Lead Donor Relations for Annual Leadership Giving

Northern Kentucky University; Highland Heights (KY); Hybrid; USD 65,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

Northern Kentucky University is seeking an Assistant Director of Annual Leadership Giving to build meaningful relationships with alumni, parents, friends, and donors. The role focuses on cultivating and soliciting individuals for leadership annual gifts in the $1,000–$50,000 range, using personalized outreach across multiple channels.

The position requires managing a portfolio, leveraging predictive analytics for upgrade opportunities, and serving as an ambassador for NKU.

Qualifications

• Experience building relationships with alumni, parents, friends, and donors.
• Ability to manage multiple constituent interactions simultaneously.
• Comfort with high-volume, personalized outreach strategies.
• Knowledge of donor segmentation and giving cycles.

Responsibilities

• Manage a portfolio of leadership annual giving prospects and donors.
• Develop and execute individualized cultivation and solicitation strategies to upgrade giving in the $1,000–$50,000 range.
• Conduct outreach via phone, email, text, video messages, virtual meetings, and personal visits.
• Qualify prospects using predictive analytics and upgrade scoring models.
• Identify and solicit Founders’ Day match and challenge gifts to support annual participation.
• Maintain accurate records of prospect activity in the donor database and support fundraising campaigns.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Relationship-building

Communication skills

Portfolio management

High-volume outreach

Tools

Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge NXT

Fundraising databases

Job description

Northern Kentucky University is seeking an Assistant Director of Annual Leadership Giving to build meaningful relationships with alumni, parents, friends, and donors. The role focuses on cultivating and soliciting individuals for leadership annual gifts in the $1,000–$50,000 range, using personalized outreach across multiple channels.

The position requires managing a portfolio, leveraging predictive analytics for upgrade opportunities, and serving as an ambassador for NKU.