Director of Alumni Engagement, Chicago State Foundation; CSF

Director of Alumni Engagement, Chicago State Foundation (CSF)

The Director of Alumni Engagement is responsible for designing and executing a comprehensive alumni engagement strategy for Chicago State University (CSU), an institution with a tight‑knit alumni community and a strong mission‑driven culture. This position serves as the University’s lead alumni engagement strategist and primary point of contact for alumni relations—building programs that deepen alumni pride, improve participation, increase alumni giving and strengthen long‑term philanthropic support.

• Develop and implement an annual alumni engagement plan aligned with CSU and Foundation priorities
• Establish measurable goals for alumni participation, event engagement, volunteerism, and giving
• Serve as lead staff liaison to the Alumni Association (board/leadership as applicable), supporting planning, communications, and operations
• Build a scalable annual programming calendar with a balanced mix of signature events, regional/virtual offerings, and affinity‑based engagement

• Plan and execute CSU alumni programs and events such as:
  • Homecoming alumni experiences and class‑year reunions
  • Regional alumni gatherings and virtual networking sessions
  • Alumni mentoring and career engagement (especially aligned with student success and workforce outcomes)
  • Affinity engagement (Greek organizations, athletics alumni, academic colleges, young alumni, etc.)
• Recruit and manage alumni volunteers and ambassadors to expand reach and capacity
• Develop run‑of‑show, content, vendor coordination, and logistics for events with limited internal staffing

• Partner closely with Fundraising Staff to:
  • Grow alumni giving participation through Giving Day, the annual Gala, annual giving, and targeted campaigns
  • Cultivate and engage alumni leaders who can serve as fund champions, matching gift prospects, and peer fundraisers
• Partner with Individual Giving on alumni‑to‑donor pipeline strategy and coordinated recognition efforts:
  • Identify and refer engaged alumni with philanthropic capacity to Individual Engagement
  • Maintain regular pipeline review meetings with Individual Engagement using agreed criteria to define “ready for cultivation”.

• Serve as content lead for alumni engagement messaging (working with the Foundation Marketing Associate and CSU Marketing & Communications as needed)
• Produce alumni newsletters, event promotions, engagement campaigns, and digital updates
• Ensure consistent messaging and brand alignment across alumni touchpoints (email, web, social platforms, video, etc.)
• Elevate alumni storytelling—highlighting career outcomes, community impact, and CSU pride

• Maintain and improve alumni data systems and engagement tracking (CRM, email lists, segmentation)
• Develop dashboards and reporting to evaluate program performance and alumni participation trends
• Strengthen data capture at events and online interactions to improve engagement and giving outreach

• Collaborate across campus to co‑produce alumni programming and communications with:
  • Deans and Colleges
  • Athletics and student success initiatives
  • Career Services / Workforce Equity initiatives
  • University Marketing & Communications and Student Affairs as applicable
• Represent CSU and the Foundation professionally in alumni‑facing spaces

The Director is expected to establish baseline metrics and drive annual improvements, including:

• Increase unique alumni engagement 15% year‑over‑year
• Deliver 6 alumni programs/events annually (minimum 3 in‑person and 3 virtual/hybrid)
• Achieve 400 total alumni participants annually
  , including 100+ alumni engagement during Homecoming programming
• Recruit and activate 25 alumni volunteers annually
  , including 10 Giving Day ambassadors
• Increase alumni Giving Day participation 15% year‑over‑year (in partnership with Individual Engagement)
• Improve deliverable alumni emails/data quality 10% annually through data capture and outreach

• 6–8 years…