Director of WDAV Major Gifts & Philanthropy

Davidson, NC, United States

JOB DESCRIPTION

WDAV Director of WDAV Major Gifts and Philanthropy Position Summary: WDAV’s Director of WDAV Major Gifts and Philanthropy leads the station’s annual major giving and special fundraising goals, including growing and diversifying WDAV funding sources and securing grants for the station. This position collaborates with the Director of Membership and Corporate Support to strategize goals, mailings, the sustaining donor program, and on-air campaigns. The Director of WDAV Major Gifts and Philanthropy engages staff and Board in expanding revenue streams to support new and ongoing initiatives, including growing the planned giving portfolio, growing the endowment, and expanding the major donor program. The position is responsible for shaping a positive institutional culture of giving through building relationships in support of and advocacy for classical public radio. What you’ll be doing? 

Director of WDAV Major Gifts and Philanthropy Responsibilities:
•Establish a reputation for excellence in major gift programs through creative and effective leadership
•Support annual WDAV revenue goals by identifying, securing, and cultivating donors at or above the $1,000 giving level
•Enhance donor engagement and fundraising efforts through donor events, social media, online and direct mail streams, and other formal and informal communication that builds and maintains major donor relationships
•Cultivate major gift and planned giving prospects through the planning and direction of WDAV’s constituency tour program
•Collaborate with and support the efforts of the WDAV General Manager, Community Advisory Board, and Davidson College staff to build and strengthen donor and prospect relationships and solicit gifts in support of WDAV
•Support WDAV’s annual, ongoing, and endowment fundraising goals by identifying, securing, and cultivating planned giving prospects
•Support WDAV’s planned initiatives through identifying, applying for, and securing grant opportunities
•Provide an excellent donor experience through careful stewardship of donors who have already made a planned giving commitment to WDAV
•Enhance donor engagement and fundraising efforts by creating correspondence, marketing brochures, and/or other materials for WDAV’s planned giving program
•Secure the future financial health of WDAV by developing and directing special efforts to build and grow WDAV’s established endowment
•Demonstrate transparency in major giving and philanthropic stewardship by presenting timely updates to WDAV’s key stakeholders, including WDAV General Manager, senior leadership staff, the Community Advisory Board, and Davidson College staff.
•Promote donor appreciation through the effective planning and execution of innovative major-donor engagement events and special programs/projects (vehicle donation program, bequests, constituency tours, events, etc.) and through the tracking and analysis of the outcomes of these events and programs.
•Develop positive relationships with the CR Tech team to provide accurate data management, timely requests/receipt of donor information, and assistance with troubleshooting.
•Inspire confidence in internal and external stakeholders (including campus partners, WDAV colleagues, donors, and others) by investing time into becoming a BBCRM subject matter expert for WDAV.
•Engage professionally with outside donor/member experts and programs to stay informed about the latest strategies and innovations in public media and fundraising.
•Prioritize fundraising for WDAV by strategizing around annual fundraising goals and collaborating with the Director of Membership to plan and execute donor campaigns
•Provide professional guidance to other staff, related to fundraising strategies and efforts.
•Contribute to the collaborative culture of WDAV by enthusiastically offering ideas, time, and support to other WDAV colleagues

Minimum Qualifications:
•Demonstrable experience in interacting positively and professionally with colleagues and guests
•Ability to parse, process, digitize, analyze, and extract data using software such as Microsoft Excel, Google Sheets, and/or other spreadsheet systems.
•Experience adapting to a variety of software systems and databases, including the ability to use these systems to successfully manage confidential and sensitive information with a high degree of accuracy and professionalism
•Positive attitude and collaborative mindset, in keeping with the culture of WDAV
•Inclination toward seeking clarity and creating an atmosphere of mutual benefit and understanding
•Eagerness to contribute to a mission-driven organization that fosters excellence, community-mindedness, and radical inclusion
•Ability to work some evenings and holidays when there are major events and/or campaigns (up to approximately 10-15 times per year)
•Intrinsic motivation to perform job functions with excellence to grow personally and professionally and to create the best possible outcomes for WDAV
•Adaptable/flexible personality that demonstrates an ability to prioritize well and re-prioritize if necessary
•Inclination toward noticing when a business practice or process could be improved and confidence to share those observations and offer potential solutions
•Innovative problem-solving skills and a high degree of self-motivation

Desired/Preferred Skills & Abilities:
Fundraising/donor management experience, especially in major giving, strongly preferred
• Public Radio OR non-profit experience strongly preferred
• Some knowledge and appreciation of classical music preferred
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion The leadership team of Davidson College and WDAV is committed to advancing the principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion. In practice, that means doing our part to hire, grow, retain, and reward great employees from diverse cultures, ethnicities, races, religions, sexual orientations, gender identities, ages, national origins, socio-economic backgrounds, and abilities. This is really important to our team, and we hope it’s important to you as well. Read more about Davidson College’s commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion here: https://www.davidson.edu/diversity-equity-inclusion

Compensation: College Relations is committed to salary transparency in the hiring process as a characteristic of an inclusive organization. Our salaries are benchmarked to national liberal arts colleges and regional colleges and universities. 

The position hiring manager is happy to discuss our salary benchmarks at any stage of the interview process. Davidson College also offers numerous other benefits as an employer, including:
• 4 weeks of vacation in your first year on the job, plus College holidays
• Health insurance
• A 403(b) retirement plan to which the college contributes at least 9.5% of your salary
• Tuition assistance for employees after 1 year of employment, and tuition assistance for dependents after 7 years of continuous full time employment.
• For more, please see https://www.davidson.edu/offices-and-services/human-resources for detail

As a part of your application materials, a resume and cover letter are required. Information about how to submit the application documents can be found at  https://www.davidson.edu/offices-and-services/human-resources/work-davidson 

ABOUT US

Davidson is a highly selective, nationally ranked, residential, four-year liberal arts college located in Davidson, North Carolina, close to the city of Charlotte.  Davidson is strongly committed to achieving excellence and cultural diversity (https://www.davidson.edu/about/commitment-diversity-and-inclusion), and welcomes applications from women, members of minority groups, and others who would bring additional dimensions to the college’s mission.

At Davidson College, we believe the college grows stronger by recruiting and retaining a diverse faculty and staff committed to building an inclusive community.  In order to achieve and sustain educational excellence, we seek to hire talented faculty and staff across the intersections of diverse races, ethnicities, religions, sexual orientations, gender identities, ages, socio-economic backgrounds, political perspectives, abilities, cultures, and national origins.