Director of Annual Giving

Montclair Kimberley Academy, an innovative PreK-12 independent day school with a strong national reputation and a recognized 1:1 laptop learning program, seeks a Director of Annual Giving. The Director of Annual Giving is an instrumental member of Montclair Kimberley Academy’s Development Department, responsible for designing and implementing all fundraising activities relating to the annual giving program. S/he will develop a coordinated matrix of communication and solicitation strategies including email, direct mail, phone calls, personal visits, and volunteer engagement. This is a 12-month exempt, in-person position with appropriate vacation periods, as outlined in the personnel policies handbook.  

Responsibilities:

• Create, implement, and evaluate a comprehensive annual giving fundraising plan designed to engage, renew, upgrade, and steward donors. 
• Serve as a gift officer, responsible for the qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of 150+/- major gift prospective donors and meet monthly goals.
• Create the strategy, themes, donor, and monetary goals for individual constituencies and an execution plan for all annual giving programs. 
• Partner with external and internal communications and marketing colleagues to manage comprehensive, integrated, multi-channel (mail, digital, phone, etc.) annual fund solicitations, including timing, messaging, and segmentation, and oversee proper stewardship including acknowledgment and gift recognition.  
• Coordinate with Alumni Relations staff on the timing of reunion giving appeals to coincide with the annual giving calendar and recruiting annual giving solicitation volunteers.
• Utilize systems to identify annual giving donors who are prospective candidates for the major gift pipeline. 
• In collaboration with the Database Manager, produce analytical reports on the progress and performance of the annual giving program in order to understand donor behaviors and develop strategies to maximize revenue. 
• Oversee Annual Fund volunteers including recruitment, management, and training.
• In collaboration with the Giving Coordinator, coordinate and execute special events related to donor stewardship and cultivation. 
• Serve as an organizational leader of MKA’s fundraising effort, demonstrating high personal and professional integrity and promoting open, positive collaboration across all three MKA campuses.
• Promote a strong culture of philanthropy and collaborate with department colleagues and cross-departmentally with Marketing and Communications and Admissions to develop and implement a strategy to onboard and steward new parents to educate them in MKA’s giving culture and steward their relationship with the school.  
• Along with the Director of Development, serve as a representative of the Development Office at the Board of Trustees’ Committee on Trustees meetings. 
• Work with the Database Manager to ensure donor records are up to date and ongoing prospect research and prospect briefs are created for annual giving solicitations, events, and stewardship activities. 
• Anticipate project needs, discern work priorities, and meet deadlines with little supervision and be willing to travel and work occasional evenings and weekends. 
• Work creatively and collegially with the Development team and our partners in Marketing and Communications.
• Assume other duties as assigned. 

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

A minimum of five years’ experience in the field of fundraising, preferably annual giving, ideally in an independent school.  A strong sense of fundraising ethics and practices and respect for confidentiality of donor information. A track record as an exceptional communicator, in writing as well as verbally; adept at writing proposals, solicitation letters, donor correspondence, and other kinds of material for publication; outstanding interpersonal and communication skills with a professional and empathetic approach.  Experience managing volunteers and support staff through a positive, motivating leadership style, including strong verbal and written skills, emotional maturity, self-confidence, and a sense of humor. Demonstrated ability to build and maintain positive personal relationships with the many staff and stakeholders whose support is critical to MKA’s success. Superior organizational and planning skills that enable the department and school to meet both short and long-term goals.  Advanced computer skills, including Microsoft Office, Raiser’s Edge, GiveCampus, and web-based applications. Bachelor's degree is required, MA preferred. Availability to work some evenings and weekends.

Please submit your resume along with a cover letter that addresses why you are interested in this position and what you would bring to this role to Lois Montorio, Deputy Director of Development: lmontorio@mka.org.

MKA is committed to enhancing the diversity of the campus and the curriculum. We especially welcome applications from all individuals with the ability to contribute to MKA’s continuing commitment to social and cultural diversity, inclusiveness, and the transformative power of our differences. It is MKA's policy to provide equal employment opportunity to all qualified persons regardless of age, race, creed, color, national origin, ancestry, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, socio-economic background, or disability not related to the requirements for being a successful employee at MKA.