<p>Posting Number S26345P Posting Date Closing Date Title Director Working Title Director of Individual Engagement Salary Range $100,000 Annual Employee Class Administrator Department CSU Foundation Full-time/ Part-time Full-time Specialization Hours Per Week 40+ Standard Work Week Monday-Friday Benefits</p> <p>This position is eligible for health, dental, life insurance and other benefits through Chicago State University. Click here for a complete list of benefits: https://csu.edu/humanresources/benefits.htm</p> <p>Job Summary</p> <p>The Director of Individual Engagement is responsible for strengthening relationships with Chicago State University's alumni, parents, and friends by cultivating, increasing, stewarding, and retaining individual donors. The Director plays a key role in growing the Foundation's individual giving strategy by ensuring donors have a consistent and meaningful experience-from first gift through repeat giving and deeper engagement.</p> <p>Job Description</p> <p>Donor Engagement & Relationship Management (Primary Focus)</p> <ul> <li>Maintain a defined portfolio of annual and mid-level donors with a revenue goal of approximately $300,000 annually. Gifts of $10,000 and above are considered major gifts and are the responsibility of the Chicago State Foundation President, with this role supporting qualification, cultivation, and stewardship to build the major gift pipeline. </li><li>Serve as a donor-facing representative of the Chicago State Foundation, building relationships with individual donors through calls, emails, meetings, events, and stewardship communications </li><li>Personally steward and re-engage donors generated through vendor-supported annual fund campaigns and Giving Day </li><li>Conduct proactive donor outreach to encourage repeat giving and upgrades, including targeted follow-up with: </li><li>first-time donors </li><li>lapsed donors </li><li>recurring giving prospects </li><li>giving circle prospects and members </li></ul> <p>Stewardship & Donor Experience (Core Program Responsibility)</p> <ul> <li> <p>Implement a comprehensive donor stewardship approach, including:</p> </li><li> <p>new donor welcome process</p> </li><li> <p>recurring impact communications</p> </li><li> <p>donor recognition strategy and giving societies support</p> </li><li> <p>Ensure timely and professional gift acknowledgment and coordinate high-touch thank-you efforts with Foundation/University leadership</p> </li><li> <p>Coordinate donor impact content to improve affinity and loyalty</p> </li></ul> <p>Individual Giving Strategy & Growth</p> <ul> <li>Develop and guide the overall strategy and direction for the Individual Giving program, focusing on shaping a sustainable tradition of annual support from alumni, parents, students, faculty, staff and friends of the university. </li><li>Coordinate all university-wide annual giving efforts toward successful outcomes while supporting the greater development and campaign goals of the Foundation team. </li><li>Partner with marketing and communications, development, and alumni engagement to best align effective and complementary messaging, branding, and activities and develop solicitation strategies for key constituent groups. </li><li>Develop an engagement calendar that complements campaign mailings with meaningful donor touchpoints between appeals </li></ul> <p>Giving Circle Program Implementation</p> <ul> <li>Lead the execution and growth of CSU's existing Giving Circle Program, including: </li><li>membership recruitment and renewals </li><li>stewardship cadence and benefits fulfillment </li><li>communications and engagement opportunities </li><li>donor upgrade pathways </li></ul> <p>Annual Fund Vendor Partnership (Light Oversight / Strategic Input)</p> <ul> <li>Serve as internal liaison supporting the external annual fund vendor </li><li>Provide strategic input on segmentation priorities and stewardship follow-up lists </li><li>Coordinate post-campaign follow-up strategy (thank you outreach, renewal strategy, reactivation outreach) </li></ul> <p>Data, Tracking & Reporting</p> <ul> <li>Track donor engagement activity and results in the CRM </li><li>Produce monthly/quarterly reports on donor stewardship outputs and participation growth </li><li>Responsibility for defining donor journey segmentation criteria [first-time donors, loyal donors, leadership giving donors, etc.] </li><li>Formal partnership cadence with data/operations </li></ul> <p>Participation & Growth Metrics (Performance Outcomes)</p> <p>The Director is expected to establish baselines in the first 60-90 days and deliver measurable results within Year 1. Targets may be refined after baseline review.</p> <p>1) Stewardship Coverage & Responsiveness (Non-Negotiable)</p> <ul> <li>Ensure 90%+ of new donors receive a formal thank-you and welcome touchpoint within 7-10 business days of their first gift </li><li>Ensure 70%+ of new donors receive at least 2 stewardship touches within the first 45 days (e.g., thank-you + impact update or invitation) </li><li>Deliver a minimum of 300-500 individual donor stewardship/outreach actions annually (calls, 1:1 emails, handwritten notes, visits, personalized thank-yous) </li></ul> <p>2) Donor Participation Growth</p> <ul> <li>Increase total individual donors by 10-20% year-over-year </li><li>Increase Giving Day donor participation by 15%+ year-over-year (Spring Giving Day) </li></ul> <p>3) Donor Retention & Reactivation</p> <ul> <li>Improve donor retention by 5-10% year-over-year </li><li>Reactivate 50-100 lapsed donors annually through targeted outreach and donor journey strategy </li></ul> <p>4) Upgrades & Repeat Giving</p> <ul> <li> <p>Increase repeat giving / second-gift conversion:</p> </li><li> <p>Achieve 20-30% second-gift conversion among first-time donors (within 12 months of initial gift), once baseline is established</p> </li><li> <p>Generate 75-150 donor upgrades annually (e.g., increased gift amount, renewed giving at higher level, giving circle conversion)</p> </li></ul> <p>5) Giving Circle Program Growth</p> <ul> <li>Increase Giving Circle membership by 10-15% annually </li><li>Achieve 70-85% Giving Circle renewal rate (target range dependent on baseline and benefits structure) </li><li>Ensure 100% of Giving Circle members receive at least: </li><li>1 formal recognition touchpoint </li><li>1 impact report/story annually </li><li>1 engagement invitation annually (event, briefing, tour, etc.) </li></ul> <p>6) Campaign Follow-Up Execution (Vendor-Mailed Donor Pipeline)</p> <ul> <li> <p>After each vendor-managed campaign (Fall, Year-End, Giving Day), ensure:</p> </li><li> <p>new donors are segmented and assigned to a stewardship journey within 15 business days</p> </li><li> <p>campaign-generated donors receive an impact/thank-you follow-up plan within 30 days</p> </li><li> <p>Create at least 2 donor journeys per year (examples: first-time donor journey; lapsed donor reactivation journey; Giving Circle recruitment journey)</p> </li></ul> <p>Minimum Qualifications</p> <ul> <li>Bachelor's degree required; Master's preferred </li><li>5-7+ years of experience in fundraising, donor engagement, annual giving, alumni relations, nonprofit development, or related field </li><li>Demonstrated success engaging donors directly (phone/email stewardship, relationship building, follow-up systems) </li><li>Strong writing skills for donor communications and impact storytelling </li><li>Ability to work independently with strong prioritization and follow-through </li><li>Experience using donor database/CRM systems and reporting tools </li></ul> <p>Preferred Qualifications</p> <ul> <li>Experience in fundraising, development, or institutional advancement, preferably in a higher education setting. </li><li>Proven track record of successfully meeting fundraising goals and driving donor engagement, with a focus on annual giving strategies. </li><li>Strong strategic planning and analytical skills, with the ability to leverage data to inform decision- </li><li>making. </li><li>Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to effectively engage with a variety of stakeholders. </li><li>Familiarity with fundraising and/or annual giving best practices and trends in higher education. </li><li>Demonstrated ability to work collaboratively across departments and functions to achieve shared goals. </li><li>Familiarity with fundraising software and tools, such as donor management systems and online giving platforms, e.g. Blackbaud CRM, RE NXT, or Salesforce. </li><li>Passion for higher education and a commitment to advancing the mission and values of CSU and the Chicago State Foundation. </li></ul> <p>Knowledge, Skills and Abilities</p> <ul> <li>Strong donor presence; warm and confident communicator </li><li>Highly organized with strong follow-up discipline </li><li>Data-informed approach to donor strategy and retention </li><li>Ability to influence without authority and coordinate across teams </li><li>Commitment to inclusive philanthropy and CSU's mission </li></ul> <p>Additional Applicant Information Physical Requirement/ Demands</p> <p>This position requires the ability to work in an office setting and at campus or off-site locations, including the ability to sit, stand, walk, and use a computer for extended periods of time. The role requires occasional lifting of materials up to 15-20 pounds related to events or program activities. The position may require evening and weekend hours, as well as local travel for meetings, donor visits, and university events.</p> <p>Work Environment</p>