at University of Illinois in Urbana, Illinois, United States
Job Description
Assistant Director of Stewardship and Donor Relations - College of Veterinary MedicineVet Medicine Administration
In 2023 Forbes ranked the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign as #9 among all US public colleges, on the basis of return on investment, student success, student debt, and alumni leadership and influence. Only one other campus featuring a veterinary college ranked above Illinois.
A Stewardship position in Advancement at the College of Veterinary Medicine includes Advancement-related management of research, grateful client, student engagement, small and large animal, exotics, shelter medicine, zoology, public health, and wildlife relations, and more. The College of Veterinary Medicine provides extensive clinical services and care of animals, knowledge and research for diseases from human to animal, and world and community conservation. Our services, education, and research are to improve the quality of life for all species around the world.
The Assistant Director of Stewardship and Donor Relations takes direction from the Assistant or Associate Dean of Advancement and works alongside Advancement Directors and Office Support. This position, as an integral part of the College of Veterinary Medicine Advancement Team, provides leadership, administration, and strategic direction for Stewardship and Donor Relations, including developing methods to measure the effectiveness of Stewardship and Donor Relations strategies and activities. Major areas of responsibility will include oversight of governing document and fund creation processes, fund management, and other major gift Stewardship and Donor Relations. Engagement and stewardship of our alumni and grateful client are a critical role within the advancement team.
Duties and Responsibilities:
Donor Relations and Engagement
•Oversee strategy to ensure donors have access to experiences and communications that enhance affinity and engagement with the College of Veterinary Medicine to cultivate philanthropy
•In collaboration with Advancement operations: develop recognition initiatives; maintain high-level engagement, cultivation, and help the events team for stewardship plans and engagement, and contribute to stewardship publications illustrating gift impact to donors
•Collaborate with Stewardship professionals at the University level and across campus to determine the best strategies for effective Stewardship of Donors
•Serve as the main contact for stewardship processes with UIF and OVCIA (i.e., pledge audit, endowment recipient updates)
•Maintain portfolio of donor relations resources for use by college and departmental staff
•Regularly generate pledge reports to track donors that are significantly behind on payments; when necessary, contacting donors for status or ultimately annulling a pledge
•Steward donors who have included the college in their estate gifts on updates in the college, especially updates on what they have expressed interested in
Donor Qualification and Cultivation
•Participate in College of Veterinary Medicine strategy meetings, and assist colleagues and provide support for all ongoing programs and operations as needed to help meet the College's fundraising goals
•Assist gift officers by confirming gift renewals with awards and scholarship donors
Major Gift Stewardship
•Ensure that major gift donors have comprehensive stewardship plans by developing and maintaining highlevel Stewardship Guidelines for Donors at the major gift level, with emphasis on donors with endowed funds
•Create and monitor Stewardship Plans in TED to ensure that the steps are appropriately completed and revised as needed, and provide assistance in implementing changes or modifying plans when challenges arise
•Collaborate with the Assistant/ Associate Dean for Advancement and the College's Director of Alumni and Events to design, create, and facilitate donor materials, report templates, and donor plans
•Identify ways to involve others, (i.e. Deans, Faculty, Students, Alumni, Volunteers, etc.) in Stewardship efforts
•Ensure that major gift prospects and donors receive, at minimum, an annual report regarding the use and impact of the funds they have contributed to, including interactions with the students or faculty benefiting from their philanthropy, when appropriate
•Collaborate with college Units to ensure that the awarding of scholarships, fellowships, named faculty positions, and usage of private funds meet the criteria in the established fund agreements; oversee responsibilities of annual college scholarship process assigned to advancement team, including scholarship profiles
•Coordinate with UIF Donor Relations, as well as with College and Unit Colleagues, Communications, and Constituent Engagement to ensure appropriate donor recognition and appreciation opportunities are leveraged for major gift prospects and Donors
•Collaborate with faculty, researchers, and clinicians in impact reporting, including updates on projects, needs of the department, and impact of philanthropy
•Design and implement a comprehensive, multi-tiered plan to acknowledge annual and major gifts to the college and units, as well as to recognize donors in order to enhance the donor relationship with the College or Unit, and increase the likelihood of continued contributions
•Create and Manage Stewardship and recognition systems associated with the College's fundraising campaigns
•Ensure that Stewardship and Engagement activity is recorded in TED and stewardship plans are updated, as needed
•Oversight of monthly stewardship reporting
Fund Creation and Management
•Manage new fund governing document and fund creation in collaboration with university and foundation colleagues
•Serve as resource for gift officers and departmental contacts regarding governing document requirements and standards
•Respond to specific donor inquiries arising from campaign activity, which requires knowledge of sensitive University issues and the appropriate responses
•Ensure satisfaction of donor intent when creating gift documentation and after a gift is processed
•Manage responses to inquiries regarding gift funds from Major Gift Officers (MGOs), Unit leadership and staff, and donors
•Act as a liaison for the College's financial operations regarding the initiation of new UIF funds, fund agreements, statements of understanding, and other relevant documentation related to the stewardship of gifts to College of Veterinary Medicine
•Conduct an annual account review of College and Unit gift funds in collaboration with College and Business Officers, to ensure adherence to fund guidelines and compliance with University and College policies
•Assist faculty and hospital personnel with inquiries about fund guidelines
Other Duties
•Understand how to navigate TED in an effective and efficient manner, such as, but not limited to, investigating donor gifts and commitments, reviewing constituent plans and interactions, or running general reports for the needs of the office
•Generate and send monthly Grateful Client Reports to faculty members in current management of departments
•Participate in campus-level meetings related to Stewardship and Donor Relations
•Maintain confidential alumni and donor records
•Work with UIF Research and other campus contacts to generate fundraising reports and prospect lists
•Track fulfillment of naming requirements in Fund Agreements or other documentation, by utilizing knowledge the Naming Rights process
•Monitor weekly gift reports and Notable Gifts Reports
Additional Physical Demands
Persons allergic to animals, pollen, hay, or straw may experience discomfort in this position.
Minimum Qualifications
•Bachelor's degree
•One year of experience in education, training and/or work experience in advancement, stewardship and/or donor relation administration. (Note: Master's Degree in an area consistent with the duties of the position may be substituted for one (1) year of work experience.)
Preferred Qualifications
•Stewardship experience within a higher education environment
•One year of experience in implementing and executing Stewardship Programs.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities
- Understanding of principles of Donor Engagement and Stewardship
- Basic understanding of major Donor prospect qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and Stewardship
- Demonstrated excellent professionalism, and the ability to communicate with donors, and the ability to organize multiple tasks and priorities simultaneously
- Demonstrated excellent verbal and interpersonal communication skills
- Ability to recognize and adhere to the Donor Bill of Rights as prescribed by the Association of Fundraising Professionals
- Knowledge of how to investigate gifts that are processed to ensure accuracy of designation and proper acknowledgement
- Expertise in how gifts are initiated, processed, and acknowledged for the college and the donor
This is a 100% full-time Civil Service 5002 - Program Coordinator position, appointed on a 12-month basis. The expected start date is as soon as possible after 8/26/2024. The minimum salary for this position in $60,000.
For more information on Civil Service classifications, please visit the SUCSS web site at https://www.sucss.illinois.gov/pages/classspec/default.aspx .
Application Procedures & Deadline Information
Applications must be received by 6:00 pm (Central Time) on July 25, 2024. Apply for this position using the Apply Now button at the top or bottom of this posting. In order to be considered as a transfer candidate, you must apply for this position. Applications not submitted through https://jobs.illinois.edu will not be considered. If required by the position, transcripts or other documentation of credentials are to be provided no later than the first day of employment. For further information about this specific position, please contact Christine Dietrich cdietric@illinois.edu. For questions regarding the application process, please contact 217-333-2137.
The University of Illinois System is an equal opportunity employer, including but not limited to disability and/or veteran status, and complies with all applicable state and federal employment mandates. Please visit Required Employment Notices and Posters to view our non-discrimination statement and find additional information about required background checks, sexual harassment/misconduct disclosures, and employment eligibility review through E-Verify .
Applicants with disabilities are encouraged to apply and may request a reasonable accommodation under the Americans with Disabilities Act (2008) to complete the application and/or interview process. Requests may be submitted through the reasonable accommodations portal , or by contacting the Accessibility & Accommodations Division of the Office for Access and Equity at 217-333-0885, or by emailing accessibility@illinois.edu .
Requisition ID: 1025545
Job Category: Administrative
Apply at: https://jobs.illinois.edu
