Associate Director of Gift Documentation and Compliance

Who We Are

Founded in 1926, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is a private, not-for-profit educational, historic, and cultural institution that owns and operates one of the largest and best-known museum complexes in the world. Our mission is “that the future may learn from the past” through preserving and restoring 18^th-century Williamsburg, Virginia’s colonial capital. We engage, inform, and inspire people to learn about this historic capital, the events that occurred here, and the diverse peoples who helped shape a new nation.  

Today, Colonial Williamsburg is the largest living history museum in the U.S. The Historic Area is the 301-acre restored colonial capital with 89 original buildings and 525 buildings reconstructed to how they appeared in the 18th century through extensive archaeological, architectural, and documentary research. The Historic Area is staffed by highly trained, historically dressed interpreters and expert tradespeople who bring the 18th century to life. The Foundation also owns and operates two world-class museums, the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, The Bob and Marion Wilson Teacher Institute, and a renowned research library, the John D Rockefeller Jr Library.

Additionally, Colonial Williamsburg is home to five world class accommodations at the Williamsburg Inn, Williamsburg Lodge Autograph Collection, the Griffin Hotel, the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotels and Suites and the unique Colonial Houses in the Historical Area. Visitors may also indulge in food and drink at our many on site restaurants and taverns that blend a historically inspired dining experience with today’s evolved tastes. Each year over 5 million people visit Williamsburg and another 20 million engage with us digitally.

About the Position

The Associate Director of Gift Documentation & Compliance serves as the primary operational expert responsible for the accurate and compliant creation, review, finalization, and distribution of restricted charitable gift commitment documentation for Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Reporting directly to the Associate Vice President of Development Services, with a dotted reporting line to the Senior Philanthropic Advisor, this tactical role ensures strict adherence to institutional
Gift Acceptance Policy, Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) standards, Virginia’s Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act (UPMIFA), and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) regulations. The Associate Director’s scope includes management of all restricted Gift Agreements, including endowment Memoranda of Agreement (MOA), Letters of Intent (LOI), Pledge Forms, Gift Abstracts, and other related gift documentation, ensuring every step of the documentation lifecycle is executed accurately and in compliance with relevant institutional policies and procedures, made with the supervision of General Counsel.

Main Duties:

• Serve as the primary operational point of contact for receiving, evaluating, creating, processing, and distributing all new restricted gift documentation and gift abstracts.
• Work directly with Gift Officers and fundraising staff to review draft gift documentation (Pledge Forms, Gift Agreements, MOAs, and LOIs) to ensure that the terms and language fulfill the donor's wishes and stated intent.
• Manage and maintain the master inventory of all official naming opportunities established by gift documentation (agreements, MOAs, etc.).
• Manage and maintain the master list of all official approved institutional restricted purpose language for endowment and expendable gifts.
• Serve as the operational compliance check, verifying that executed gift documentation aligns with established institutional naming policies and procedures.
• Provide timely reports to Donor Relations and Development teams on active, pending, and fulfilled naming opportunities to support effective donor recognition and fulfillment.
• Verify, in consultation with appropriate departmental and financial leaders, that the institution has the capacity, resources, and programmatic viability to fulfill the gift’s stated purpose and restrictions of the gift before final acceptance.
• Partner closely with the Special Gifts Administrator to ensure a seamless and accurate handoff of all approved gift documentation and data necessary for the Administrator to properly record the gifts in the donor database.
• Develop and implement regular compliance audits of all gift documentation to ensure that the donor's intent can be legally and operationally supported within the confines of the institutional Gift Acceptance Policy, CASE standards, and relevant IRS regulations.
• Partner with General Counsel and the CWF legal team to ensure gift documentation meets CW legal standards, relevant federal and state laws including UPMIFA, and meets the needs and requirements of the organization.
• Identify deviations from standard gift templates and consult with appropriate staff to clarify language or restructure terms; seek guidance as needed on complex gifts from General Counsel.
• Ensure proper documentation and compliance for all restricted gift vehicles, including endowments, restricted gifts, and gifts-in-kind.
• In collaboration with the Special Gifts Administrator, advise Gift Officers and Development staff on the necessary internal documentation, forms, and signatures required to submit a complete gift package for final processing.
• Distribute final executed gift documentation internally to Archives, Special Gifts Administrator, and the final distribution of fully completed and signed gift documentation to the external donor or their representative, ensuring accurate record-keeping of transmittal.

Required Education and Experience:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• 3-5 years of direct experience in gift documentation, compliance or fundraising operations within a non-profit or higher education setting. Other experience with legal documents and legal processes will be accepted in lieu of fundraising experience.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Master’s degree.
• 5-7 years of direct, hands-on experience in gift administration, development operations, or related fields.
• Preference for paralegal experience.

Key Skills / Competencies:

• Deep tactical knowledge of IRS regulations pertaining to charitable giving and CASE standards for documentation and recording of gifts, pledges, MOAs, and LOIs.
• Exceptional auditing, organizational, and data processing skills with an unwavering commitment to detail and accuracy.
• Proven ability to interpret complex compliance requirements and apply them accurately in a high-volume, deadline-driven environment.
• High-level proficiency with developing workflow processes and procedures.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to provide clear, procedural guidance to fundraising staff.
• Develop and implement regular compliance audits of all gift documentation to ensure that the donor's intent can be legally and operationally supported within the confines of the institutional Gift Acceptance Policy, CASE standards, and relevant IRS regulations.
• Partner with General Counsel and the CWF legal team to ensure gift documentation meets CW legal standards, relevant federal and state laws including UPMIFA, and meets the needs and requirements of the organization.
• Identify deviations from standard gift templates and consult with appropriate staff to clarify language or restructure terms; seek guidance as needed on complex gifts from General Counsel.
• Ensure proper documentation and compliance for all restricted gift vehicles, including endowments, restricted gifts, and gifts-in-kind.
• In collaboration with the Special Gifts Administrator, advise Gift Officers and Development staff on the necessary internal documentation, forms, and signatures required to submit a complete gift package for final processing.
• Distribute final executed gift documentation internally to Archives, Special Gifts Administrator, and the final distribution of fully completed and signed gift documentation to the external donor or their representative, ensuring accurate record-keeping of transmittal.
• Ability to exercise integrity and discretion in handling confidential and legal documentation.

Physical and Environmental Demands:

Frequently (2-5hrs per shift) talk or hear; Constantly (5-8hrs per shift) Sit, use hands/fingers, handle or feel

Typical Work Schedule:

Regular 8 am - 5 pm

***Must reside in or be ready to relocate to Virginia***