Development Assistant, Principal Giving and Strategic Initiatives

Job Summary

The Principal Giving and Strategic Initiatives team works with members of the campus community to align institutional priorities and donor passions in ways that ignite transformational philanthropy. By doing so, we help donors achieve their philanthropic dreams through partnerships with the University, and we help CU Boulder accelerate its role in world-changing solutions that positively impact our state, the nation, and the world.

The Principal Giving and Strategic Initiatives team works with members of the campus community to align institutional priorities and donor passions in ways that ignite transformational philanthropy. By doing so, we help donors achieve their philanthropic dreams through partnerships with the University, and we help CU Boulder accelerate its role in world-changing solutions that positively impact our state, the nation, and the world.

The Development Assistant operates as a key support member of the Principal Giving and Strategic Initiatives (PGSI) team and is an essential part of the Office of Advancement at the University of Colorado Boulder. This position may also manage and/or delegate assignments to student workers as appropriate. This position is critical to increasing the ground-breaking philanthropic efforts for the Office of Advancement at CU Boulder.

Under the guidance of the Director for Principal Giving and Strategic Initiatives Operations, this position provides administrative support to a high-performing and collaborative advancement team.

This position will work on a broad array of administrative duties that are variable and complex in nature and is tasked with exercising a high level of discretion and confidentiality, especially as it relates to assigned responsibilities with donors, faculty, staff, and other constituents. This role applies skills and knowledge in multiple administrative functions, but many responsibilities reflect a distinct Advancement component.

CU is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all applicable federal, state, and local laws governing nondiscrimination in employment. We are committed to creating a workplace where all individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and we encourage individuals from all backgrounds to apply, including protected veterans and individuals with disabilities.

CU Boulder Advancement is committed to a culture of joy, motivated by collaboration, passionate about excellence and driven by impact. These four values define the culture and drive engagement and fundraising success.

We are committed to fostering an environment where everyone matters and all can thrive. This dedication is rooted in our core values and our mission to drive impactful fundraising and engagement. Our team actively engages in learning, reflection, and the transformation of systems, policies, and practices that perpetuate oppressive ideologies—including racism, sexism, ableism, and heterosexism. We recognize our responsibility to lead by example in building a supportive and inclusive culture for both internal colleagues and external partners.

We hold ourselves accountable through individual and divisional goals that continuously assess our progress, growth, and outcomes—ensuring alignment with our mission and values every step of the way.

• Perform administrative support functions for the PGSI team including calendar management, setting, and coordinating meetings and appointments, travel arrangements (which may include detailed itineraries reflecting appointments with donors), and expense report completion.
• Utilize data from donor database to create requested reports, spreadsheets, enter call reports, submit proposals, and pipeline updates, and create donor correspondence, as requested.
• Initiate, schedule, and coordinate internal and external meetings for the PGSI advancement team.
• Maintain a strong working knowledge of CU Ascend, the donor database. Leverage Ascend to track cultivation activity related to the PGSI Top 100 list. Track pipeline data through Ascend and the Advancement Intelligence reporting tool.
• Prepare and…