Director of Annual Giving

Since 1867, Howard University has awarded more than 130,000 degrees in the professions, arts, sciences, and humanities. Howard ranks among the highest producers of the nation’s Black professionals in medicine, dentistry, pharmacy, engineering, nursing, architecture, religion, law, music, social work, and education.

The University has long held a commitment to dismantle systems and processes that marginalize and harm people in American society and throughout the world. The goal is the elimination of inequities related to race, color, social, economic, and political circumstances. As the only truly comprehensive predominantly Black University, Howard is one of the major engineers of change in our society. Through its traditional and cutting-edge academic programs, the University seeks to improve the circumstances of all people in the search for peace and justice on Earth – Howard prepares men and women to advance social justice and the preservation of human liberty.

Regarded as one of the most prestigious institutions of higher learning, the current enrollment is more than 13,000 undergraduate, graduate and professional students representing 49 states and more than 100 countries. The University continues to prepare Black scholars in every field and across the globe.

Opportunity:

The Director of Annual Giving is responsible for leading a comprehensive, integrated, omni-channel, data-driven program focused on the acquisition and retention of annual donors in support of Howard University.

Under the guidance of the Executive Director, Development Operations and Annual Giving, the Director of Annual Giving is responsible for the development, management, execution, and evaluation of strategic and tactical long and short-term program plans and budgets for a comprehensive annual giving program. The incumbent directs communications, services, and solicitation activities that engage and encourage the participation of alumni, students, faculty, staff, parents, and friends to successfully increase annual philanthropic support of Howard University. The Director of Annual Giving fosters the growth of best practices and leads the investigation and adoption of new solicitation and stewardship methods and channels. The incumbent will represent and promote Howard University as a liaison to philanthropic partners at the annual giving and leadership annual giving levels, communicating program objectives through written materials, email, telephone contact, personal visits, social media platforms, and additional channels.

Responsibilities:

• Responsible for the strategic planning and execution of a comprehensive annual giving program, including segmentation, benefits, and the retention of a long-term pipeline of philanthropic support.
• Establishes annual revenue goals and associated metrics for the program, utilizing dashboards and reports to monitor progress.
• Develops goals and strategies for all annual giving fundraising campaigns in consultation with the Executive Director, Development Operations & Annual Giving.
• Creates a balanced funding mix of donor sources and solicitation programs tailored to the needs of the university.
• Facilitates segmentation strategy around securing current use, expendable funds.
• Regularly evaluate programming, emerging digital technologies, dual ask, and other partnerships with gift officers, and strategies for leadership annual donors.
• Partners with colleagues in Donor Relations & Stewardship to execute a solicitation and stewardship program for targeted constituencies, including but not limited to first-year donors, young alumni, and consecutive donors.
• Supports the management of the university’s annual giving calendar, ensuring that all solicitations are segmented, targeted, maintain key performance metrics, and delivered on time.
• The leader will be aware of and conversant about best practices and benchmarking with peer institutions.
• Develop a strong working partnership with the various development and alumni relations departments, including but not limited to Advancement Services, Advancement Communications, Alumni Relations, and Donor Relations & Stewardship.
• Establishes and continuously assesses the effectiveness of the internal controls within the unit and compliance with university policies and procedures. Ensures employees are trained on controls within the function and on university policy and procedures.

Ideal Candidate:

• Bachelor’s degree
• A minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in higher education or nonprofit fundraising, preferably in a complex environment
• Knowledge of fundraising CRM (Raiser’s Edge preferred)
• Experience with fundraising and donor engagement platforms such as Signal by EverTrue, GiveCampus and ThankView
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and interest in AI tools such as Microsoft Copilot

DRiWaterstone is proud to lead this search on behalf of Howard University.