SUMMARY

The Leadership Gift Officer – Athletics will manage relationships with athletic alumni and donors. The main goals of the Leadership Gift Officer position are tied to fundraising and donor retention specifically for athletes. The Leadership Gift Officer will manage a portfolio of donors and potential donors to increase their philanthropic support to the University through quality engagement and customer service. This position will report to the Executive Director of Development. Roughly 70% of the Officer’s time will be spent on portfolio work while 30% will be spent on coordinating alumni engagement and communications activities for athletics between the two departments.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Responsible to model the University Mission through dedicated job performance, service excellence to constituencies, respectful collaboration and active support of the University’s Mission and Catholic and Lasallian higher education.

• Responsible for growing a balanced portfolio of donors over time which includes discovering, qualifying, and soliciting prospects at the annual giving levels to reach the President’s Circle level ($1,000+) and retaining and/or increasing donors to Leadership Annual Giving levels ($2,500+), and eventually as Major and Planned Gift prospects ($25,000+).
• Responsible for managing all aspects of relationship building for constituents in their portfolio. Including engagement, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship
• Responsible for meeting with athletic coaches and the Assistant Athletic Director to outline strategic initiatives tied to annual giving and alumni engagement while working with the Director of Alumni Engagement and Advancement Communications to executive strategies.
• Using the tools available, develop relationships with alumni, donors, and prospective donors. These tools include phone, video conferencing tools, in-person meeting, social media, and direct mail.
• Attends athletic alumni and donor events to engage with donors and prospective donors which include parents.
• Provides quality customer service to athletic donors as the liaison for their philanthropic support.
• Manages the reporting and goals of athletic fundraising and communications.
• Provides oversight of alumni committees as needed to engage potential donors with the university.
• Assists with essential Annual Giving functions which help develop a pipeline of donors to Major Gift Officers.

The Leadership Gift Officer will manage his/her individual goals, tracking, and actions . In addition, the Leadership Gift Officer will manage relationships related to overall advancement goals. These relationships include campus partnerships with athletics, parent giving, and other constituent relationships as assigned.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor's Degree
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment
• Three to five years of growing experience in the field of fundraising (direct solicitation), sales, and or customer service
• Proven ability to reach and exceed assigned goals
• Experience working with content management systems (i.e., salesforce, raisers edge, donor management database, etc.)
• See job posting for complete list

About Lewis University

Lewis University is a Division II School located 25 miles SW of Chicago, in Romeoville, IL. Lewis sponsors 18 intercollegiate varsity sports and competes in the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

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