Director of Annual Giving

Director of Annual Giving University of Puget Sound

Job : 8563

Full/Part Time: Full Time

Regular/Temporary: Regular

Appointment: Regular, full-time (1.0 FTE) position.

This position is based in Tacoma, WA, and is hybrid eligible (minimum of 3 days on‑site) after a successful evaluation period.

Please note that we generally do not sponsor applicants for work visas for staff positions. Therefore, we generally require applicants for staff positions to be currently authorized to work in the United States on a full-time basis.

University of Puget Sound seeks an experienced professional to lead and grow programs responsible for raising $2m+ annually in unrestricted giving. As a key leader in the University Relations division and the Constituent Relations cohort (which includes Annual Giving, Alumni & Parent Relations, and Prospect & Information Management), the Director of Annual Giving is a consistent champion for Puget Sound's culture of philanthropy on campus and among 50,000+ alumni, parents, friends, faculty, staff, and students.

As a member of the division's leadership team, the Director of Annual Giving is a key contributor to divisional initiatives that aid the university in meeting its short‑and long‑term fundraising goals. The director is an externally-facing role with high visibility that reports to the Associate Vice President for Constituent Relations and supervises a forward-facing team of three professional staff and student staff.

The ideal candidate for this position carries a passion and skillset that aligns with the dynamic, diverse nature of the annual fund. The Director of Annual Giving operates at both a strategic and hands‑on level, aligning work with industry best‑practices, university strategic goals, and the university's centralized fundraising model. The director is charged with meeting each annual Puget Sound Fund goal by way of successfully developing, implementing, and managing a comprehensive multi‑channel fundraising program to secure annual, unrestricted gifts through an intentional and diverse suite of strategies, including leadership giving, direct and digital marketing, peer‑to‑peer volunteer management, giving days, and more.

Other key responsibilities include tracking performance, managing budgets, and supporting restricted fundraising initiatives as appropriate. The director also collaborates closely with other colleagues across the division, including the Office of Marketing & Communications, Capital & Planned Giving, Donor Relations, and our esteemed faculty and staff.

• Meet all Puget Sound Fund goals, including dollars raised and participation targets for key constituencies; both within and beyond the university's Greater, We Ascend comprehensive campaign;
• Champion a culture of philanthropy within Puget Sound's internal and external communities, seeking to educate on and incorporate messages of engagement, philanthropy, and stewardship across all activities and efforts.
• Lead solicitation of the university's top potential Puget Sound Fund donors and make meaningful increases to the the number of donors and gift receipts to the President's Leadership Society, collaborating with university leaders and colleagues in Capital & Planned Giving, Prospect & Information Management, and the Leadership Gift Officer to support leadership-level solicitations and expand the number of leadership-level annual Puget Sound Fund donors;
• Ensure that annual giving contact officer(s) achieve annual personal visit and solicitation goals, including the management of own portfolio that includes prospective annual donors of Puget Sound Fund gifts of $1,000 to $50,000+;
• Develop and execute the overarching mass, omni‑channel solicitation strategy and all individual solicitation activities for the Puget Sound Fund that inspire alumni, parents, faculty, staff, friends, and students to understand, initiate and continue giving;
• Manage and direct all aspects of the Office of Annual Giving's constituent volunteer networks from overarching strategy to daily execution of efforts, successfully guiding staff in…