Associate Vice Chancellor (AVC) – Development and Major Gifts

City Colleges of Chicago; Chicago (IL); On-site; USD 100,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health and welfare benefits

Pension plan with SURS

Tuition reimbursement

Generous vacation and sick days

Job summary

A community-focused educational organization in Chicago seeks an Associate Vice Chancellor for Development and Major Gifts. The role involves creating and implementing fundraising strategies, managing donor relationships, and overseeing a development team. Ideal candidates will have a Master's degree and extensive experience in fundraising, with proven success in managing significant donor portfolios. Commitment to fostering a strong community connection is essential.

Qualifications

• 8+ years of advancement experience in a non-profit or educational setting.
• Demonstrated record of raising and managing donor portfolios of $1M+.
• Experience in major gift development and donor relations.

Responsibilities

• Create and implement fundraising strategies to support the Foundation's mission.
• Manage a portfolio of major gift donors and cultivate new donor relationships.
• Lead the development team to ensure effective fundraising operations.

Skills

Relationship-building

Strategic leadership

Interpersonal communication

Analytical skills

Fundraising strategy

Education

Master's degree

Tools

Microsoft Office 365

Salesforce

Job description

Overview

Associate Vice Chancellor (AVC) – Development and Major Gifts. City Colleges of Chicago Foundation (CCCF) seeks a strategic and dynamic leader to partner with the CCCF President. The ideal candidate excels in relationship-building, has a passion for higher education, and thrives in a dynamic, results-oriented environment. The AVC serves as a key fundraising strategist for the Foundation, accountable for creating and implementing an annual development plan, managing donor relations, securing transformational gifts, and enhancing philanthropic engagement to fuel City Colleges of Chicago’s mission and success. The AVC designs and implements a comprehensive fundraising strategy that aligns with the Foundation’s vision and CCC priorities, providing leadership, direction, and management of all levels of giving, including annual giving and stewardship. Performs related duties as required.

Primary Objective

Reporting to the CCC Foundation President, the Associate Vice Chancellor (AVC) – Development and Major Gifts is a senior leader responsible for fundraising strategy and donor engagement to support CCCF and CCC’s mission.

Essential Duties

Strategic Leadership:

• Works collaboratively with the Foundation President in crafting and executing comprehensive fundraising strategies and initiatives to support the mission and goals of the City Colleges of Chicago Foundation (CCCF).
• Supports the Foundation President in setting fundraising goals and provides regular grant performance and progress-to-goal reports to CCCF and CCC leadership.
• Partners with the Foundation President and CCC leadership to identify funding opportunities and donor prospects.
• Provides leadership for fundraising programs and events, including major gifts, annual giving, and scholarship programs.
• Represents the CCCF President in donor meetings and major gift solicitations, as needed.

Major Gift Program Development and Management

• Collaborates with the Foundation President to design and enhance principal and major gift programs, ensuring effective identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of high-level prospects.
• Manages a portfolio of major gift donors, strategizing and facilitating principal and major gift fundraising efforts.
• Ensures effective stewardship by maintaining relationships with current donors, planning special events, and delivering impactful communications.
• Cultivates new relationships, identifying prospective high-level prospects and building strong, lasting relationships to inspire major gifts.
• Coordinates with development team and colleagues to prepare and present compelling written and verbal proposals to prospective donors as part of strategy towards securing major and planned gifts.
• Assists with estate and legacy gift planning, providing expert guidance to donors and their families.

Development Team Management:

• Manages the development team and collaborates with other staff members that support various aspects of the donor lifecycle.
• Oversees the operations of the Foundation’s development efforts, including coaching of the development team and ensuring high performance, implementation of foundation and individual donor strategies, campaign tracking, prospect management, and proposal development.
• Directs staff engaged in implementing and maintaining fundraising programs which include individual, group, and corporate giving; campaigns; alumni outreach; and CCC employee outreach.
• Creates and identifies opportunities and events for foundation prospects and donors to engage with the CCC community.

Fundraising Coordination and Collaboration:

• Supports Foundation President in the development of systems to ensure district-wide coordination of fundraising efforts, communication of process and priorities, and to inform development strategies and continuous improvement.
• Works collaboratively with key departments and staff to plan, implement, and manage events designed to identify and cultivate new prospects and build relationships with existing donors.
• Works with team to refine and customize donor lists for special mailings, invitations, donor recognition, and related events.
• Oversees and manages the direct mailing of solicitations, announcements, and event invitations.

Donor Data Management:

• Leads the implementation of systems for managing donor data, data tracking, interactions, and foundation reporting.
• Works with the Office of Institutional Advancement and other key stakeholders in compiling data to better inform strategic planning, donor recognition, and stewardship activities.
• Coordinates with the Executive Director-Foundation Finance and Operations to maintain accurate records of all grant awards to the Foundation.
• Manages and maintains contact updates, donor biographic information, and other constituent records and donor lists.

Reporting Relationships

Reports To: Executive Vice Chancellor-Chief Institutional Advancement Officer and Chief of Staff; CCC Foundation President

Direct Supervision: Executive Director-Development and Manager-Scholarships

Qualifications

• A Master’s degree from an accredited college or university
• Eight years of successful advancement and external affairs experience in a non-profit or educational setting
• Demonstrated record of raising and managing donor portfolios of $1M+
• Proven experience in planning and executing comprehensive fundraising programs or strategic partnerships in a mission-driven organization
• Experience in major gift development, donor relations and stewardship, annual giving, and principal and planned gift fundraising preferred
• Knowledge and understanding of current trends and best practices in areas of prospect research, development, and philanthropy preferred
• Knowledge of grant life cycle including proposal development and submission process, post-award process, and contract and regulatory compliance preferred
• Knowledge of effective grant writing and research processes preferred
• Demonstrated success with project management and implementation of systems and processes
• Excellent strategic, interpersonal, organizational, and leadership skills
• Exceptional interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to draft persuasive proposals, deliver compelling presentations, and engage diverse audiences effectively
• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills
• Demonstrated ability to work within complex organizations and collaborate across multiple stakeholder groups.
• Ability to mentor and develop fundraising staff to foster a collaborative and high-performing team environment
• Ability to maintains and nurture donor relationships and ensure sustained engagement
• Ability to monitor and analyze fundraising metrics that guide strategic planning
• Ability to accurately document gift agreements to ensure compliance and stewardship
• Commitment to maintaining confidentiality and upholding ethical standards in all aspects of fundraising and donor interaction
• Ability to work within a culturally diverse environment
• Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office 365 (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) and CRMs (Salesforce or comparable system)

Benefits information is found on the CCC benefits page. We offer an excellent health and welfare benefit package and long-term savings and investment programs including 403(b) & 457(b) and a pension plan with SURS. Generous vacation, holiday, personal and sick days, and tuition reimbursement. For a detailed overview of benefits, please visit the benefits page on our website.

Equal Opportunity employer. Chicago residency is required for all full-time employees within 6 months of hire.