Director, Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving

Position Summary

The East Stroudsburg University Foundation, the 501(c)(3) affiliate of East Stroudsburg University, seeks a talented, experienced, and energetic development professional to serve as the Director of Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving.

Reporting to the Senior Director of Development and Alumni Relations, the Director of Alumni Engagement and Annual Giving will plan, develop, and execute a comprehensive strategy to engage alumni for broader participation and involvement and to retain and expand the number of donors to the foundation’s annual fund through creative appeals, active cultivation, appropriate solicitation, and stewardship. The expected outcome is increased income for the Foundation, support for university priorities and increased alumni participation and giving rates. This individual will oversee all alumni engagement and annual giving activities including programs and initiatives to prepare students to become engaged and supportive future alumni.

Alumni Engagement Accountabilities

• Collaborate with Executive Director, Senior Director of Development and Alumni Relations, and Alumni Association Board Chair to establish strategic goals and annual objectives for the Alumni Association.
• Serve as ex-officio member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors.
• Serve as the point of contact for the Alumni Association Board of Directors to execute plans that support a diverse alumni body.
• Oversee the planning, marketing, volunteer management, and execution of multiple events during Homecoming and Family weekends that celebrate traditions and instill pride among alumni and their families.
• Develop a clear definition of a model alum and establish volunteer roles and programs that align with the university’s mission and strategic goals.
• Collaborate with the development team to coordinate events, travel, and logistics for off-campus events, including identifying hosts, venues, marketing, and event execution.
• Utilize best practices in all forms of alumni communications to write, review, and create compelling content for alumni e-newsletters, alumni magazine, and digital, print, website, and social media platforms.
• Collaborate with development, donor relations, and advancement, to build alumni connections and programs based on activities, affiliations, student experiences, demographics, industry, and special interests to provide more targeted opportunities for alumni engagement.
• Adopt industry-wide standards and best practices to establish a correlation between alumni engagement and philanthropy, using KPI’s and dashboards.

Annual Giving Accountabilities

• Develop a strategy to expand the number and retention of donors to the annual fund, using creative appeals, active cultivation, appropriate solicitation, and stewardship to gain increasing support from various constituencies.
• Maximize response rates and giving through effective fundraising practices across direct mail, phone, and digital campaigns including crowdfunding platforms.
• Serve as subject matter expert for donor segmentation, consistently identifying and measuring donor profile information.
• Create and lead annual giving programs for athletics, reunion classes, students, faculty/staff, parents, and young alumni, building relationships with and stewarding key donors.
• Collaborate with Donor Relations and Stewardship to create, monitor and evaluate donor renewal programs and initiatives.
• Construct monthly reports to measure annual giving results to show growth, activity, status toward goals and prior year comparisons.
• Participate in national and regional events and meet with key annual donors to steward and increase giving levels.
• Work with development staff to effectively identify, cultivate and build strategies for moving donors to higher giving levels and engaging non donors to give.
• Develop and disseminate messaging to undergraduate students that fosters a culture of giving and prepares students to become supportive alumni.

Position Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree.
• Five years of alumni engagement and fundraising experience; preferably in higher education
• A proven history of success in running annual campaigns and experience in cultivating and soliciting individuals for annual leadership gifts.
• A thorough knowledge of alumni engagement trends, industry standards and fundraising principles and best practices.
• Experience with managing boards and direct reports, recruiting volunteers, budgeting, and planning events.
• Ability to collaborate with colleagues and peers within the foundation, university leadership, external partners, and volunteers.
• Strong writing skills in the areas of correspondence, newsletters, magazine content, press releases, and scripts.
• Thorough knowledge of event planning from mission/concept to execution and follow-up.
• Must have exceptional interpersonal and communication skills with the ability to build relationships across multiple diverse populations.
• Affinity for the overall mission of East Stroudsburg University Foundation and East Stroudsburg University.

• Must have flexibility to work evenings and weekends and be willing to travel.

To Apply

Application package must include:

• Cover letter indicating why you are interested in this position plus salary requirements.
• Resume (please include start and end date of employment for each position).
• Names and contact information of three professional references (at least two of which must have been immediate supervisors).
• Writing samples upon request

Send to: Search Committee, ESU Foundation, 200 Prospect Street, East Stroudsburg, PA 18301, or email to [email protected]. The East Stroudsburg University Foundation is an equal opportunity employer encouraging excellence through diversity. Excellent benefits include participation in medical, dental and vision coverage; generous retirement plan; life insurance; holidays; personal and vacation days and sick leave.

Closing Date

There is no deadline for application. Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. The application period may close however, when the adequate numbers of qualified applications are received.

Notice of Nondiscrimination: East Stroudsburg University Foundation does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, disability, age, sexual orientation, gender identity or veteran’s status in its programs and activities in accordance with applicable federal and state laws and regulations. The following person has been designated to handle inquiries regarding this policy: Senior Director of Finance and Administration, East Stroudsburg University Foundation, 200 Prospect Street, East Stroudsburg, PA 18301, 570-422-3236. For assistance or special accommodation, please call 570-422-3236.

East Stroudsburg University Foundation