Director of Development

Madison College Foundation; Madison (WI); Hybrid; USD 90,000 - 110,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health benefits

Dental insurance

401K

Paid time off

Professional development

Hybrid work environment

Incentive compensation

Job summary

Madison College Foundation seeks an experienced development leader to manage a portfolio of individual, corporate, and foundation prospects. You will develop cultivation and solicitation plans, partner with college leaders, and drive major gift activity to advance institutional priorities.

The role includes donor engagement, stewardship, and collaboration with foundation staff to support annual giving and strategic campaigns.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field is required.
• 5+ years of nonprofit fundraising with leadership experience.
• Demonstrated success in major gift cultivation, solicitation, and closing.
• Experience with prospect outreach including cold calls, cultivation, solicitation, and closing.
• Ability to engage confidently with high-level donors and maintain confidentiality.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills; ability to translate strategy into action.

Responsibilities

• Secure financial support by maintaining a portfolio of 120+ donors and corporate partners.
• Identify and qualify donor prospects and potential grants from foundations.
• Develop tailored cultivation and solicitation strategies for qualified prospects.
• Build donor relationships through visits, calls, email, and other engagements.
• Research funding sources and assist with grant proposals as needed.

Skills

Major gifts

Donor stewardship

Prospect research

Relationship management

Strategic planning

Communication skills

Confidentiality

Education

Bachelor's degree in related field

Tools

Raiser’s Edge NXT

Microsoft Office

Microsoft Teams

Job description

The Madison College Foundation seeks an experienced and hands-on professional for the role of Director of Development. The position manages a portfolio of individual, corporate, and foundation prospects; develops and executes cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies; and partners with Foundation and College leaders to advance institutional priorities.

The Madison College Foundation is committed to breaking down financial barriers for students by supporting Madison College in its mission to provide high-quality, open-access education. Through the acquisition and stewardship of private funding, we aim to enrich lives and strengthen our communities.

Key Responsibilities:

Donor Engagement and Solicitation (70%)

• Secure financial support by maintaining a qualified portfolio of 120+ donors and corporate partners with capacity to make major gifts.
• Identify and qualify donor prospects, including identification of potential grants from corporate and family foundations.
• Develop and implement tailored cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for each qualified prospect.
• Build and nurture donor relationships through personal visits, phone calls, email, and other meaningful engagement; serve as the primary relationship manager and connect donor interests with annual needs and transformative opportunities.
• Research funding sources and, as needed, assist with grant proposal development and the execution of funded grants.
• Play a lead role in soliciting and closing major gifts and managing donor matched gifts.
• Engage board members and volunteer leaders in identifying, evaluating, cultivating, and soliciting major gift prospects.
• Conduct prospect research to identify and evaluate potential major donors.
• Build strong relationships with college administrators, faculty, and staff to support college and foundation priorities and fundraising efforts.
• Manage gift and pledge acknowledgments and fulfillment requirements.
• Manage and steward the Madison College Foundation's planned giving program to secure legacy gifts.

Donor Stewardship (20%)

• Manage personalized donor communications and relationship follow-up.
• Develop strategies to strengthen donor engagement, retention, and stewardship.
• Manage donor correspondence, including pledge and gift reminders, acknowledgments, and follow-up from donor meetings.
• Partner with the Foundation team to develop donor lists, reports, and outreach strategies that support increased giving, retention, and stewardship.

Monitoring, Reporting and Supporting the Overall Organization (10%)

• Monitor weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual activity and progress toward revenue goals.
• Assist with review and verification of major gift donor recognition lists.
• Track, update, and report relationship management activities in Raiser’s Edge NXT.
• Oversee copywriting for donor communication and solicitation and collaborate with the Foundation team to develop content for newsletters and other communications.
• Support annual giving, development, and marketing activities as needed.
• Plan and implement select donor cultivation and stewardship events.
• Participate in organizational planning, strategy, and program development as needed.
• Collaborate with Foundation staff to maintain a catalog of impact stories and photos.
• May supervise, or coach and support other development staff as assigned.
• Perform other duties as assigned by the CEO.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
• 5 or more years of non-profit fundraising experience, including leadership and capacity building; higher education fundraising experience is a plus.
• Demonstrated success in major gift cultivation, solicitation, and closing as well as volunteer and project management.
• Experience with prospect outreach including cold calls, cultivation, solicitation and closing strategies.
• Ability to engage confidently with high-level donors and maintain strict confidentiality.
• Strong service orientation, with demonstrated ability to respond promptly and thoughtfully to the needs of donors, colleagues, and partners regardless of giving level.
• Ability to analyze information, establish priorities, develop plans, and set measurable goals.
• Exceptional oral, written, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Strong judgment and the ability to translate strategy into action.
• Demonstrated diplomacy and collaboration skills, with the ability to work effectively with donors, board members, Foundation and College colleagues, and other stakeholders.
• Proven ability to exercise sound judgment and discretion in working with sensitive or confidential information.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office, Microsoft Teams, and other communication technologies; familiarity with fundraising software is preferred.
• Ability to travel locally and across the Madison College district in South-Central Wisconsin, as needed.

Annual salary range is $90,000 - $110,000, commensurate with qualifications and experience.

The Madison College Foundation offers a competitive benefits package.

• health
• dental
• 401K
• paid time off
• professional development
• a flexible (hybrid) work environment
• eligibility for incentive compensation

Currently, staff are required in-office 1-2 days per week, depending on responsibilities. However, you may be required to be on-site more during the initial months of training.