Associate Director of Annual Giving

Lafayette College; College Hill (PA); On-site; USD 90,000 - 140,000; Full time

Job summary

Lafayette College invites applications for an Associate Director of Annual Giving who will act as a senior strategic partner to the Executive Director. The role drives Lafayette's Bring the Roar campaign, overseeing multi-channel solicitation and stewardship, while cultivating a frontline fundraising portfolio.

You will help establish data-driven policies for campus partnerships, ensure ROI across initiatives, and collaborate across divisions to align annual giving with institutional priorities.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Marketing, Public Relations, or Event Management preferred.
• 1–3 years of advancement, alumni relations, volunteer engagement/management and/or annual fund/giving experience preferred.
• Experience in fundraising; soliciting and closing annual fund gifts.
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• Energy and team orientation; ability to take initiative.

Responsibilities

• Campaign & Communications Oversight: design, execute, and evaluate a comprehensive, multi-channel annual communications and solicitation plan across all touchpoints.
• Campaign Management: lead Lafayette’s Bring the Roar campaign as primary strategic project manager.
• Data-Driven Segmentation: leverage analytics to segment audiences, maximize donor acquisition, and drive retention.
• Stewardship Integration: ensure revenue-focused branding across platforms and touchpoints.
• Policy Development: develop internal policies and best practices for annual giving initiatives.
• Partnership Vetting: establish ROI-based criteria for specialized campus fundraising requests.
• Internal Consulting: liaison to campus partners and academic units; collaborate with gift officers.
• Engagement Integration: align solicitations with major engagement milestones.
• Portfolio Management: manage a high-yield portfolio of 100–125 leadership prospects.
• The Dual Ask: qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward leadership gifts $2,500+.

Skills

Data analysis

CRM proficiency

Communication

Project management

Team collaboration

Event planning

Education

Bachelor’s degree required

Tools

Google Suite

CRM systems

Hustle

ThankView

Social media

Email tools

Job description

Serving as a senior strategic partner to the Executive Director, the Associate Director of Annual Giving drives the revenue-generating engines of Lafayette College’s broad-based and leadership annual giving programs. This role is responsible for the overarching project management and execution of Lafayette’s signature Bring the Roar campaign, overseeing a comprehensive multi-channel solicitation and stewardship communication plan, and cultivating a personal frontline fundraising portfolio. Crucially, this position partners with the Executive Director to establish, implement, and socialize data-driven policies for campus partnerships, ensuring all specialized fundraising initiatives maximize return on investment (ROI) and directly advance institutional campaign priorities.

Position Responsibilities & Essential Functions

Campaign & Communications Strategic Oversight (40%)

• Strategic Collaboration: Partner closely with the Executive Director to design, execute, and evaluate a comprehensive, multi-channel annual communications and solicitation plan across all digital, direct mail, phone, and text touchpoints.
• Campaign Management: Serve as the primary strategic project manager for Lafayette’s signature Bring the Roar campaign, shifting the division’s focus from general engagement to direct revenue generation.
• Data-Driven Segmentation: Collaborate with Advancement Operations to utilize data analytics, performance reporting, and predictive modeling to segment audiences, maximize donor acquisition, and drive upward donor retention.
• Stewardship Integration: Oversee the end-to-end integration of campaign messaging and stewardship touchpoints, ensuring consistent, revenue-focused branding across all platforms.

Campus Partnerships, Strategic Frameworks, & Policy Development (30%)

• Policy & Best Practices: Work in lockstep with the Executive Director to develop, document, and implement rigorous internal policies, operational procedures, and industry best practices to govern annual giving initiatives.
• Partnership Realignment & Vetting: Establish clear, ROI-based vetting criteria for specialized or localized campus fundraising requests. Socialize these standards with key internal partners to eliminate low-yield, distracting projects and protect the team’s core fundraising focus.
• Strategic Internal Consulting: Serve as the primary Annual Giving liaison and strategic consultant to key campus partners and distinct academic units (including Engineering, the Library, the Williams Arts Center, and targeted class-specific projects). Collaborate with division leadership and gift officers to build out specialized annual fundraising initiatives that strictly align with institutional campaign priorities.
• Engagement Integration: Coordinate closely with Alumni & Family Engagement partners and divisional colleagues to align annual giving solicitations with major institutional engagement milestones, ensuring a seamless, donor-centric experience that converts engaged alumni into active philanthropic investors.
• Portfolio Management: Manage an active, high-yield portfolio of 100–125 leadership annual giving prospects.
• The Dual Ask: Actively qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors with a strict focus on securing leadership-level annual fund gifts ($2,500+), seamlessly executing the “dual ask” by aligning donor passion with campaign and restricted priorities.
• Performance Metrics: Meet or exceed explicit annual performance metrics established by the Executive Director for face-to-face/virtual visits, solicitations, pipeline conversion, and dollars raised.

Other Duties as Assigned (5%)

Required Qualifications

Education, Experience and knowledge

• Bachelor’s degree required in relevant field (such as Communications, Marketing, Public Relations, or Event Management) preferred.
• One to three years of advancement, alumni relations, volunteer engagement/management and/or equivalent experience with annual fund/giving experience preferred.
• Experience in fundraising; soliciting and closing annual fund gifts.
• Strong organizational skills with attention to detail.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills.
• A level of energy and a team orientation.
• Experience working with large databases and capability to perform detailed data analyses.
• An ability to communicate with volunteers/prospects/donors/colleagues effectively and efficiently through direct face-to-face and remote via technology.
• An ability and willingness to take initiative and possess a sense of humor.
• Ability to work collaboratively across departments.
• Familiarity with annual fund and alumni engagement strategies and best practices.
• Proficiency in using relevant software and tools (Google suite, CRM systems, Microsoft Office, Hustle texting platform, ThankView, various forms of technology including social media vehicles, email marketing tools, etc.).
• An ability and willing to conduct travel
• Flexibility to work evenings and weekends during events, as needed.

Working Conditions

This position requires an individual to be able to work nights and weekends as needed.

Lafayette College is committed to creating a diverse community, one that is inclusive and responsive, and is supportive of each and all of its faculty, students, and staff. All members of the College community share a responsibility for creating, maintaining, and developing a learning environment in which difference is valued, equity is sought, and inclusiveness is practiced. All Lafayette operations reflect the College’s commitment to Diversity, Equity, Access, and Inclusion (DEAI) initiatives, and Lafayette welcomes applicants from diverse backgrounds.