Assistant Director of Annual Giving

Are you a strategic, data-driven marketing and fundraising professional who loves turning insights into action, building meaningful connections, and inspiring people to give back?

The Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association (WFAA)*, the private fundraising and alumni relations organization for UW-Madison, is seeking an Assistant Director of Annual Giving to help strengthen a culture of philanthropy and alumni engagement. In this highly collaborative role, you will help shape and execute integrated annual giving campaigns that connect alumni and friends to the impact of UW-Madison, deepen donor relationships, and advance meaningful philanthropic support. This opportunity is ideal for a creative, analytical, and relationship-oriented professional who enjoys developing targeted outreach strategies, optimizing campaign performance, and bringing fresh ideas to audience engagement.

The Assistant Director will develop and manage targeted annual giving efforts that encourage participation from alumni and friends. Working closely with annual giving teammates and colleagues across WFAA, this role will build and execute thoughtful engagement and solicitation strategies across multiple channels as part of the Annual Campaign, a year-long fundraising cycle. This is a hybrid position that will require you to work weekly in our Madison, WI office location.

Who is WFAA?
The Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association 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.  

Campaign Management 

• Develop strategic plan for engagement and effective solicitation of alumni and friends through the Annual Campaign.
  • Grow scope, efficiency and effectiveness of one-to-many campaigns.
  • Collaborate with annual giving team members, marketing, development, alumni relations and engagement, and campus partners on integrated strategies for messaging, solicitation and stewardship.
  • Increase participation across audiences using multichannel and omnichannel strategies.
• Collaborate with all members of the Annual Giving team to optimize the donor experience.

Data Analysis and List Creation

• In collaboration with the Data Analyst:
  • Analyze qualitative and quantitative data from multiple sources to drive continuously improved campaign performance.
  • Share campaign results and key insights with campus and internal partners.
  • Refine segmentation strategies to identify and target donor and prospect audiences most effectively.
  • Build targeted audiences to support campaign segmentation and outreach.
• Monitor industry/trend reports and benchmarking analyses to identify opportunities for growth or efficiency and to identify viable new channels.

Administrative

• Manage Campaigns budget in coordination with the Marketing Manager
• Draft communications about the campaigns for internal and external audiences

Required Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience.
• 4+ years of increasingly responsible experience in annual giving and/or development.
• Strong knowledge of annual giving strategies, direct response marketing and comprehensive fundraising programs.
• Skilled in strategic planning, critical thinking, and collaboration.
• Strong analytic aptitude as well as data analysis/interpretation skills.
• High-level proficiency with MS Office products.
• Ability to innovate and willingness to try new things

 Other Qualifications 

• Familiarity with Salesforce CRM and Power BI
• Excellent oral and written skills.
• Exhibits high level aptitudes in managing multiple tasks, advanced office and administrative management skills.
• Excellent project management skills.
• Strong attention to detail.
• Ability to work independently and make autonomous decisions where appropriate.
• Ability to collaborate.
• Curiosity and lifelong learning skills; desire to learn more.
• Desire for and pursuit of process improvements.

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