Director of College Advancement

Association of Fundraising Professionals; Martinez (CA); On-site; USD 132,000 - 161,000; Full time

Job summary

Diablo Valley College Foundation seeks a Director of College Advancement to lead the Foundation’s fundraising and external relations for the college community.

Under the President’s direction, the role oversees the Foundation 501(c)(3), guiding donor relations, campaigns, and partnerships with corporate and philanthropic sectors to support college priorities and student success.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree desirable.
• Three years of management-level fundraising experience with major gifts solicitation from foundations, corporations, businesses, and individuals.

Responsibilities

• Administers the College Foundation 501(c)(3).
• Leads development planning and execution per Foundation Board directives.
• Implement strategies to advance the College's goals and external relationships with key constituents.
• Conducts sustained fund development among alumni, community, foundations, and corporate donors.
• Personally solicits funds via face-to-face solicitations, grant writing, events, and campaigns.
• Identifies major donor prospects and supports major gift solicitation for the College President and Foundation Board.
• Develops methods for major gifts, annual campaigns, corporate giving, estates, annuities, and trusts.
• Secures unrestricted and restricted gifts and grows major donor categories.

Skills

Leadership

Donor relations

Campaign management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Advanced degree desirable

Job description

Director of College Advancement

Posting Number: 0002352 Location: Diablo Valley College Salary: YEARLY: $131,808, step 1 - $160,596, step 5 (see special instructions for initial step placement)

Position Definition

Under administrative direction of the College President, the Director of College Advancement is responsible for the administration of the College Foundation 501(c.) (3), which includes but is not limited to, the overall development, planning and execution of the Foundation's policies, procedures and activities as set by the Foundation Board of Directors. In addition, the scope of work includes: serving as a staff resource to the College President, relative to fund development policy and practices; and implementing strategies that advance the College's goals and external relationships with key constituents.

Distinguishing Characteristics

N/A

Examples of Duties/Essential Functions

• Administers the College Foundation 501(c.)(3).
• Leads the overall development, planning, and execution of the Foundation's policies, procedures, and activities, as set by the Foundation Board of Directors.
• Implements strategies that advance the College's goals and external relationships with key constituents.
• Conducts a comprehensive, on-going fund development program, among alumni, the community, private foundations, and corporate donors, to fund the needs of the College and the Foundation's operations.
• Personally solicits funds via face-to-face solicitations, writing grant proposals, implementing special events, organizing and implementing annual campaigns, and any other appropriate fund raising programs as prioritized.
• Identifies planned giving and major donor prospects, ensuring appropriate cultivation takes place; provides proposal and other support material to the College President and Foundation Board for major gift solicitation; provides leadership for all campaigns that may be undertaken by the Foundation.
• Develops methods and systems to provide for major gifts, annual campaigns, corporate giving, estate planning/gifts, annuities and trust funds and all other methods of support for the College.
• Initiates and develops proposals seeking unrestricted annual and restricted gifts from corporate and foundation grant-makers, while coordinating closely with College representatives.
• Ensures that the annual fund reaches unrestricted and restricted cash goals each year; ensures the growth of various major donor categories.
• Working in partnership with the College's Financial Aid Office, develops new scholarship funds and oversees effective administration and stewardship of all privately funded scholarships and donors.
• Provides staff support for Foundation Board and committee meetings; provides all meeting materials, including written reports as necessary, and minutes for the Foundation Board and committees.
• Keeps the Foundation Board informed of all donations and key financial reports; ensures that the talents of the Board members are fully applied to meet fund-raising and organizational objectives.
• Maintains the Foundation's database, including donor and prospect information.
• Utilizes appropriate reports to enhance and improve information and decision-making for program management; performs ongoing review of program effectiveness and personnel performance.
• Supervises Foundation-based publications, including fundraising brochures, annual report, website, etc.
• Directs or works closely with the Marketing Department, generating content and other collateral (social media) to service College and Foundation goals.
• Develops and implements long-range plans and direction for the Foundation; evaluates the success of development programs on an annual basis; and, as appropriate, provides recommendations to improve effectiveness of all development efforts.
• Develops and implements a plan to support the College's external relations goals.
• Works closely with faculty, staff, and management to: integrate the Foundation, its fundraising activities and endowment use into academic and student services program planning; and develop understanding of College goals, programs and services.
• Assists in serving as a point of contact for organizations, businesses, residents, and others in the College's service area.
• Attends College events, as appropriate; attends community meetings/events to represent the Foundation and/or College and advance relationships with external partners, organizations and constituencies.
• Plans and manages various College events held on campus and in the community to promote the College and engage internal/external constituencies; also acts as liaison for various externally-sponsored events held on campus.
• Serves on College committees and attends College/District meetings, as assigned.
• Supervises and evaluates any Foundation and College Advancement staff; supervises all Foundation volunteers.
• Supports special projects, as directed by the College President.
• Performs other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

Education/Experience

EDUCATION: A bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university is required; an advanced degree in a related field is highly desirable.

EXPERIENCE: Three years management-level experience in fundraising and resource development, capital development and/or campaigns with major gifts solicitation from foundations, corporations, businesses, and individuals; or management experience involving 501(c.)(3)'s. A demonstrated track record of raising funds from the business and philanthropic communities is required.

Knowledge Of

Methods, techniques, and procedures used in the planning, development, marketing, and delivery of a major fundraising and resource development program in higher education; principles and processes for business and organizational modeling; leadership techniques; strategic planning, resources allocation, staffing, and supervision; analysis and various complex methods for the presentation of data and ideas; standard business software such as word processing, spreadsheets, presentations and specialized business software for fund-raising; financial record keeping practices and procedures; methods for gathering and presenting general, statistical, and technical data; budget development and expenditure tracking; complex business report writing.

Skill To

N/A

Ability To

Strengthen and implement the goals of a major comprehensive community college foundation program, including overseeing major fundraising campaigns and outreach to the business and philanthropic communities; provide leadership and prioritize projects; communicate effectively, both orally and in writing; prepare and make effective presentations to foundation and corporate boards, administrators and business community groups; develop effective partnerships between the college's foundation and community and industry leaders; demonstrate understanding of, sensitivity to and respect for the diverse academic, socio-economic, race, ethnicity, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, politics, philosophy, disability, and religious background of all students, faculty and staff.

Desirable Qualifications

• Knowledge of and demonstrated success in all phases of the donor cycle: identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship; passionate about philanthropy as a lever for change
• An entrepreneurial leader who takes the initiative to bring forth and pursue new funding ideas, opportunities and partnerships
• A skilled and organized manager with experience developing systems, creating processes and establishing policies in a nonprofit or higher education setting
• Exceptional verbal, written and interpersonal communication skills to convey information clearly and persuasively and listen actively to align donor interests with student, college and foundation mission and programs
• Committed to fostering a collaborative work environment and effectively managing and nurturing interpersonal relationships with colleagues, donors, volunteers, college leaders and community stakeholders

Special Instructions

As a member of the President's Cabinet, this position partners with the Diablo Valley College (DVC) President and the Foundation Board to lead the DVC Foundation. The Foundation is at an exciting inflection point, poised for rebuilding and growth in fundraising capacity, stakeholder engagement and student impact.

Initial interviews will be held Monday and Tuesday, November 9 and 10; final interviews will be held Friday, November 13. This successful candidate will be a District employee and receive all District benefits, including CalPERS retirement.

Job Close Date: 10/30/2026

Open Until Filled: No