Associate Director, Principal Gifts

The Hotchkiss School
Lakeville, CT 06039, USA

Department
:
Alumni and Development

FLSA
:
Exempt

Designation
:
Full-time Calendar Year (some weekend and evening work required)

Reports to
:
Senior Advisor, Principal Gifts

Travel
:
Off-campus events and donor meetings

The Associate Director, Principal Gifts, is an integral part of the Principal Gifts and Leadership Giving teams, cultivating mutually beneficial relationships with alumni and parents to secure leadership and ultimately transformational support for The Hotchkiss School. Reporting to the Senior Advisor, Principal Gifts, the Associate Director is engaged in all activities in the comprehensive engagement, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of principal gift-level donors and prospects, defined as prospects capable of making gifts of $1M or more over five years.

The Associate Director, Principal Gifts, works cooperatively with a wide variety of colleagues, including School leadership, faculty, staff, and volunteers, to help execute donor engagement and stewardship strategies.

The Associate Director is a strategic partner to frontline fundraisers, cultivating and soliciting prospects by designing and implementing highly personalized donor engagement, cultivation, and stewardship experiences, while also supporting the strategic vision of the principal gifts program. The position delivers exceptional service to our donors and plays a central role in setting and delivering principal gifts fundraising and engagement strategies, and meeting program goals.

This is a full-time, on-campus role for someone who thrives on direct, personal interaction. Working closely with the Head of School and gift officers, the Associate Director acts as the on-the-ground resource for major donors, parents, and alumni.

This position handles highly confidential information daily and uses discretion when sharing it with internal and external stakeholders.

• Responsible for supporting and helping to develop personalized cultivations and solicitations of principal gifts, aligned with the overall donor strategy. This includes helping to implement gift plans with all gift officers assigned to principal gift prospects and donors.
• Develops tailored stewardship plans for principal gift donors that illuminate the impact of their gifts and ensure a high-quality donor experience.
• Meets with the Senior Advisor, Principal gifts and other internal stakeholders as needed to discuss and strategize cultivation and stewardship opportunities for the entire pool of principal gift prospects.
• Supports the strategic engagement plan for identified principal gift prospects. Writes and submits contact reports and compiles other pertinent information following donor contacts.
• Provides high-level, personalized support for the identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of Hotchkiss alumni and parents.
• Drafts, edits, and tracks pledge agreements, gift agreements, and endowment terms.
• Monitors the movement of donors through the gift pipeline, ensuring cultivation and stewardship strategies set by leadership are implemented.
• Collaborates with Research to identify high-net-worth individuals and prepare background dossiers for upcoming meetings.
• Travels as needed to support the principal gift program at various events and engagement opportunities.

• Creates and provides input on gift proposals to support donor solicitation and yield gifts toward institutional priorities.
• Reviews and finalizes briefing documents for leadership that articulate donor strategy to ensure goals for prospect development are clearly defined, and leadership is prepared for donor conversations.
• Researches, writes, and edits collateral, various donor communications, and endowment reports for principal gift donors, coordinating with colleagues, faculty, and leadership to create personal and accurate communications.

• In conjunction with key stakeholders, helps design, create, and proactively track cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship deliverables.
• Collaborates with key personnel to source information…