Alumni & Donor Relations Coordinator

Alumni & Donor Relations Coordinator

Summary

The Alumni and Donor Relations Coordinator position is focused on creating welcoming, meaningful first points of connection for CCAD's donors and alumni. Reporting to the Director of Donor and Alumni Experience and working closely with the Development team, this position supports annual giving, alumni engagement, and donor and alumni events.

The Coordinator plays an important role in helping donors and alumni feel connected to CCAD through thoughtful communication, stewardship, and engagement opportunities. This position manages a small portfolio of donors with giving levels under $2,000 and provides coordination and on-site support for all donor and alumni events.

This role is ideal for someone early in their career who is organized, people-oriented, and interested in learning more about fundraising, alumni relations, and nonprofit fundraising.

"This role follows a hybrid schedule with an expectation of on-campus work at least three days per week, with occasional travel and schedule adjustments to meet college needs, and requires attendance at key campus-wide meetings and events.

Essential duties and responsibilities include but are not limited to the following:

Alumni Engagement

• Establish, engage, and cultivate relationships between CCAD and alumni
• Oversee an alumni engagement plan including regular communications along with digital and in-person activities.
• Host small and large events locally and nationally to cultivate the alumni community.
• Create and maintain strong relationships between alumni constituents and colleagues
• Work with campus partners to identify opportunities for alumni engagement which could include studio visits, critiques, talks, and other volunteer or paid opportunities.
• Support the work of the Alumni Advisory Board including meetings and special projects.
• Coordinate recognition of and engagement with alumni including graduation, alumni awards, and community involvement.
• Cultivate relationships with alumni prospects and, when qualified, deepen engagement to include giving. If not qualified as donors, facilitate non-financial engagement with campus contacts.

Donor Relations

• Support CCAD's annual giving efforts by coordinating appeals and communications (email, direct mail, online giving).
• Serve as an advocate for CCAD philanthropy to internal and external donors.
• Identify and qualify potential donors, engage and steward existing donors.
• Coordinate and implement appeals with objectives, timelines, and evaluation plans. Solicit alumni, faculty, staff, parents, donors and donor prospects, and corporations via direct mail, email, online giving etc.
• Implement donor retention strategies.
• Manage a portfolio of approximately 65 donors, focusing on stewardship, outreach, and relationship-building.
• Help identify and research donor and alumni prospects and support prospect managers as needed.
• Assists Director of Donor Experience with donor relations and stewardship efforts (e.g., acknowledgments, communications, events, reports, etc.) and records stewardship data according to standard policies, best practices, and established procedures

Additional Critical Responsibilities

• Maintain alumni, donor, corporate names, addresses, and other biographical data in Raiser's Edge according to standard policies, best practices, and established procedures
• Stay abreast of trends and best practices in philanthropy and alumni engagement including but not limited to social media, messaging, and other digital tactics
• Provide planning, logistics, and day-of support for donor and alumni events.
• Work with internal and external campus partners (e.g., the President's Office, Institutional Engagement, Deans, and Department Chairs) to ensure personal and consistent messaging and positive alumni and donor experiences.
• Assist with corporate sponsorships, stewardship activities, and grant-related coordination as needed.

Supervisory Responsibilities

• This position has no supervisory responsibilities of staff but may interface with student employees and oversee collaborative projects

Qualifications

To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily.

• Must exhibit strong verbal and written communication skills
• Must possess the ability to work collaboratively and courteously with colleagues, alumni, other constituents and the public
• Must be skilled at building relationships and making connections with new constituents
• Must exhibit initiative, optimism, and enthusiasm
• Must be able to work both independently and in a team environment
• Should have proficiency with Google Suite
• Ability to work evenings and/or weekends as necessary
• Able to find and access information and incorporate knowledge into various grant proposals and reports
• Proven success working within grant application and reporting process
• Sensitivity to racial, gender, sexual orientation and cultural differences
• Effective, respectful, and timely communications with internal and external stakeholders
• Listening effectively, seeks and accepts feedback
• Considering the mission, objectives, and goals of CCAD and demonstrating an understanding of the impact of her/his/their decisions and behavior on the organization

Education and/or Experience

• Bachelor's degree from a four-year college or university required
• Minimum of two years annual giving or alumni relations experience required
• Knowledge of Raiser's Edge or other donor database software preferred

Physical Demands

• The employee is regularly required to sit and talk or hear
• The employee is frequently required to finger, handle, or feel and reach with hands and arms
• The employee is occasionally required to stand, walk, and stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl
• The employee must occasionally lift and/or move up to 25 pounds
• Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision, color vision, peripheral vision, depth perception, and the ability to focus
• Occasional travel may be required

WORK ENVIRONMENT

This position requires a primary presence in the office, with limited work-from-home opportunities.

The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

About Columbus College of Art & Design

Columbus College of Art & Design teaches undergraduate and graduate students in the midst of a thriving creative community in Columbus, Ohio. Founded in 1879, CCAD is one of the oldest private, nonprofit art and design colleges in the United States. CCAD offers nine BFA programs and a Master of Professional Studies in User Experience Design that produce graduates equipped to shape culture and business at the highest level. Additionally, CCAD offers year-round community art classes for children and adults of all ages, led by local creators and designers skilled in their craft. For more information, visit ccad.edu.

About Columbus:

Columbus is among the Top 10 best U.S. cities for new college grads and one of the top 10 creative scenes in the country as well as one of the 15 most affordable cities in the U.S. As one of the nation's largest college towns Columbus is the type of city where creative activities flourish. There are eight distinct cultural districts that surround CCAD and there are more than 165 restaurants, pubs, and clubs in downtown alone. CCAD is a campus community located in the heart of this vibrant city.