Assistant Director, Digital Philanthropy

Title: Assistant Director, Digital Philanthropy                                           

Department: Annual Giving

Reports to: Felicia Glennon, Director, Annual Giving

Location: Kingston, RI 

Employment Type: Full-Time, Exempt

Position Summary
The URI Foundation (URIF), an independent nonprofit organization affiliated with the University of Rhode Island (URI), seeks a fundraising professional to serve as Assistant Director, Digital Philanthropy. This position plays a critical role on the Annual Giving team and is fundamentally a metrics-driven fundraising position, with defined expectations for donor acquisition, participation, retention, and revenue generation. Performance will be measured against established fundraising, activity, and engagement goals.

The Assistant Director will lead multi-channel digital fundraising efforts across a global constituency of more than 150,000 alumni, parents, students, and friends, with a particular focus on young alumni. The position will develop strategies to acquire and retain donors, increase participation, and generate philanthropic support for University programs and priorities. The role will manage a small portfolio of young alumni identified for their engagement with URI and potential for philanthropic support, with responsibility for cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and ongoing engagement.

Reporting to the Director of Annual Giving, the Assistant Director will manage RhodyNow (formerly the Annual Fund) young alumni digital fundraising initiatives across email, social media, digital advertising, text messaging, crowdfunding, and other emerging channels. The position will collaborate with Marketing & Communications, Alumni Engagement, URI Foundation development officers, and campus partners to execute compelling fundraising campaigns and support signature initiatives, including URI Day of Giving and the Rhody Athletic Challenge. Some travel is required.

Key Responsibilities

DIGITAL PHILANTHROPY & DONOR ENGAGEMENT 

• Develop and execute digital fundraising strategies that support Annual Giving goals for donor acquisition, participation, retention, and revenue.

• Lead RhodyNow young alumni digital fundraising initiatives across email, social media, digital advertising, text-to-give, crowdfunding, and other emerging channels.

• Develop campaign strategy, messaging, and content, with an emphasis on engaging young alumni and expanding participation.

• Collaborate with Annual Giving, Marketing & Communications, Alumni Engagement, development officers, and campus partners to integrate digital fundraising with broader University and Foundation priorities.

• Develop customized digital fundraising campaigns and crowdfunding pages in partnership with development officers across schools, colleges, and units.

• Lead digital fundraising strategy and execution for University-wide initiatives, including URI Day of Giving and the Rhody Athletic Challenge.

• Monitor and report on fundraising performance, using data and constituent insights to optimize campaigns and improve results.

• Identify emerging digital fundraising trends, technologies, and best practices and recommend opportunities to strengthen the Foundation’s program.

YOUNG ALUMNI ENGAGEMENT & GIVING 

• Manage a small portfolio of young alumni identified for their engagement with URI and potential for philanthropic support, developing strategies for cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and continued engagement.

• Develop strategies to increase young alumni participation through targeted outreach, digital fundraising, peer-to-peer engagement, stewardship, volunteerism, and specialized programs.

• Recruit, train, and support young alumni ambassadors who serve as volunteer advocates for URI philanthropy, utilizing GiveCampus.

• Create meaningful opportunities that strengthen young alumni connections to URI and encourage lifelong philanthropic engagement.

• Collaborate with Alumni Engagement, the Young Alumni Council, student organizations, Campus Recreation, Club Sports, and other campus partners to expand young alumni engagement and giving.

• Participate in signature University and Foundation events, including Family Weekend, URI Day of Giving, Homecoming, Reunion, and Commencement. 

CROWDFUNDING & AFFINITY GIVING 

• Manage the crowdfunding calendar and oversee annual giving crowdfunding campaigns, in GiveCampus platform, in alignment with fundraising goals.

• Recruit, train, and support GiveCampus campaign Advocates, providing guidance, resources, and ongoing coaching to help them effectively engage their networks and drive participation and philanthropic support during crowdfunding campaigns. 

• Collaborate with student organizations, affinity groups, Club Sports, Campus Recreation, and other partners to develop campaign strategies, messaging, and content.

• Establish campaign goals, metrics, timelines, and reporting processes to evaluate performance and identify opportunities for improvement.

STUDENT PHILANTHROPY RESPOSIBILITIES 

• Provide strategic leadership for student philanthropy initiatives, including the Rhody Senior Challenge, developing programs that engage students in giving and foster lifelong engagement with URI.

• Recruit, cultivate, and steward student ambassadors, guiding them through the cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship process and empowering them to engage their peers in philanthropy.

• Collaborate with Student Affairs, Alumni Engagement, Campus Recreation, Club Sports, student organizations, and other campus partners to expand student participation in philanthropy.

Required Education and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree and at least three years of professional experience in higher education, development, fundraising, nonprofit fundraising, digital philanthropy, marketing, communications, or a related field.

• Demonstrated experience developing and executing digital fundraising, marketing, or engagement campaigns using email, social media, crowdfunding, text messaging, and/or digital advertising.

• Experience developing fundraising or marketing strategies and managing multiple projects, priorities, and deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

• Demonstrated ability to establish goals, analyze campaign results, and use data and insights to inform strategies and improve outcomes.