Division: Advancement
Job Title: Director of Annual Giving
Status: Exempt, Full-time, year-round position
Salary Range: $105,000 to $130,000
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ABOUT POLY*
Founded in 1907, Polytechnic School is the first nonprofit, coeducational, K-12, independent school in Southern California. The meaning of polytechnic as “many arts” is reflected in the school’s ambitious and student-centered educational program. Nationally recognized as a K-12 educational leader, Poly develops the unique intellect, talents, and character of each student through transformative teaching within a diverse community devoted to academic excellence, the creative arts, the camaraderie of team sports, and service to others.
Poly strives to be an inclusive community that fosters academic excellence and personal growth by ensuring that all of our 870 students, nearly 65% of whom identify as Students of Color, are seen, heard, and valued as their authentic selves. We respect the dignity and worth of every individual and seek to celebrate the joy, the love, and the creativity that emanate from the human spirit. Throughout our Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools, students, faculty, and staff commit to deepening our understanding and knowledge of ourselves, each other, and our ever-changing world.
Within our community of care, Poly students build the confidence and capacity to think critically and creatively to become responsible global citizens and intellectual leaders. Taught by an extraordinary faculty, Poly graduates are ready to fulfill the promise of their talents and lead meaningful, purposeful lives.
To learn more about Polytechnic School, please visit us.
Director of Annual Giving
Polytechnic School seeks an experienced and collaborative advancement professional to lead the school’s annual giving program, known as The Poly Fund. The Director is responsible for the annual giving program which raises over $6M in unrestricted and restricted support through 2,800+ gifts each year. Overall, Poly raises between $12M - $15M in philanthropic support each year (cash and pledge), of which annual giving plays a key role.
Annual Giving is the bedrock of philanthropic support at Poly, and we are proud to be in the leadership phase of the school’s next comprehensive campaign! The Director of Annual Giving oversees the Associate Director of Annual Giving, reports to the Chief Advancement Officer, collaborates closely with the Director of Individual Giving, and works in partnership with the full Advancement team of 12 as well as Head of School and volunteers.
The Director of Annual Giving develops, executes, and analyzes strategies for increasing annual fund support and participation, primarily through the Poly Fund (unrestricted support) as well as through designated annual gifts, single year and multi-year. This is a public-facing position that requires the successful candidate to communicate with Poly community members, meet high expectations, and collaborate with team members and volunteers with grace, kindness, integrity, discretion, and a sense of humor. A high degree of professionalism and project management prowess are required for success.
Focus areas and duties are outlined below:
Plan, Execute, and Project Manage
- Responsible for the overall planning and implementation of a comprehensive and innovative annual giving program, including Poly Fund (unrestricted support) as well as designated annual gifts. As such, develop and update a written operating plan including solicitation and stewardship calendars, data request rubric, gift table, donor levels and benefits, segmentation, event timeline, volunteer plan, budget, etc.
- Lead Poly’s April Giving Day, from strategy through implementation and stewardship, with support from the Associate Director and partnership from Advancement colleagues.
- Collaborate with the CAO, HOS and members of the Advancement team to ensure that all giving levels to the Annual Fund are cultivated, solicited, and stewarded
- Project manage ahead of deadline, including timely submission of ideas/strategies, drafts, and final product to various constituents
- Plan and implement Poly Fund related events in partnership with Director of Events and as outlined in the annual plan
Volunteers: Recruitment and Partnership
- Parent and alumni volunteers are key to the success of the Poly Fund, as is faculty and staff support and engagement. To that end, this position manages Poly Fund volunteer leadership, and partners with the Associate Director to recruit and retain new volunteers (particularly those within each grade level) as well as volunteers in other subsets of the community (grandparents, parents of alumni, friends, etc).
- Provide volunteers with written materials, be available for questions and strategy, establish a calendar for collaboration, and provide regular goals and updates
- Partner with faculty and staff around Giving Day, as well as how best to continue growing Poly’s culture of philanthropy through employee contributions
- Consider areas of potential growth (i.e. Reunion giving strategy, grandparent strategy, parent of alumni strategy, etc) and establish a multi-year plan for piloting, assessment, and implementation
Communication
- Oversee and to a large extent write communication and stewardship pieces for the Poly Fund program, including solicitations, Guide to Giving, reminders, and thank you letters. As such, adapt communication pieces to address the interests of specific donor segments and manage direct mail and virtual appeals.
- Speak publicly on behalf of the Poly Fund to colleagues, donors, and school assemblies
- Partner with internal and external Communications colleagues on print, social media, and video, including setting up a Communications calendar
People Development and Team/School-wide Partnership
- Supervise the Associate Director, Annual Giving (direct report)
- Partner with Advancement Services team members on an ongoing basis to ensure timely and accurate data requests with which to solicit and steward Poly Fund support
- Participate in creating and upholding a positive Advancement team culture by building up and helping colleagues in pursuit of shared success
- Attend daytime and evening Advancement as well as school-wide events throughout the year
Donor Relationship Building
- Personally manage a portfolio of 25 to 50 households annually, focusing on annual gifts of up to $25,000. Meet with annual giving prospects, donors, and volunteers on an ongoing basis in order to solicit, secure, and steward their support of the Poly Fund. This includes qualifying them for support as well as asking for Giving Day matches. Enter meeting outcomes and correspondence into Poly’s donor management database, Raiser’s Edge.
- Oversee stewardship protocols for annual giving recognition levels.
- Partner with other Advancement colleagues, and especially the Director of Individual Giving, to ensure the health of Poly’s prospect and donor pipeline, specifically around donors who have the capacity to make a major gift to the Leadership phase of the campaign.
Goal Setting and Budget Management
- In partnership with Advancement/school leadership and the Director of Advancement Services, identify metrics and set/monitor single and multi-year goals (income, participation, and number of gifts)
- Manage the annual giving budget (including setting the budget at the beginning of the fiscal year and tracking expenses as well as reconciling monthly/quarterly with the support of the Associate Director)
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Salary:* Polytechnic School is committed to attracting and retaining talented, dedicated employees through a competitive compensation plan that is commensurate with experience.
Benefits: A full benefits package includes medical, dental and vision, long term disability, life insurance (1 x annual salary) coverage and a 403 (b) retirement plan.
Equal Opportunity Employer
In order to provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all individuals, Poly will recruit, hire, train, and promote faculty and staff without regard to an individual’s race, color, sex, gender identity, genetic information, sexual orientation (including heterosexuality, homosexuality and bisexuality), national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, uniformed service member status, marital status, pregnancy, age, medical condition and physical or mental disability (whether perceived or actual), or any other consideration made unlawful by federal, state, or local laws. School policy also prohibits unlawful discrimination based on the perception that anyone has any of those characteristics, or is associated with a person who has or is perceived as having any of those characteristics. This policy governs all aspects of employment, including selection, job assignment, compensation, discipline, termination, and access to benefits and training.
- Bachelor's degree with seven - ten+ years of fundraising experience, particularly within an independent school and/or higher education setting. Experience in annual fund preferred
- Excellent written and interpersonal communication skills
- High attention to detail and organization with the ability to manage several projects at once and consistently meet project deadlines
- Sound judgment and discretion
- Requires occasional evening and weekend work along with some travel
- Proficiency in working with a variety of software programs, including Blackbaud Raiser’s Edge/NXT, Microsoft office suite, eblast communication tools, GiveCampus and/or Scalefunder, and Google suite
Job Type: Full-time
Pay: $105,000.00 - $130,000.00 per year