Associate Director of Donor Relations

Who We Are

Founded in 1926, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is a private, not-for-profit educational, historic, and cultural institution that owns and operates one of the largest and best-known museum complexes in the world. Our mission is “that the future may learn from the past” through preserving and restoring 18th-century Williamsburg, Virginia’s colonial capital. We engage, inform, and inspire people to learn about this historic capital, the events that occurred here, and the diverse peoples who helped shape a new nation.

Today, Colonial Williamsburg is the largest living history museum in the U.S. The Historic Area is the 301-acre restored colonial capital with 88 original buildings and 525 buildings reconstructed to how they appeared in the 18th century through extensive archaeological, architectural, and documentary research. The Historic Area is staffed by highly trained, historically dressed interpreters and expert tradespeople who bring the 18th century to life. The Foundation also owns and operates two world-class museums, the DeWitt Wallace Decorative Arts Museum, and the Abby Aldrich Rockefeller Folk Art Museum, The Bob and Marion Wilson Teacher Institute, and a renowned research library, the John D Rockefeller Jr Library.

Additionally, Colonial Williamsburg is home to five world class accommodations at the Williamsburg Inn, Williamsburg Lodge Autograph Collection, the Griffin Hotel, the Williamsburg Woodlands Hotels and Suites and the unique Colonial Houses in the Historical Area. Visitors may also indulge in food and drink at our many on site restaurants and taverns that blend a historically inspired dining experience with today’s evolved tastes. Each year over 5 million people visit Williamsburg and another 20 million engage with us digitally.

About the Position

The Associate Director of Donor Relations will work on the Donor Relations and Events team and will support the implementation of stewardship activities related to the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. This role will deliver best-in-class engagement strategies and inspire donors and prospects who support the Foundation. This position will also support the efforts of the St. George Tucker House as the donor reception center and be an integral part of the donor relations team at Foundation hosted events. The Associate Director will report to the Director of Donor Relations and Events.

The Associate Director of Donor Relations will utilize a data-driven decision-making process to advance the mission and goals of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. This position will provide meaningful stewardship and engagement opportunities with donors having the largest impact on the Foundation. The Associate Director will manage a portfolio of donors with responsibility to cultivate, steward, and recognize donors on a regular basis and appropriately based on giving levels. The person in this role will also play an important role in creating and implementing robust reporting on stewardship activity and outcomes. This position must establish and nurture effective, collegial working relationships with colleagues, Foundation and Company partners, donors, and external contacts.

The Associate Director of Donor Relations will also manage the position of Data and Communications Specialist.

Essential Functions:

1. Collaborates with Director of Donor Relations and Events on the creation, execution, and continuous improvement of the strategic stewardship plan for donors.
2. Develops and implements a plan for restricted fund reporting to include strategic dissemination of information to donors and within the Foundation.
3. Conducts high quality engagement interactions through personal one-to-one or donor visits to the St. George Tucker House.
4. Achieves and exceeds visit and stewardship reporting goals established in consultation with the Director of Donor Relations and Events and the AVP, Development Services.
5. Works closely with the Prospect Development team to identify and manage a stewardship portfolio.
6. Coordinates with gift officers on effective donor solicitation strategies through stewardship actions.
7. Collaborating with colleagues, develop and maintain a digital repository of endowed funds with a comprehensive understanding of fundraising priorities and reporting strategies.
8. Creates a comprehensive pledge reminder strategy ensuring timeliness and accuracy.
9. Monitors and reports on the effectiveness of donor relations strategies, leveraging data to inform and adjust approaches for improved donor satisfaction and increased support.
10. Researches story ideas, writes, and edits donor impact stories for reporting.
11. Researches and applies best practices in donor recognition, including ethical guidelines and innovative recognition methods, to ensure the organization’s approaches remain effective and respectful.
12. Assists with execution of donor events and provide support to Tucker House programming as needed.

Required and Preferred Education and Experience: 

Required:
• Bachelor’s degree with significant and progressively responsible professional experience and specialized expertise.
• Minimum of 5 years of experience in non-profit fundraising and/or donor relations.
• Extensive experience in donor relations and in engaging directly with donors.
• Significant experience in managing donor stewardship and communications programs, platforms and project management systems.
• Portfolio management experience that includes a variety of stewardship and donor relations pieces, including plans and strategies for retention and upgrade.
• Relevant experience in writing and editing stewardship and fund reporting materials.

Preferred:
• Passion for storytelling and knowledge of the role that donor relations efforts have in fundraising efforts.
• Familiarity with donor databases.
• An in-depth understanding of best practices in stewardship and donor relations including analysis, assessment, and evaluation.
• Development communications experience.

Qualifications: 

• Strong computer proficiency in a variety of software applications including MS Office Suite.
• Demonstrates a high level of creativity, with the ability to create and oversee strategies and reports that engage, cultivate, and educate.
• Excellent verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills, with the ability to work effectively, and in an engaging way, with a diverse audience.
• Possession of diplomacy and tact when working with individuals, internal and external, and responding to donors.
• Strong organizational and attention to detail skills, with the ability to coordinate multiple assignments with competing deadlines and manage a team that works in concert to produce high-quality reports.
• Demonstrates a wide degree of flexibility, with the ability to adapt to changes and/or upgrades in-office procedures and systems.
• Must be proficient in Microsoft Office Suite, CRM software and donor databases.
• Ability to present innovative new ideas and implement them is required.
• Ability to plan, coordinate and work independently, exercise sound judgement, confidentiality and discretion.
• Ability to establish and maintain working relationships, to understand and follow instructions, to adapt to changing work priorities and perform duties under pressure.
• Must have the flexibility to work in an environment with widely varying workloads and flexibility to adapt to new programs in an emerging and changing environment.