Associate Director, Donor Engagement & Stewardship

Associate Director, Donor Engagement & Stewardship

Associate Director, Donor Engagement & Stewardship 150 150 GCDSHR
The Greenwich Country Day School
Published
December 5, 2019
Location
Greenwich
Job Type

Description

Greenwich Country Day School is an independent, co-educational day school with a current enrollment of  1,200 students in grades Nursery-12 and a faculty and staff of over 300.The Old Church Road campus is home to grades N-8, and the high school is located less than two miles away on Stanwich Road. Founded in 1926, GCDS is a family school where creative teaching is encouraged and used to foster a love of learning and motivate children toward academic excellence. The school’s emphasis on developing the whole child results in attention to the development of character, values, creativity, and sportsmanship, along with strong academic skills.

GCDS is fortunate to have built a large endowment, which helps to fund competitive salaries and benefits;  including housing support for academic faculty, a robust professional development program, and reimbursement for graduate school tuition. GCDS offers a substantial need-based financial aid program to support students from a range of socio-economic backgrounds. Diversity is a core value at GCDS and we seek candidates who demonstrate a commitment to equity and inclusion.

Greenwich Country Day School seeks an Associate Director, Donor Engagement and Stewardship, to start immediately. Reporting to the Director of Development and Alumni Relations, the Associate Director will be responsible for designing, planning and executing the school’s donor engagement and stewardship plan for all leadership and major gift donors, including parent relations. The Associate Director will work closely with the Directors of Prospect Management, GCDS Campaigns, and GCDS Alumni Relations to develop a strategic plan for all leadership and major gift donors to the school. Stewardship, recognition, and events planning are all critical components of engaging and involving constituents. The Associate Director, DES will be expected to help refine, define and plan a program that will be integral to the success of the entire advancement mission. From acknowledging first-time donors with the “right touch” to recognizing our largest donors through special dedication events, this position will focus on retaining and building the donor community. This is a 12-month per year, full-time position.

Responsibilities Include:

  • Plan and execute a comprehensive stewardship program for donors to the School that will help maintain and strengthen the School’s relationship with past and present leadership donors, including past trustees
  • Develop, plan, and implement stewardship events, including our Annual Fund Leadership Reception, Tiger Pride Reception, 1926 Society Legacy event, GCDS First Leadership Donor events, Grandparents Day, Alumni Weekend, regional receptions and high level donor cultivation/recognition events
  • Work closely with all frontline fundraisers to develop a customized stewardship plan for individual donors
  • Attend school events and develop key relationships with faculty and staff to create buy-in, keep the Alumnae and Development office informed about exciting happenings on campus, and ensure that updates on school activities are part of the stewardship program
  • Track all stewardship activities in Raiser’s Edge; monitor and report on stewardship activity
  • Create and implement an acknowledgment system for capital and endowment gifts, including developing a series of personalized letters to be used and customized throughout the year
  • Ensure that all leadership and major gifts are acknowledged in a timely and appropriate manner
  • Develop and steward the school’s endowed funds and ensure that all donors are properly acknowledged and kept informed on the status and impact of their individual funds
  • Oversee the creation of recognition signage for the upper school campus
  • Partner with the Communications Office to develop a strategy for stewarding donors and coordinate alumnae/donor stories for key publications such as the GCDS magazine and the Annual Report
  • Develop and conceptualize a yearly theme for the Annual Report in partnership with Communications team
  • Attend prospect strategy meetings, providing reports on a regular basis
  • Other Duties as assigned

Required Qualifications:

  • A bachelor’s degree
  • 5+ years of experience in a development office, preferably within an educational institution, with involvement in engaging and stewarding donor relationships
  • Ability to generate creative solutions for stewarding donors in order to advance the school’s efforts to maintain and strengthen high-quality individual relationships with donors
  • Ability to think strategically about donor engagement
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills; writing samples will be requested
  • Strong interpersonal skills and demonstrated ability to connect with all members of the community
  • Competence with technology, including Google docs, Microsoft Office suite and all social media platforms
  • Raiser’s Edge experience is a plus
  • Ability to maintain absolute confidentiality and the integrity of all aspects of information disseminated within or external to the school community
  • Commitment to being part of a diverse, equitable and inclusive school community
  • Cultural competency skills to successfully collaborate across difference

Interested candidates are invited to use the link provided to submit a resume to:

Susan Fahey Khanna, Director of Human Resources

https://greenwichcountrydayschool.applytojob.com/apply/IZ7BXEzn0t/Associate-Director-Donor-Engagement-Stewardship?referrer=20191205164118POMDZQW3BV56B4ZK