Job Summary
The Strategic Engagement and Cultivation team is responsible for developing a healthy pipeline of engaged alumni, community members, and donors. Their work spans events, programs, and communication engagement, as well as Community Giving appeals and initiatives that appeal to donors with the capacity to give pledges up to $50,000. The team also qualifies and cultivates prospects and donors with Major Gift capacity (over $50,000) while working with other Major Gift fundraisers across the Development team.
Reporting to the Manager, Community Giving & Cultivation, the Development Officer, Community Giving & Cultivation, is responsible for developing and implementing cultivation and mid-scale fund development strategies in support of institutional priorities. These innovative and impactful strategies will be designed to maximize fundraising revenue across Dalhousie’s priorities to positively position it within the broader community and foster an environment that will encourage and enable alumni engagement, volunteerism, and support.
Key Responsibilities
- Develop and implement a mid-scale strategic and comprehensive fundraising program that will seek to maximize giving from donors, focusing on donor qualification and cultivation, and engagement across development teams to smoothly transition qualified prospects to other fundraisers.
- Using a highly personalized approach, manage and advance relationships with over 300 mid and major level prospects to deepen their engagement with Dalhousie University and identify the ideal time to solicit their philanthropic support.
- Develop and write both summary and comprehensive funding proposals, including positioning projects and budgets, to highlight the strongest possible alignment between a project’s social impact and an individual donor’s philanthropic interests.
- Provide internal leadership for the fundraising process within their assigned portfolio. This will include engaging, coaching, and briefing appropriate faculty leaders and members and key external stakeholders regarding fundraising strategies to support fundraising activities and priorities.
- Based on careful research and analysis, make strategic, data-driven recommendations for how to maximize a prospect’s giving. Continually manage the flow of information, expectations and results.
Required Qualifications
- Undergraduate degree in a relevant field plus five years’ experience in fundraising, business development, professional sales, marketing, communications, and/or other relationship-intensive work (or an equivalent combination of training and experience).
- Demonstrated experience leading small and mid-scale projects.
- Demonstrated experience developing and writing both summary and comprehensive funding proposals, including positioning projects and budgets, or similar experience developing and writing summary and comprehensive project management documents.
- Demonstrated cultural competence with the proven ability to develop effective and respectful relationships with stakeholders from a wide range of cultural backgrounds.
