Assistant Director of Development for Athletics

Details

Posted: 19-May-26

Location: Medford, Massachusetts

Type: Full-time

Categories

Operations

Operations - Development

Sector

Collegiate Sports

Preferred Education

Masters

Internal Number: 23152

Overview

The Tufts University Advancement division (UA) is a comprehensive development and alumni engagement enterprise with a staff complement of approximately 210 staff members. Functional units within UA include Development/Fundraising, Alumni Engagement, Stewardship and Donor Relations, Special events, Gift Processing, Research, Prospect Management, Gift Planning, Corporate and Foundation Relations, Information Systems and Management, Campaign Planning and Infrastructure Services. UA's mission is to build strong, lifelong relationships with Tufts University's constituents, match donors' interests with the university's needs and priorities, and secure the financial resources necessary for Tufts to achieve excellence in teaching, research, and scholarship. The division is strongly committed to serving the academic agenda of the university, creating a culture of philanthropy in the extended Tufts community, and pursuing excellence and best practices in its work. Integrity, collegiality, diversity, accountability, mutual trust, and respect for the individual as well as the intentions of our donors are the values that guide the division's work.

The position of Assistant Director of Development for Athletics develops and maintains substantive relations with alumni, parents, and friends of Tufts University to raise the significant philanthropic resources necessary to meet the Department of Athletics’ annual giving, capital, and endowment needs. The position will be a part of University Advancement, which is responsible for developing relationships with prospective donors through face-to-face visits, donor meals, receptions, and other events, as well as by facilitating meetings with athletics leadership, deans and other members of the faculty and administrative staff. Direct mail, annual reports, publications, and other means of communication are employed to cultivate prospects, develop awareness of the University’s strengths, reputation, needs and priorities while setting the stage for annual and major gift solicitations.

What You'll Do

The Assistant Director of Development for Athletics will be responsible for leadership annual and major gift solicitation of alumni, parents, and friends in support of the Tufts' athletics program. S/he is responsible for the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of major gift- level prospective donors. S/he will manage a portfolio of 120 -150 individual major and special gift prospects. The successful candidate will develop and implement strategic plans aimed at maximizing each individual's philanthropic support by working with the Director of Development for Athletics, other colleagues in Advancement, the Director of Athletics, athletics coaches, academic leaders, and high-level volunteers. The Assistant Director of Development for Athletics will be responsible, along with other members of the team, for articulating and communicating the needs and priorities of the Department of Athletics and individual athletics programs within the context of the University's overall mission, goals and objectives. S/he will seek and arrange face-to-face meetings, work with volunteers and staff, telephone and/or visit prospects as well as identify and qualify prospects. The Assistant Director will collaborate, as appropriate, with colleagues in annual giving, gift planning, parents giving, alumni relations, and other departments to develop and implement comprehensive cultivation and solicitation strategies. The Assistant Director will be expected to materially contribute to the successful achievement of the annual goal by soliciting and securing leadership annual gifts of $10,000 or more, as well as endowment and capital gifts in the range of $100,000 to $1,000,000. The ability to work under pressure and within deadlines is all necessary and important to the successful execution of this position.

• Prospect Management and Solicitation Manage leadership annual and major gift prospects with emphasis on endowed and capital gifts of $100,000 or more and leadership annual gifts of $10,000 or more.
  
  

Responsibilities Include

• Securing in-person visits by phone, email, and other methods to gain an in-depth understanding of his/her prospect pool by asking relevant strategic questions and employing active listening skills;
• Traveling to visit prospects and hosting prospects on campus;
• Developing and implementing detailed, thoughtful prospect cultivation and solicitation strategies based on information learned through prospect visits;
• Preparing written materials including gift proposals, briefing documents for key volunteers, thank you letters, and other routine correspondence;
• Designing and implementing cultivation events for major gift and leadership annual fund prospects;
• Presenting a minimum of 12 quality proposals to qualified prospects annually;
• Identifying new major gift prospects;
• Maintaining an active pool of 120-150 prospects;
• Representing the University and Department of Athletics at regional and on-campus events;
• Achieving a minimum number of prospect visits each year as determined in consultation with the Director of Development for Athletics;
• Meeting all activity and fundraising goals as established by the Director of Development for Athletics; and
• Executing detailed and timely summaries of all donor/prospect interactions, which clearly outline progress made toward solicitation and identify relevant next steps.
• Work directly with volunteer and individual team “Friends of” groups to drive alumni engagement and increased donor support and participation.
• Collaboration with Director of Development for Athletics, Director of Athletics and coaches, University Advancement Major Gift Officers and Staff, Parents Giving Program, Office of Alumni Engagement, Tufts Annual Giving Team, Communications, among others:
• In conjunction with the Director of Development for Athletics, work with colleagues, administrators, the Director of Athletics, and others to help identify and shape key fundraising priorities and messages for Athletics.
• Work with Athletics staff and the Athletics Board of Advisors.
• Work closely with University Communications and Marketing to develop appropriate marketing collateral for fundraising initiatives for Athletics in coordination with the Director of Development for Athletics.
• Work with University Communications and Marketing to identify and facilitate donor profiles for web, print, and other mediums.
• Work with Advancement colleagues to develop invitation lists and to drive turnout for key university events on and off campus; and
• Work closely with the Director of Development for Athletics to identify fundraising priorities and strategies for key prospects
• Donor Relations and Stewardship:
• Work closely with colleagues in Donor Relations and Stewardship to develop and implement stewardship plans for key donors.
• Conduct stewardship visits with donors, beneficiaries, and key volunteers as appropriate.
• Collaborate with Donor Relations and Stewardship and Special Events staff as appropriate on donor recognition events.
• Other duties as assigned
  
  

Basic Requirements

Knowledge and experience typically acquired by:

• Bachelor's Degree
• 3-5 years Experience with a proven track record of closing gifts of $10,000
• Knowledge and experience in philanthropy
• Strong interpersonal and relationship building skills
• Advanced knowledge of spread sheets, word processing applications and proficiency in complex database platforms required
• Frequent travel (approximately 6-8 days per month of local and overnight travel) and occasional nights and weekends required. Attendance at select home athletics games and other Department of Athletics special events required. Travel schedule is driven by location of key prospective donors in qualification, cultivation, solicitation and/or stewardship stages.
  
  

Preferred Qualifications

• Master's Degree
• Preference for athletics fundraising experience
• Preferred candidate will have experience developing cultivation strategies employing key volunteers such as administrative or academic leadership, board members, alumni, and parents
• Preferred candidate will also have experience staffing and guiding cultivation and solicitation visits that engage key volunteers
• Experience with Salesforce, Give Campus, and other fundraising information management systems/databases preferred
  
  

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About Tufts University Athletics

Located five miles from downtown Boston, Tufts University is a Division III member of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the highly-competitive New England Small College Athletic Conference (NESCAC). Tufts students participate in 30 varsity sports, 32 club sports and a number of intramural sports. Tufts Athletics has won 17 NCAA team championships since 2010 and has finished in the top 10 of the Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup in each of the last eight years, including winning the Director's Cup in 2022 as the top Division III Athletic Department in the nation. Tufts Athletics oversees the Physical Education Department and manages all athletics facilities, including the Steve Tisch Sports and Fitness Center. The Department of Athletics provides student-athletes a dynamic, transformational experience on and off the field. They experience the joy of personal growth inherent in high level competition, while cultivating lifelong connections with teammates, the Tufts community and the world around us.

Connections working at Tufts University Athletics

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