Edtech.com's Summary

The Catholic University of America is hiring a Director, Strategic Giving & Special Initiatives. This role involves building and managing a portfolio from the ground up to secure philanthropic support for interdisciplinary and institution-wide priorities, developing donor relationships, and meeting specific fundraising goals through strategic prospect engagement and collaboration with other fundraisers.

Highlights

Responsible for achieving annual fundraising goals aligned with institutional priorities.
Conduct approximately 100–125 substantive donor/prospect visits yearly, in person or virtually.
Develop and grow a donor pipeline focused on strategic, cross-cutting initiatives.
Prepare and submit high-value fundraising proposals, especially ranging from $100K to over $1M.
Track and advance prospects through qualification and pipeline movement.
Collaborate across units to maximize fundraising impact.
Requires 10-12 years of fundraising experience with a history of securing six- and seven-figure gifts.
Bachelor's degree required; master’s degree preferred.
Experience in academic environments and faculty collaboration preferred; proficiency with CRM systems essential.
Salary range between $90,000 and $100,000 with travel required.

Director, Strategic Giving & Special Initiatives Full Description

Posting Title: Director, Strategic Giving & Special Initiatives Overview:

The Director, Strategic Giving and Special Initiatives, is a frontline fundraiser responsible for securing philanthropic support for institutional priorities, cross-cutting initiatives, and opportunities that do not naturally reside within a specific school or program.

This role builds a portfolio from the ground up and engages donors and prospects whose interests align with interdisciplinary initiatives, emerging priorities, and institution-wide opportunities. The Director operates with a broad, enterprise-wide perspective and partners closely with unit-based fundraisers to ensure alignment and maximize impact. This fundraising role will have clearly defined performance expectations, including visit activity, pipeline development, relationship development and revenue generation.

The projected salary or hourly pay range for this position, which represents the full range of anticipated compensation, is: $90,000 - $100,000.

Responsibilities:

Success in this role will be measured by a combination of activity, pipeline development, and revenue outcomes,
including:

Annual fundraising goal aligned with portfolio capacity and institutional priorities
Target of approximately 100–125 substantive prospect visits annually (in-person or virtual)
Growth of donor pipeline in strategic and cross-cutting priority areas
Number and quality of proposals and solicitations, particularly in the $100K–$1M+ range
Pipeline movement, including qualification and advancement of new prospects
Development of new funding opportunities aligned with institutional priorities
Collaboration with colleagues to ensure alignment and maximize institutional impact

Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree required, master’s preferred
10-12 years of fundraising experience
Demonstrated success securing six and seven-figure gifts
Experience working across complex organizations
Strong ability to identify and develop new opportunities
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
Experience working within an academic environment, and with faculty is preferred
Proficiency with CRM systems; technical literacy, demonstrable writing and analytical abilities
Mission focused
Collaborative & Communicative
Organized & Reliable
Creative, Inventive, Strategic, Decisive
Must be comfortble with travel

Original Job Description

Posting Title: Director, Strategic Giving & Special Initiatives Overview:

The projected salary or hourly pay range for this position, which represents the full range of anticipated compensation, is: $90,000 - $100,000.

Responsibilities:

Success in this role will be measured by a combination of activity, pipeline development, and revenue outcomes,
including:

Annual fundraising goal aligned with portfolio capacity and institutional priorities
Target of approximately 100–125 substantive prospect visits annually (in-person or virtual)
Growth of donor pipeline in strategic and cross-cutting priority areas
Number and quality of proposals and solicitations, particularly in the $100K–$1M+ range
Pipeline movement, including qualification and advancement of new prospects
Development of new funding opportunities aligned with institutional priorities
Collaboration with colleagues to ensure alignment and maximize institutional impact

Qualifications:

Bachelor's degree required, master’s preferred
10-12 years of fundraising experience
Demonstrated success securing six and seven-figure gifts
Experience working across complex organizations
Strong ability to identify and develop new opportunities
Excellent interpersonal and communication skills
Experience working within an academic environment, and with faculty is preferred
Proficiency with CRM systems; technical literacy, demonstrable writing and analytical abilities
Mission focused
Collaborative & Communicative
Organized & Reliable
Creative, Inventive, Strategic, Decisive
Must be comfortble with travel

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Director, Strategic Giving & Special Initiatives

Edtech.com's Summary

Director, Strategic Giving & Special Initiatives Full Description

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