Annual Giving Officer

About the Job

Position Overview:

The Annual Giving Officer helps raise significant annual support revenue for the University of Minnesota Landscape Arboretum's operating budget. In partnership with the Senior Manager of Membership and Annual Giving, this position develops and implements a comprehensive annual giving strategy. The Annual Giving Officer identifies, cultivates, solicits, and stewards donors through a variety of channels. By overseeing ongoing mass-market solicitations, implementing seasonal fundraising campaigns, conducting annual giving donor stewardship, and partnering with colleagues throughout the Advancement Department, the Annual Giving Officer strengthens the Arboretum's donor pipeline and advances long‑term philanthropic support.

• Develop and implement the Arboretum's overall annual giving strategy in alignment with applicable fundraising goals, in partnership with the Senior Manager of Membership and Annual Giving.
• Manage seasonal annual giving campaigns across multiple channels, with moderate direction from Senior Manager of Membership and Annual Giving. Build project plans, write content, send communications, collaborate across departments, and analyze results of annual giving campaigns.
• Manage and implement monthly appeal efforts to renew Arboretum Giving Society and Gold Plus members.
• Review, analyze, and ensure data quality within complex donor databases and applicable software. Provide solutions for technical or operational issues to complete annual giving efforts.
• Collaborate with colleagues across the Advancement Department to implement fundraising tactics, maintain processes, and ensure cohesion between teams' efforts.
• Coordinate project plans and requests with Marketing & Communications Team; ensure appropriate data is shared with Advancement Operations Team; collaborate with gift officers on Development Team to align annual giving strategies with donor pipeline development.
• Engage with donors regarding annual gifts, memberships, or other philanthropic opportunities.
• Oversee the Arboretum's external fundraising phone line and email inbox, independently responding to donor inquiries related to annual giving and facilitating appropriate follow up.
• Plan and implement annual giving events, including donor gratitude events for Board of Trustee members and annual giving day engagement activities.
• Identify and solicit additional donor segments for annual giving appeals based on donor behavior, interests, and giving patterns.
• Identify opportunities to deepen donor engagement and increase giving levels among annual donors.
• Alongside the Senior Manager of Membership and Annual Giving, manage partnership with the Leadership Annual Giving Team at the University of Minnesota Foundation to further engage annual support donors and identify major donor prospects.

• Integrate seasonal stewardship communications into the broader annual giving strategy to ensure alignment with fundraising goals, in collaboration with the Senior Manager of Membership and Annual Giving.
• Design and implement a comprehensive process to routinely thank donors for their annual support contributions, ensuring timely, meaningful, and consistent donor recognition.
• Review donor gift acknowledgements.
• Coordinate annual process to review and compile donor recognition lists within Arboretum's annual report.
• Manage seasonal stewardship initiatives for annual giving donors, in partnership with Events and Stewardship Manager.

• Oversee inventory and supplies related to annual giving efforts.
• Schedule meetings, coordinate volunteers, and manage logistics related to annual giving initiatives.
• Support and attend donor-related events, such as the annual Arboretum Giving Society event or Board of Trustee meetings as requested.
• Perform additional duties as assigned to support team goals.

Please note, this position is not eligible for H‑1B or Green Card sponsorship. This position does not offer a STEM OPT training program.

• BA/BS degree
• At least two years of professional experience in a fundraising, membership, or sales role.
• Demonstration of excellent interpersonal skills with both internal and external stakeholders.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to prioritize multiple tasks, organize work, and follow through independently.
• Demonstrated experience using a CRM database for donor…