Managing Director of Annual Giving

March 2023 | Danvers, MA
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St. John’s Prep seeks a Managing Director of Annual Giving to serve as an integral leader responsible for all aspects of annual giving.

About St. John’s Prep

St. John’s Prep (the Prep) is an inclusive, Catholic, Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School for young men in grades 6 through 12. Founded in 1907 on the Xaverian values of compassion, humility, simplicity, trust, and zeal, the Prep educates students to be, do and stand for good in the world.

Today, nearly 1,500 students from more than 90 communities thrive at the Prep as part of a culture that encourages students to “become their best selves, pursue excellence in all endeavors, and open hearts and minds to transformational encounters with diversity of people and experiences.”

Students at the Prep benefit from a rigorous academic program, which includes 23 AP courses, more than 100 elective courses offered and a 1:1 iPad program as part of a wireless campus. Students are taught to question everything and to seek a deeper understanding – of themselves and their classmates. Outside the classroom, students take part in a wide range of extracurricular activities, currently both in person and through digital platforms. Student opportunities span from the Ryan Shaw ’15 Entrepreneurial Education Program, to Mountain Biking, to Model UN, to Latinos Unidos en Acción (or L.U.N.A.), to the multiple-state-championships Performing Arts program. In Campus Ministry, the boys explore their faith and leadership potential through service—on domestic and international trips and retreats, as part of brotherhood-building service programs such as PULSE, and through their local impact in their own Boston and North Shore neighborhood communities—and consider what kind of men they’ve been called to be. 

The Prep’s athletic tradition is rooted in the founding of the school, and The Eagles have earned dozens of championship titles. Student-athletes have played in front of thousands of people at Fenway Park and Gillette Stadium and many have gone on to compete professionally in a variety of sports and have even competed and medaled several times over in the Olympics. At the local and national level, Prep graduates can also be found coaching and managing all levels of athletes including in most of the major professional sports. At the Prep, through unique opportunities such as the O’Brien Family Student-Athlete Leadership Initiative, students and coaches develop lifelong skills, play with honor and fairness, and become confident in themselves—all while forming habits of excellence that extend far beyond the realm of competitive athletics.

Inside and beyond the classroom, students at the Prep are encouraged to develop their personal spiritual, intellectual, moral, physical, and creative potential in a highly supportive community that celebrates the diversity of the school community and the world beyond St. John’s Prep. A commitment to educate the whole person has led in years to expand resources to ensure that all students have an opportunity to experience transformational opportunities. These opportunities challenge the young men to take risks, try new things, and even fail and try again, all in a highly supportive environment under the guidance of skilled, committed educators. 

All members of the faculty and staff are expected to value the mission of St. John’s, as well as its identity as an inclusive, Catholic, Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School. In addition to regular faculty and staff responsibilities, St. John’s encourages all members of the faculty to be involved in the life of the school beyond the classroom and offers a wide range of co-curricular, intramural and interscholastic programs.

About Philanthropy at St. John’s and the Position

The Managing Director of Annual Giving (the Director) will serve as an integral leader in the Office for Institutional Advancement and across the St. John’s Prep school community. Under the direction of the Chief Advancement Officer (CAO), the Director will be responsible for all aspects of annual giving at St. John’s including several key revenue generating events, such as the Honor Reception, online auction, and “All in for the Prep” Giving Day.

This leadership role will focus on retaining, renewing and securing new annual donors, with a priority on growing commitments at the Headmaster’s Council level of giving ($1,000+) and through the TrueBlue consecutive years of giving loyalty society; increasing five-figure leadership giving to the annual fund; and creating a multi-year annual fund pledge strategy.

The Director will focus on outreach across the entire school community, including communicating with alumni, parents, students, faculty and staff, grandparents, parents of alumni, and friends of the Prep. This role will coordinate with the Alumni team, Enrollment Management team and other student-facing leadership to execute on a strategy for student giving and engagement through programs such as the Senior Class Gift and Spire Society (student philanthropy group); alumni-centric giving programs such as Reunion Giving and Affinity Giving Programs; and coordinate VIP volunteerism through the Headmaster’s Council Committee.

Additionally, The Director will help grow corporate and strategic partnerships as well as develop a pipeline of new corporate contributors as event sponsors. This role will also help advance annual fund donor communications and marketing and improve strategies to ensure constituent data integrity.

Key Responsibilities

• Lead all annual giving, marketing and special event strategies to grow revenue through the Fund for St. John’s
• Design and implement communication and marketing strategy for direct mail and e-solicitation program, social media, donor recognition, volunteerism, giving challenges and sprints, as well as strategic annual fund campaigns and matching gifts
• Manage portfolio of approximately 75-100 prospects
• Manage budgets and expenditures associated with travel, programs, events, and other initiatives
• Work closely with Chief Advancement Officer and Finance to ensure accuracy of financial reporting and remain aligned with budgeting goals
• Contribute to success and engagement of Advancement Committee work through guidance of and collaboration with CAO
• Represent the Office for Institutional Advancement and its priorities, as well as the school’s interests and mission, on and off campus at events, in meetings and through committee work
• Set strategy, manage, and lead event logistics and communications for specified events
• Ensure effective telephone and mail/email communications to support internal and external constituent management
• Collaborates with Alumni Office on other events, such as Reunion Weekend, Regionals, etc.
• Oversee hiring and management of additional position(s) in the future
• Attend and staff events as assigned by CAO
• Plan and oversee key cultivation and stewardship events

Key Qualifications

• 5-7 years’ experience working in an annual giving fundraising role
• Raiser’s Edge experience
• Volunteer management background
• Enthusiasm for building and sustaining relationships
• Excellent planning and organizational skills
• Strong writing and interpersonal communication skills
• Ability to manage staff and set priorities accordingly
• Ability to prioritize work assignments and juggle many projects concurrently in a fast-paced office environment
• Enthusiasm for the mission and identity of St. John’s Prep and the desire to strengthen Advancement priorities
• Enthusiasm for working with a variety of people school-wide including students, parents, staff, faculty, and school leadership
• Donor-focused mindset
• Willingness to work weekend and evening hours as needed

The starting salary for this role is $100,000. Final offers for this position will be based on several factors including the position requirements, candidate’s experience level and capabilities.

St. John’s Prep is committed to building a diverse and inclusive campus community. We welcome applications from underrepresented groups. All qualified candidates will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Occasional work from home/flexibility options will be considered.

Apply to this position using the form below or email your resume and cover letter in confidence to: stjohnsprep@developmentguild.com

Tracy Marshall

Senior Vice President

Development Guild DDI