Director of Donor Relations

Job Description:

Managing a team of two, the Director of Donor Relations is responsible for ensuring donors experience high-quality interactions with the university documenting the impact of their support and the university’s gratitude for their investment. Interactions should foster long-term engagement, investment and donor retention. Working with the Assistant Director of Donor Relations and the Development Writer, the director is responsible for planning, executing, documenting, and evaluating all stewardship activities for the Office of University Development. The director will assess programs for continuous improvement and incorporate best practices from across the non-profit sector into stewardship efforts.

Washington and Lee University actively promotes a dynamic and inclusive environment that allows students and employees of multiple backgrounds, cultures, and perspectives to learn, work, and thrive together. Successful candidates will contribute to that environment and exhibit potential for excellence in their areas of expertise.

Essential Functions:

• Oversees the production and distribution of personalized annual endowment reports detailing financial information and uses of the earnings of individual endowments to all living donors or identified heirs and manages an annual correspondence program to have campus beneficiaries of endowment income write notes of gratitude to donors or identified heirs.
  
  
• Works with colleagues in the offices of the President, Provost and Deans, along with the Development staff and others to arrange thoughtful and personal interactions between recipients of funds and donors/heirs and to develop personalized stewardship plans for leadership donors with an eye toward not just thanking donors for past gifts, but also cultivating them for future support.
  
  
• Oversees all stewardship communication on the development website including the University’s list of endowed funds and donor stories, and, along with the Director of Annual Giving, produces the University’s annual online Honor Roll of Donors.
  
  
• Works with colleagues in Annual Giving to produce meaningful stewardship programs for the Annual Fund with emphasis on The President’s Society, the university’s leadership annual giving group.
  
  
• Ensures stewardship information and activities are entered on donor records in Raiser’s Edge, the alumni and development data system, and prepares an annual activity report for the department.
  
  
• Works with colleagues in Special Events, Annual Giving, Alumni Engagement and throughout Advancement to seek appropriate opportunities to steward donors during campus events.
  
  
• Monitors giving by leadership donors approaching the threshold for recognition on the Honored Benefactors Wall and manages the production and updating of biographies of those so honored. Coordinates the Benefactors Wall ceremony with appropriate parties (Vice President of Advancement and Secretary to the Board) and communicates with colleagues and others across campus to ensure optimal attendance and recognition for honorees.
  
  
• Supervises and evaluates the Assistant Director of Donor Relations and the Development Writer, who is responsible for all Presidential correspondence to donors acknowledging new gifts and pledges at defined levels.
  
  
• Coordinates and oversees the production of endowment agreements supporting each new endowment created. Maintains files on each endowment to ensure the most relevant information and communications are readily available, and serves as a resource when questions arise about a fund or its intended use.
  
  
• Engages with Donor Relations professionals at peer institutions and through professional associations such as CASE, the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education and ADRP, the Association of Donor Relations Professionals, to ensure Washington and Lee is a leader in the field of donor relations.
  
  
• Maintains a complete and up-to-date inventory of all physical donor recognition (plaques, signage, etc.) across campus. Helps to establish standards for new recognition opportunities and coordinates the installation of new recognition pieces.
  
  
• Additional other duties as assigned.
  
  

Minimum Qualifications: A Bachelor’s Degree and 5-7 years of development or related experience is required. Working knowledge of large databases such as Raiser’s Edge, Advance, Banner, or similar is desired along with a proficiency in Microsoft Office and Outlook. Strong written and verbal communications skills are a must. Applicants must possess the ability to collaborate and work creatively with colleagues in the department and across campus. Finally, the candidate must, at all times, be focused on the obligation we have to our donors to be good stewards of their philanthropy.

Application Instructions: Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Resume and cover letter are required. Upload both required documents to the Resume/CV upload section of the application. You will be asked to provide names and contact information for three professional references.

External Applicants: Application instructions for external applicants are located on the jobs.wlu.edu or here .

Current W&L Employees: Apply from your existing Workday account. Instructions are located at jobs.wlu.edu or here .

Position Type:

Exempt, Full Time, Benefit Eligible

Minimum Pay:

$77,660.00 - Pay Commensurate with Experience