Associate Director, Leadership Annual Giving

Associate Director, Leadership Annual Giving

Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary seeks an energetic, relationship-oriented, and highly organized fundraiser to serve as Associate Director, Leadership Annual Giving. This role is responsible for managing a portfolio of alumni and donors with a focus on leadership giving, donor renewal, donor upgrades, and the intentional movement of donors into deeper philanthropic engagement.

Reporting to the Senior Director, Annual Giving & Alumni Engagement, the Associate Director will play a central role in strengthening Garrett's donor pipeline by actively identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors showing increased affinity, consistency, or capacity. This is a frontline fundraising role designed for a fundraiser who enjoys the pace and discipline of portfolio management, consistent donor outreach, and high-volume relationship-based fundraising activity.

The Associate Director will work to ensure that donor engagement and donor solicitation strategies are coordinated and mutually reinforcing. This is essential to building a stronger pipeline between annual support and major giving, particularly among renewed, upgraded, and re-engaged donors.

This role is well-suited for a fundraiser with developing frontline experience who is eager to actively work a portfolio, close gifts consistently, and grow professionally within a collaborative and evolving advancement environment.

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor's degree required
• Minimum 3–5 years of frontline fundraising, annual giving, alumni relations, or related relationship-management experience
• Demonstrated ability to manage projects, relationships, and follow-through effectively
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills
• Comfort with donor outreach, relationship-building, and solicitation activity
• Ability to manage multiple priorities and work independently in a collaborative environment
• Interest in theological education and Garrett's mission preferred

Key Performance Indicators

• Annual fundraising production of approximately $250,000–$500,000
• Number of donor visits and meaningful contacts completed annually
• Donor renewal, upgrade, and reactivation activity
• Number and value of solicitations closed
• Pipeline movement from annual to leadership and major giving
• Portfolio movement and donor progression metrics
• CRM documentation completeness and timeliness
• Collaboration with Annual Giving & Alumni Engagement on donor strategy and pipeline development
• Preparing donor correspondence, proposals, contact reports, and follow-up communications
• Maintaining accurate CRM documentation, next-step strategies, and portfolio activity records
• Managing a high-volume portfolio with consistent movement and solicitation activity

Essential functions and responsibilities:

Leadership Giving Portfolio Management

• Manage and actively work a portfolio of alumni and donors capable of making leadership annual and emerging major gifts

• Conducting qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship activity
• Managing consistent donor outreach, follow-up, and relationship progression
• Building relationships with alumni and donors across assigned regions, with particular emphasis on Midwest constituencies

Expected to close between $250,000–$500,000 annually through a combination of renewed, upgraded, reactivated, and newly secured donor commitments.

Pipeline Development & Donor Movement

Work closely with the Senior Director, Annual Giving & Alumni Engagement to identify and move donors through Garrett's philanthropic pipeline.

This role is designed to serve as an important bridge between annual giving and major giving by focusing on donors who are demonstrating increased engagement, stronger giving behavior, or emerging leadership gift potential.

Responsibilities include:

• Identifying upgrade opportunities among existing annual donors
• Re-engaging lapsed donors through intentional outreach and relationship-building
• Helping move donors from broad-based annual support into deeper philanthropic partnership
• Participating in donor segmentation, portfolio review, and donor movement discussions
• Collaborating on strategies for leadership annual giving growth and donor retention
• Supporting broader campaign and fundraising priorities through active portfolio management

This role should be viewed as both a revenue-producing position and a pipeline-building position.

Donor Engagement & Stewardship

Build thoughtful and relationship-centered donor experiences that strengthen long-term engagement with Garrett and reinforce continued philanthropic investment.

Responsibilities include:

• Conducting virtual and in-person donor meetings
• Coordinating stewardship and follow-up activity with consistency and professionalism
• Representing Garrett at events, alumni gatherings, and donor engagement opportunities as appropriate
• Partnering with colleagues across Development and Alumni Engagement to ensure donors experience coordinated communication and outreach