Assistant Director of Development

The Assistant Director of Development reports directly to the Director of Development and External Relations for the George A. Smathers Libraries and, through the Director, to the Dean of University Libraries and the Assistant Vice President for Development, UF Advancement. The Assistant Director will be responsible for creating and implementing a strategy for identifying, engaging, and developing relationships with donors to support the mission and goals of the Libraries and will fundraise for the Libraries through personal contacts and the facilitation of programs and events that assist the development effort. This individual will identify and cultivate prospects to close both annual and mid-level gifts (up to $25,000). The Assistant Director is also responsible for the Libraries two annual giving societies through the identification, cultivation and solicitation of donors and prospects. Additionally, this person will develop project timelines and maintain data demonstrating project successes and needs in coordination with the Director of Development and External Relations.

Strategic Development

• Identifies, qualifies, cultivates, solicits and stewards donor prospects for gifts up to $25,000 to build a portfolio of fundraising prospects and strategically manages relationships to bring solicitations to closure.
• Work in partnership with the Director on prospects with the capacity/intent to give $50,000 and above.
• Develops and manages two annual giving programs, the Friends of the Libraries and the Friends of the Panama Canal Museum Collection.
• Works in coordination with the UFF Annual Giving team on bi-annual mailings, phonathons, and Giving Day. 
• Oversees the work of the Development Coordinator in relation to the Friends groups.
• Assists with identifying and qualifying prospects who have the potential to make a planned gift to Libraries.
• Assists the Director of Development and External Relations with establishing fundraising goals in alignment with library objectives, development metrics, and strategic planning.

External Relations

• Coordinates strategic events designed to promote Special Collections and other library priorities in order to engage a larger audience and build a major gift pipeline.
• Designs and executes fundraising plans, in partnership with the Director, that include special events, VIP and donor lunches and dinners, campus visits, catered events, library tours with the dean or other senior library faculty, and meetings and initiatives that promote the engagement of Smathers Libraries donors and friends.
• Understands and articulates the unique contributions of Smathers Libraries to education, research, and service on local, national, and international levels to donors, friends and prospects.
• Assists with writing content for proposals, development brochures, case statements, the Libraries newsletter, the Libraries website and other development materials as needed.
• Attends and strategically engages and cultivate donors and prospects at campus and UF Advancement events, providing effective follow-up.

Donor Relations

• Partners with UFF Advancement Donor Relations team to meaningfully and appropriately recognize and steward donors. Collaborate with this office on stewardship opportunities within the annual giving program
• Acknowledges and recognizes gifts in ways that are meaningful to donors and appropriate to the mission, vision and values of the Smathers Libraries and UFF Advancement.
• Initiates annual donor stewardship programs for Libraries, including weekly thank you letters, the Thanksgiving mailing, and the holiday gift and thank you project, all in compliance with expectations of the UFF Office of Development and Alumni Affairs.
• Assists with special projects such as preparing for the Library Leadership Board meetings and compiling prospects for the President’s Suite.

Administrative

• Responsible for effective prospect tracking, recordkeeping, reporting and administration aligned with the metrics and reporting required by UFF Advancement.
• Devises and uses consistent, accurate, and appropriate information-sharing mechanisms for stewarding prospects and donors while keeping the Director and the Dean informed through regular meetings and reports.
• Ensures best practices in office systems, practices, files and record keeping; ensure effective use of strategic tools and resources such as contact reports, prospect management, research, and analysis, and the Advance database.
• Assists in evaluating and analyzing programs using established attributes and metrics to produce accurate reports, guide effective decision making and achieve the vision “TB2”.

Other Duties

Performs related duties as required or deemed appropriate to the accomplishment of the responsibilities and    functions related to this position.