The client is seeking an Executive Director who will provide strategic leadership and day-to-day management for its fundraising organization supporting intercollegiate athletics. In this relationship-driven role, the Executive Director leads the organization’s philanthropic growth by managing an internal team of 12–15 staff members and advancing three core fundraising priorities: major gifts, donor stewardship, and alumni outreach and engagement. The role will serve as the organization’s chief fundraiser, with responsibility for building and expanding a major gifts program from the ground up, with an objective of significantly increasing major giving.
Key responsibilities include developing and executing an annual fundraising plan aligned with leadership priorities, setting ambitious yet achievable giving goals across major gifts, scholarship endowments, and capital initiatives, and personally cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major and principal donor relationships. The Executive Director will oversee and grow scholarship funding to support student-athletes, establish a high-touch service standard throughout the organization, participate in recurring leadership meetings to align with external units, and partner strategically with senior athletics and university leadership to advance fundraising priorities and donor engagement. The role also includes managing prospect identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship processes, as well as recruiting, developing, and retaining a mission-aligned, high-performing team.
The Executive Director will manage the organization’s budget and ensure compliance with applicable NCAA, conference, and university policies and regulations. Required qualifications include a bachelor’s degree, and prior experience leading fundraising and donor development at a senior level is expected to support the creation and growth of a major gifts program. The organization will look for a leader who can foster clear communication, organizational alignment, and cross-functional collaboration, and who can think innovatively to enhance donor engagement while advancing the organization’s mission.