsoft Office

Job description

Main Work Location: Historic Stanford Campus

Schedule: Hybrid (at least 3 days per week on site)

Budgeted Salary Range: The expected pay range for this position is $124,00 to $142,000 per annum.

Stanford’s Department of Athletics, Physical Education and Recreation ("DAPER") is the premier intercollegiate athletics program in the country. We are the proud Home of Champions! We lead the nation with 138 NCAA team championships, have won the Women’s Capital One Cup four of the last five years, and have brought home the Learfield Directors’ Cup for 26 of the possible 31 seasons. We support nearly 900 student-athletes who compete on 36 intercollegiate athletics teams, as well as the university’s physical education, recreation, and wellness initiatives. Our dedicated staff embodies a culture of excellence, embraces our mission of scholar‑athleticism, and exemplifies a relentless championship spirit. To learn more about Stanford Athletics, please visit gostanford.com.

Housed within Stanford Athletics, the development team is a part of the Office of Development (OOD), which advances Stanford’s mission by raising philanthropic support from alumni, parents, families, friends, and institutional funders. Working in concert with volunteers and university leaders, OOD staff members strive to accelerate Stanford’s purposeful impact in the world. Stanford is committed to a donor-centric approach to development. Every member of the Office of Development staff plays a role in providing the university’s donors with the service and attention that ensures an exceptionally positive and fulfilling philanthropic experience.

Position Summary:

The Department of Athletics development team is seeking candidates for the Associate Director of Development to support our annual fund, the Buck/Cardinal Club. The Associate Director of Development, reporting to the Associate Athletics Director of Development for Annual Giving, will staff a portfolio of high-level annual fund donors, lead the Athletics Directors Circle, manage a volunteer board, and serve as the development liaison for multiple varsity programs to achieve their fundraising goals. Additional responsibilities include overseeing various events aimed to cultivate and steward DAPER’s annual giving prospects (i.e., pregame hospitality events, VIP receptions, etc.), and to regularly attend home athletic events to serve as an ambassador of the Buck/Cardinal Club, to maintain sufficient knowledge of sports programs, and to increase visibility with donors, prospects, volunteers, coaches, and student-athletes. The ideal candidate will bring demonstrated fundraising experience, strong strategic and relationship-building skills, proven success managing donor portfolios, experience working with volunteers, and the ability to inspire and collaborate with diverse stakeholders to advance the mission of Stanford Athletics.

Preferred Qualifications:

Strong data analysis skills including organizing and analyzing data and communicating/presenting results and recommendations in a succinct fashion to key stakeholders.

Encourage alumni, students, parents, and friends to renew their ties to the University by making annual gifts. Work with donors, prospects and volunteers to encourage and increase annual giving. Identify, recruit and train volunteers to carry out solicitations or other assignments.

Drivers License Requirements

• Must possess and maintain a valid California non-commercial Class C Driver's License.


• Ability to drive day or night.


• When conducting university business, must comply with the California Vehicle Code and Stanford University driving requirements.

Core Duties

• Work with a portfolio of assigned prospects/donors to cultivate, solicit, and steward their support. Regularly solicit and close annual gifts typically in the $1M-$2M figure range.


• Partner with gift officers across campus to cultivate, solicit and steward major gifts as a part of a volunteer, reunion, or other special engagement.


• Develop fundraising strategies, and track and analyze results of development activities, typically encompassing single campaigns.


• Identify, recruit, and train volunteers, and maintain frequent contact with them through meetings, visits, email, and telephone calls. Participate in preparing volunteers for future service, including serving on the BoT or other high level committees, through educating them about the philanthropic work of the university and engaging them in solicitation.


• Identify and prioritize prospects and, as appropriate, make volunteer assignments, prepare background information for solicitations, and follow up with volunteers to ensure completion of assigned solicitations.


• Establish ongoing relationships with individual alumni through personal visits, phone calls, and meaningful contacts, uncovering information about their philanthropic priorities and capacity. When appropriate, make introductions to major gifts officers and facilitate cultivation activities for major gifts asks.


• Work closely with other colleagues in development to align program goals with the overall giving goals of the university's development organization.


• Monitor, analyze, and report on overall results to internal and external constituencies.


• Using sophisticated analytics, and involving volunteer and internal leadership input, design annual gift programs and goals targeted at increasing unrestricted support for a school or unit.


• May manage a small team or project, as needed.

Minimum Education and Experience

Bachelor’s degree and five years of experience, or a combination of education and relevant experience.

Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• Demonstrated experience with fundraising in a higher education environment.


• Ability to develop and initiate new strategies.


• Adept at problem solving, creating contingency plans and handling emergencies when necessary.


• Excellent verbal and written communications skills.


• Demonstrated ability to work effectively with diverse constituencies and effectively develops relationships that enhance overall development goals.


• Ability to work well under pressure and manage projects simultaneously.


• Skilled at articulating compelling cases for major gifts and annual discretionary support.


• Excellent organizational and time management skills, including the ability to set and meet deadlines.


• Demonstrated experience with Microsoft Office suite (Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint).