AVP of Development: Strategic Campaign & Donor Growth

Lindenwood; St. Charles (IL); On-site; USD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Job summary

Lindenwood University in Missouri seeks an experienced Assistant Vice President of Development to lead university fundraising functions, including major gifts, annual giving, athletics giving, planned giving, and corporate and foundation philanthropy. This centralized role partners with campus leadership to drive philanthropic growth and a comprehensive campaign.

The AVP will manage a diverse team, curate donor portfolios, and oversee CRM systems while aligning strategies with institutional

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in related field required or equivalent
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in non-profit fundraising
• Master’s degree preferred

Responsibilities

• Provides strategic leadership for university development functions, aligning fundraising strategies with the university’s priorities and campaign goals
• Leads development and execution of strategies to secure philanthropic support from individuals, corporations, and foundations
• Leads and mentors a growing team of professionals across major gifts, annual giving, athletics giving, planned giving, and corporate/philanthropy
• Partners with Deans and academic leaders to advance fundraising initiatives and donor relationships
• Provides leadership for campaigns and other strategic fundraising initiatives
• Maintains a personal portfolio of donor prospects including major, principal, and planned giving prospects
• Serves as the institution’s planned giving officer
• Ensures gift agreements and stewardship plans are properly created, reviewed and executed for all major gifts
• Oversees development’s use of Raiser’s Edge NXT, CRM for opportunities, engagement tracking, reporting, portfolio moves, and productivity tracking
• Builds and oversees fundraising metrics, standards, and reporting to guarantee accountability and revenue expansion
• Orchestrates cross-functional alignment of fundraising with institutional priorities and campaign milestones
• Collaborates with leadership to steward and engage donors after gifts, requalification, and donor relations
• Pioneers donor acquisition strategies using analytics and market insights
• Drives scalable development frameworks to empower academic leadership
• Promotes data-driven decision-making to optimize fundraising ROI
• Stays current on tax rules and planned giving policies
• Sets long- and short-term strategic goals based on data and monitors department metrics
• Manages budget, personnel, prospect research, and proposal development
• Maintains relationships with current and potential donors
• Manages HR for the department and develops staff
• Performs other duties as assigned

Skills

Strong communication, presentation and

Portfolio and moves management

Strategic fundraising leadership

Team leadership and development

Analytics and data-informed decision

Education

Bachelor’s degree in related field

Master’s degree preferred

Tools

Raiser’s Edge NXT

Raiser’s Edge

Job description

Lindenwood University in Missouri seeks an experienced Assistant Vice President of Development to lead university fundraising functions, including major gifts, annual giving, athletics giving, planned giving, and corporate and foundation philanthropy. This centralized role partners with campus leadership to drive philanthropic growth and a comprehensive campaign.

The AVP will manage a diverse team, curate donor portfolios, and oversee CRM systems while aligning strategies with institutional