Assistant Director of Annual Giving

Overview

As the fundraising arm of UVA Athletics, the Virginia Athletics Foundation (VAF) is responsible for engaging fans, alumni and loyal supporters of the University of Virginia to generate financial contributions for the purpose of enriching the overall educational and athletic experience for over 750 student-athletes participating in 27 sports programs by providing financial security for long-term growth, prosperity, and broad-based excellence.

The Assistant Director of Annual Giving works directly with members of the annual giving team to achieve the annual fund goals, objectives, and strategies of the Virginia Athletics Foundation (VAF). Focus is on the day-to-day operations of the annual giving campaign and sport specific giving initiatives.

Responsibilities

• Provide operational support for the annual giving program (Annual Fund, Friends Of, former student-athletes, and other special interest groups), responsibilities include but are not limited to executing the solicitation schedule, priority seating, benefit fulfillment, and donor stewardship.

• Develop, implement, and execute a comprehensive philanthropic strategy that supports sport specific giving, including Hoos Success Fund (HSF) opportunities.

• Assist in the strategy, creation, and execution of giving and retention initiatives that help meet/exceed annual fund goals.

• Manage a portfolio of 100-125 annual fund donors focusing on solicitations for growth and inclusion into the Annual Fund by securing overall support for scholarships.

• Lead Hoos Giving Day and other potential fall/spring campaign efforts.

• Serve as a liaison to designated sport programs to help improve communication, cultivation, and engagement between coaches, staff, the VAF, and its donors/prospects.

• Aid as front-line support for current/prospective VAF members by providing excellent customer service in-person, by phone, and email.

• Partner with the Virginia Athletics Ticket Office and the VAF, coordinating communications, benefit fulfillment processes, priority seating/parking strategy, and the Ballena processes.

• Assist with single game ticket and parking needs for ticketed sports as needed.

• Acquire and demonstrate complete command of Paciolan, Marketing Cloud, eQuery, and CRM systems.

• Act on behalf of Virginia Athletics as requested in handling inquiries of highly sensitive and confidential nature. Respond to inquires from within the department, from the campus community, and from our external constituency.

• Collaborate with the Senior Director of Marketing and Communications and the Marketing and Communications Coordinator on various projects, as necessary

• Other duties as assigned by Director of Annual Giving

Qualifications

• Knowledge of college athletics and college athletics fundraising

• Strong communication skills

• Provide a high level of customer service while maintaining a consistently positive attitude

• Ability to think and plan strategically and creatively

• Highly organized and strong work ethic

• Willingness to engage in advancement work at all levels driven by a passion for Virginia Athletics

• Experience using Paciolan and/or Advance software preferred

• Maintain up-to-date knowledge of industry best practices

• Provide a high level of customer service while maintaining a consistently positive attitude

• Bachelor’s degree

Benefits*

• Annual salaried position (compensation based on experience)

• Annual incentive program (based on staff performance)

• Paid personal leave and 12 paid holidays

• Health, dental, life, and long-term disability insurance

• 401k Plan with employer contribution

• On-site parking provided

• Football and Basketball season tickets for employee and eligible family members

• Family pass for regular season home athletics UVA Olympic sport events

• Recreation pass providing access to all UVA recreation facilities

*Benefits subject to change

Committed to attracting and retaining a diverse staff, the Virginia Athletics Foundation honors your experiences, perspectives, and unique identity. Together, we strive to create and maintain working environments that are inclusive, equitable and welcoming so we can best achieve our mission of supporting our broadly diverse donors, teams, and networks of engaged alumni, parents, and friends of the UVA Athletics.

If you have questions or are interested, please submit your resume to vafweb@virginia.edu.