Description

At The Mount Vernon School, students are empowered to discover, explore, learn, design, create, and effect change. With a commitment to Identity, Diversity, Equity, and Action (IDEA), we welcome the opportunity to engage in honest, vulnerable, and courageous conversations that challenge our biases and assumptions. Our goal is to design a better world, so we choose to equip students with the knowledge, skills, attributes, and relationships they need to be impact-ready.

The Team

Community Giving and Impact Team focuses on fostering a culture of philanthropy and service by engaging parents, grandparents and alumni through volunteerism and giving, as well as expanding partnerships through corporate and foundation investments. We provide opportunities for the gifts of time, talent, treasure and trust. As a team, we are committed to building strong trusting relationships, operating with high emotional intelligence, exemplifying professionalism and nimbleness, providing excellent customer service, and achieving results through disciplined and sound processes. 

The Role

This role leads the School’s annual giving program, which is the primary fundraising activity each fiscal year. The Director of Annual Giving & Alumni establishes the processes, systems, and strategies for the MVFund, Mount Vernon’s annual giving program and the School’s Alumni Relations program. The Director will also carry a portfolio of donors in which he/she will build relationships, with all constituencies, that will match donor interests with school priorities/needs. Superior writing, editing, and presentation skills accompanied by a successful fundraising track record are critical attributes for this role.

Responsibilities

• Create and manage a comprehensive fundraising plan for the MVFund, with segmentation of constituencies, and focus on leadership giving and participation
• Work with the Director of Community Giving and Impact to set annual giving goals each year which maximize support for the school’s top priorities
• Solicit every Mount Vernon constituency group for the MVFund Annual Fund, including all Faculty and Staff, Parents, Grandparents, Alumni, Parents of Alumni and Friends. Explore areas for alumni to engage in annual giving
• Assist in evaluation of Annual Fund donors and determine ask amounts, while thoughtfully taking into consideration capital campaign solicitations and status
• Organize, lead, and staff Annual Fund planning meetings, volunteer training, and appreciation events.
• Create strategies designed to keep constituencies meaningfully involved in school life and, more specifically, educated, involved, and informed regarding the importance of annual giving
• Compose solicitation and acknowledgement letters for all constituencies
• Work with the Mount Vernon brand team to create a powerful and effective marketing platform for all Annual Fund efforts including printed and digital publications, website, giving pages, social media and giving platforms
• Implement and manage the solicitation process including personal meetings, mailings, volunteer solicitations, email solicitations, and calls with specific attention to moving donors to a higher level of support with the goal of donor addition, retention and growth in the 1972 Society
• Prepare and distribute reports detailing Annual Fund progress and statistics
• Coordinate with the team to ensure accurate implementation of Annual Fund policies and procedures related to gift entry, acknowledgements, and pledge reminders
• Manage financial and analytical reporting of gifts and serve as the liaison to the School’s Finance Department
• Provide meaningful, comprehensive, and effective stewardship to donors and volunteers
• Develop and implement an annual plan and calendar of events and strategies for alumni giving and engagement
• Develop events and opportunities to foster strong alumni relations
• Explore best practices and opportunities to improve MVFund strategies
• Other duties as assigned by the Head of School or the Executive Director of Community Giving and Impact

Core Competencies

Amplifying the mission and executing the vision of the School, the Director of Annual Giving & Alumni plays a creative, collaborative, and strategic role in building a more inclusive future, exemplified through the following leadership competencies: 

• Philanthropic Entrepreneur -- brings a fresh, creative perspective and innovative ideas to scaling investment of donors to achieve and exceed fundraising goals 
• Brand Ambassador -- informs and amplifies brand messages and stories with internal and external audiences, bringing the brand to life, increasing understanding, and activating engagement
• Prospect Researcher -- conducts comprehensive research of donor prospects within and beyond community, analyzing capacity and discerning readiness to invest
• Strategic Partner -- contributes to overall vision, reflecting the mission of the organization, improving systems, accelerating growth, and ultimately, creating sustained value through giving
• Campaign Designer/Executer -- appraises past fundraising performance and current feasibility of active donor base to design future campaigns, reaffirming value proposition, celebrating achievements, and demonstrating impact
• People-Centered Leader -- cultivates and nurtures strong community relationships of trust, effectively connecting with families and empathizing with what the community feels, sees, and hears

Proficiency in Google Suite & Mac/Apple OS

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field
• 2 years of development/fundraising experience (independent school/higher ed a plus)
• Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills and a demonstrated ability to exercise sensitivity and good judgment in dealing with donors, staff, and the public.
• Excellent oral and written communication skills.
• Ability to plan, organize and coordinate multiple tasks and meet deadlines.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team and interact positively with a wide range of individuals.
• Energy, initiative, integrity, sincerity, and the drive to succeed.
• Sense of humor.
• Familiarity with fundraising CRM systems and Google Suite preferred.

The faculty and staff of The Mount Vernon School believe the fair and equitable treatment of employees is critical to fulfilling its mission and purpose. It is the policy of The Mount Vernon School to conduct business and provide equal employment opportunity to all persons without regard to race, color, age, religion, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.