Assistant Director of Development, Individual Giving

Description

Catholic Charities, Diocese of Joliet is seeking an experienced fundraising professional to lead and grow our individual giving program. This position plays a critical role in advancing our mission by building meaningful donor relationships, strengthening donor engagement, and increasing philanthropic support for programs that serve individuals, children, and families throughout our communities.

Reporting to the Director of Development, the Assistant Director of Development, Individual Giving will lead annual giving initiatives, donor stewardship efforts, portfolio management, and donor engagement strategies that inspire generosity and create lasting impact.

In addition to meaningful work, Catholic Charities offers an exceptional benefits package designed to support employee well-being and financial security, including 43 paid days off annually, comprehensive medical, dental, and vision coverage, and an employer-funded 403(b) retirement plan with no employee contribution required.

If you are passionate about relationship-based fundraising and want to help transform generosity into life-changing services for those in need, we encourage you to apply.

General Responsibilities 

1. Lead the individual giving program, including annual appeals, donor renewal, retention, reactivation, and upgrade strategies.
2. Develop and manage annual appeal plans in collaboration with Development, Communications, Programs, and other internal partners.
3. Manage a portfolio of individual donors and prospects through regular outreach, meetings, stewardship, and solicitations.
4. Maintain a consistent moves management process to track cultivation steps, stewardship actions, solicitations, and next steps.
5. Support major and planned giving efforts through donor research, briefings, proposals, follow-up, and stewardship.
6. Ensure accurate donor records and data integrity in Raiser’s Edge NXT, including contact reports, gift information, coding, and segmentation.
7. Collaborate with internal partners to gather stories, data, and impact information that strengthen donor communications.
8. Develop donor-centered written materials such as appeals, acknowledgments, stewardship updates, proposals, and reports.
9. Monitor individual giving performance including revenue, retention, average gift, appeal response, lapsed and upgraded donors, and mid-level movement.
10. Represent the Agency at donor and community events including meetings, gatherings, and public functions.
11. Supervise staff or volunteers as assigned, depending on departmental needs.
12. Actively support supervised employees in achieving goals related to job performance, professional growth, and development, while fostering a culture of continuous learning and accountability.
13. Other duties as assigned within the guidelines of this position.

Why Join Catholic Charities?

• Time-off: 14 Holidays - 15 Vacation days - 5 Paid Leave days and 9 Sick days
• Medical/Dental/Vision Health Insurances
• Flexible Spending Account
• Long-Term Disability and Life Insurance
• 403B Retirement Plan with employer contributions
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Short-term Disability Insurance

Requirements

1. Bachelor’s degree preferred in a related field such as nonprofit management, communications, marketing, business, social services, theology or a related field.
2. Four or more years of fundraising/development experience, with five years preferred.
3. Experience in annual giving and donor engagement including stewardship, cultivation, direct response appeals, or major-gift support.
4. Knowledge of relationship-based fundraising practices such as moves management, segmentation, donor retention, and pipeline development.
5. Proficiency with donor databases; experience with Raiser’s Edge NXT preferred.
6. Strong relationship-building skills with donors, prospects, volunteers, board members, and community partners.
7. Excellent communication, organizational, and analytical abilities including writing donor-centered materials, public speaking to diverse audiences, managing multiple deadlines, and using data to inform strategy.
8. Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office applications including Outlook, Word, and Teams.
9. Adhere to the Agency’s Code of Ethics and conduct all responsibilities in accordance with the standards outlined in the Employee Handbook. 
10. Passage of background clearance, valid driver's license, reliable transportation, and proof of liability insurance.