Donor Experience Program Manager – Athletics

The Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA)* is seeking a Donor Experience Program Manager – Athletics to support WFAA leadership and Wisconsin Athletics development programs. This role involves donor and campus relations, stewardship, events, and office administration to advance team goals. Key responsibilities include streamlining project management, assisting with donor cultivation and stewardship, and providing support to top donors and prospects. The position requires strong communication and organizational skills to enhance the effectiveness of development teams. This role reports to the Associate Vice President and collaborates with WFAA leadership and the Associate Athletic Director of Development. This position will work onsite weekly in our Madison, WI office location.

Who is WFAA?

The Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA) is a private, nonprofit corporation that encourages individuals and organizations to make gifts to the university and to connect with the UW. In 2014, the UW Foundation merged with the Wisconsin Alumni Association® to better serve a growing population of UW alumni and donors. We believe that private support grows out of good relationships between campus leaders, faculty and program staff who need support, and the alumni and friends who want to invest in UW–Madison. We provide important engagement opportunities to link UW–Madison alumni to each other and to their alma mater, building a strong community of Badgers.

Diversity and Inclusion:

Just as the university community benefits from differing viewpoints, perspectives, and experiences, inclusion and diversity are imperative for the success of our mission. WFAA values people and the differences that they bring to the organization, and creates an environment in which all staff members and constituents feel respected and have opportunities to thrive.  

• Work collaboratively with WFAA’s leadership team and the Associate Vice President to identify and execute top donor cultivation and stewardship initiatives
• Provide exceptional donor service to top donors and prospects
• Provide administrative support for local and regional donor-centric events
• Manage Athletics-related requests from campus partners, internal and external partners, donor and prospects as it relates to access to Athletics events and facilities
• Prepare briefing documents, donor biographies and talking points for WFAA and Athletics leadership
• Assist in CRM data entry for top donors and prospects to increase collaboration and communication across units
• Assist in preparing and executing stewardship impact reports
• Assist development staff with donor touchpoints
• Assist in managing inbound Athletics-related inquires to WFAA as well as requests from internal channels
• Provide support for development leaders during prospect strategy meetings
• Fulfill Athletics engagement opportunities for top donors and prospects on behalf of development staff
• Provide Athletics event ticketing support to top donors and prospects
• Collaborate with WFAA business units, including Central Stewardship, Alumni Relations & Engagement, Marketing and Communications, to facilitate communication, manage requests, and to create donor impact deliverables
• Work with WFAA Senior Managing Director of Communications to provide talking points on key topics relating to Athletics
• Assist with the Athletics’ endowed scholarship matching program
• Facilitate WFAA Connect (intranet) communications management related to Athletics events and programming
• Support on-campus experiences for top donors and prospects, including campus engagement, meetings and special events
• Support gameday experiences for top donors and prospects, including staffing events and other special customer service requests

Required Qualifications

• 3 + years of relevant professional work experience.
• Proficient in MS Office, particularly Word, Excel and Outlook.
• Proficient in customer resource management systems (CRM).

Other Qualifications

• Experience working in non-profit, legal, education, higher-ed, or athletics industry.
• Donor engagement experience.
• Strong project managment experience.
• Excellent oral and written skills.
• Exhibits high level aptitudes in managing multiple tasks, advanced office and administrative management skills.
• Keen attention to detail and ability to be a creative problem solver.
• Ability to interact well with all internal and external constituents in an entrepreneurial environment.
• Strong team building skills.
• Ability to work independently and be a self-starter.
• Creativity, innovation, flexibility and ability to work with loosely defined parameters.

At WFAA, we are dedicated to creating an inspiring, creative, and respectful work environment for our employees. We offer competitive pay and an outstanding benefits program, including a generous 10% 401k contribution after just one year of service! Join us and be part of a team that values your growth and well-being. Click here to learn more about our employee benefits! 

The Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association is an Equal Opportunity Employer *The Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association is the “doing business as” name of the merged organization comprising the University of Wisconsin Foundation (advanceuw.org) and the Wisconsin Alumni Association (uwalumni.com). Its legal corporate name is registered as the University of Wisconsin Foundation.