Hybrid Leadership Annual Giving Officer at Avon Old Farms School

Title: Leadership Annual Giving Officer

Reports to: Director of Campaign and Major Gifts

Position Status: Exempt/Administrator/12 Month

Job Summary

Avon Old Farms School is a nationally recognized independent boarding school for boys in grades 9–12, located in Connecticut’s scenic Farmington Valley. Founded in 1927, the school is committed to educating young men of strong moral character through a challenging academic program, a vibrant residential community, and a dedication to personal growth. Avon’s mission centers on developing honorable men, guided by the values of brotherhood, scholarship, integrity, and sportsmanship.

The Leadership Annual Giving Officer will manage a portfolio of 200–350 alumni, parents, and friends, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors who make annual gifts between $1,000 and $25,000. This role is key to building and strengthening philanthropic support for Avon’s current-use priorities while creating pathways for deeper engagement. This is a highly collaborative role, working closely with the Director of Annual Giving on leadership-level annual fund strategy and reunion-based fundraising, as well as the Director of Major Gifts to discover and transition donors with the capacity for greater investment.

Key Responsibilities

Portfolio Management:
 

• Build and manage a portfolio of 200–350 donors and prospects.
• Conduct in-person, virtual, and phone meetings to qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors.
• Develop individual cultivation, engagement, and stewardship strategies for donors and prospects, including personalized strategy to achieve, retain, and upgrade donor support, meeting and exceeding performance metrics.
• Ability to manage systems/software to track and cultivate donor prospects, with experience in RE/NXT preferred.
• In consultation with Alumni and Development colleagues, work to match donors interested with institutional priorities.
• Solicit $1,000–$25,000 gifts for unrestricted and restricted current-use priorities.
• Partner with the Director of Annual Giving to advance annual giving initiatives, including leading leadership-level annual fund efforts.
• Collaborate with the Director of Annual Giving and the Director of Alumni Engagement on class-based and reunion giving campaigns.
• Respond promptly to donor inquiries and maintain strong, trust-based relationships.
• Work with the Director of Major Gifts to identify and transition prospects ready for larger commitments.
• Collaborate across the Alumni and Development team to create integrated, donor-centered engagement strategies.
• Leverage volunteers when appropriate to achieve objectives.

Qualifications & Experiences

• Education: Bachelor’s degree required.
• 2–5 years of fundraising, advancement, or related experience (independent school or academic setting preferred).
• Experience with portfolio management and relationship-based fundraising.
• Skills & Attributes: Exceptional interpersonal, written, and oral communication skills.
• Team player with a collaborative, positive approach to engaging donors and colleagues.
• Strategic, organized, and able to manage multiple priorities.
• Commitment to confidentiality, integrity, and donor stewardship.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, etc.).
• Experience with Blackbaud or similar CRM platforms preferred.
• Willingness to learn new systems and tools.
• Work Environment: Full-time, on-campus, with some evenings and weekends for Alumni and Development events.
• Travel: Must be able to travel regularly for donors visits and school events.

The specific statements shown in each section of this description are not intended to be all-inclusive. They represent typical elements and criteria necessary to successfully perform the job.

Avon Old Farms School does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, religion, color, sexual orientation, or national or ethnic origin in the administration of its policies and programs. Candidates are selected by their qualifications to meet the needs of the position.