Leadership Annual Gifts Officer

People are drawn to Guilford College for a number of reasons, including the College’s Core Values of community, diversity, equality, excellence, integrity, justice, and stewardship.

Working at Guilford provides you with a rewarding opportunity to impact the developing lives of students from a range of diverse backgrounds. Guilford attracts those who are seeking a professional challenge and career advancement. It also attracts those who want to enjoy a beautiful campus and location in the dynamic city of Greensboro, North Carolina.

Guilford College offers a wide range of benefits for full-time regular employees, including 13 paid holidays, tuition remission, health insurance, telemedicine, life insurance, short-term and long-term disability, a retirement plan, and optional dental and vision insurance. In addition, employment at the College provides employees with access to numerous discounts for products, services, and attractions.

Position Summary

OFFICE OF ADVANCEMENT 

Position Title: Leadership Annual Gifts Officer

Date: June 2026 

Department: Advancement & Alumni Relations 

Reports to: Chief Philanthropy Officer 

CUPA Match: 

Reporting to the Chief Philanthropy Officer, the Leadership Annual Gifts Officer will be focused on qualifying and soliciting leadership annual giving prospects ($1,000-$25,000). S/he will identify, cultivate, solicit and steward donors by engaging prospects through a variety of mediums (face-to-face, phone or in writing). Additionally, this role will periodically be tasked with special fundraising projects in particular areas, such as parents or student life, and work closely with the major and planned giving officers to support new lead generation and prospect discovery/qualification processes. 

The ideal candidate will be highly organized, and deadline driven, have proven written and oral communication skills, strong follow-through, self-motivation, and ability to create and execute detailed timelines. The Leadership Annual Gifts Officer will exhibit initiative, be able to build trust-based donor relationships; work collaboratively and strategically with colleagues; possess a strong knowledge of the principles, ethics and practices of successful fundraising; and promote an environment that champions the College’s core values of community, diversity, equity, excellence, integrity, justice and stewardship. 

Essential Duties and Responsibilities 

● Solicit new and increased gifts to the Loyalty Fund, steward donors and cultivate alumni and parent engagement. 

● Actively manage a portfolio of approximately 500 newly identified annual giving prospects and lapsed donors with capacity ratings of $1,000 to $25,000 for gifts to the College. 

● Build and maintain a portfolio of prospects and work with the Chief Philanthropy Officer to establish appropriate goals and metrics for the position. 

● Track all prospect outreach and information in Blackbaud NXT and provide contact reports in a timely fashion. 

● Proactively monitor engagement and fundraising results to identify trends and opportunities to optimize success. 

● Collaborate with colleagues in Alumni Relations and Engagement to identify prospects and future volunteer leaders. 

● Collaborate with colleagues in the Advancement office including major gift officers, prospect research, stewardship and advancement operations to identify and move leadership annual donors through the cultivation pipeline. 

● Participate in solicitations during key annual giving campaigns including giving days, calendar year end, fiscal year end and other key campaigns to be assigned. 

● Focus on recapturing lapsed donors (LYBUNTS, SYBUNTS), increasing donor retention, and upgrading donors from entry level annual gifts to leadership level annual gifts and beyond through appropriate stewardship medium. 

● Create personalized solicitation plans to increase donor engagement and drive leadership giving for assigned prospects.

● Assist colleagues managing reunion classes with fundraising and solicitation strategies. 

● Analyze data to develop insights. 

● Travel for face-to-face solicitation meetings; be available for evening and weekend work. 

● Demonstrate an appreciation of and commitment to further an inclusive culture for those of diverse backgrounds such as ability, age, class, ethnicity, faith background, gender expression, gender identity, geographic region, national origin, neurodiversity, race, and sexual orientation that comprise individual and group expressions of identity. 

● Exhibit excellent interpersonal, written, and verbal communication skills across mediums especially email, video and video conferencing. 

Additional Job Functions: 

● Ability to manage a high volume of work across multiple platforms in a fast-paced environment. 

● Strong work ethic, collaboration and organizational skills, as well as, the ability to prioritize effectively. 

● Ability to handle confidential information responsibly and interact professionally within a complex organization. 

● Other responsibilities as assigned. 

Minimum Qualifications 

● Bachelor’s Degree 

● Minimum of two years of relevant work experience in fundraising, sales or a related field. 

● Demonstrate excellent oral and written communication skills. 

● Exhibit strong interpersonal skills. 

● Ability to work in a dynamic, high-pressure, and constantly changing environment. 

● Commitment to Guilford College core values. 

Guilford College does not discriminate on the basis of sex/gender, race, color, creed, religion, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or any other protected category under applicable local, state or federal law, ordinance or regulation. See our full Statement of Non-Discrimination.