Regional Director of Development

Location : Upland

Job Type: Full Time Staff

Job Number: 202400426

Area: VP Advancement

Department: Regional Staff

Opening Date: 01/14/2025

Summary

Responsible for engaging the time and talent of alumni, parents, and friends in the process of securing major and planned gifts.

Mission and Commitment
Taylor's mission is to develop servant-leaders marked with a passion to minister Christ's redemptive love, grace, and truth to a world in need.

As a community, Taylor faculty, staff, and students commit to living out Christ's love and truth in the here and now. We worship together, serve one another, and grow in faith as we learn in the classroom, on the field, at chapel, and anywhere else we're doing Life Together.
Duties and Responsibilities

This position is primarily responsible to:

• Testify to personal experience of salvation in Jesus Christ, affirm belief in the University's Statement of Faith, abide by and practice our Life Together Covenant, and both personally agree with and support the Foundational Documents of Taylor University.
• Implement a regional identification, engagement, and fundraising program that identifies alumni, parents and friends who feel a strong affinity with the Taylor mission and the potential to advance it through contributions of their time, talent, and treasure.
• Interview prospects meeting the aforementioned criteria, determine which are most promising and develop individual strategies to engage them in the life of the University.
• Determine which activities in the region and on campus, as well as which communications and university representatives, will have the greatest resonance with the most promising prospects.
• Orchestrate a series of positive, personal, productive, and progressive interactions with each significant prospect as a means of deepening their commitment to the Taylor mission.
• Solicit support after orchestrating substantive engagement activities and an alignment of purposes between the prospect and the University.
• Steward major and planned gifts according to major and planned gift best practices, including discovery visits, cultivation, soft ask, written proposals delivered and discussed in person, follow-up, and stewardship.
• Coordinate work with Advancement and University colleagues, including Development, Campaigns, Alumni, Parents, Marketing, Admissions, Faculty, Administrative leadership, Board Members, and the President. This includes periodically making fundraising calls with the VP and President.
• Diagnose and refer more complex planned giving opportunities to the Director of Stewardship Planning and VP.
• Participate in weekly phone calls with the Major and Planned Gifts team, monthly one-on-one meetings with the VP, attend two-day monthly meetings on campus, and travel to campus for other selected events (e. g. , Homecoming & Family Weekend, Heritage Weekend, Commencement, etc. ).
• Seek to develop personal knowledge and expertise in a wide variety of areas around Taylor University to be able to answer questions with confidence and authority.
• Make a minimum of 150 face-to-face visits each year (manage a portfolio of 150 top prospects). While this includes asking for gifts of $10K or more, you will give increased focus on gifts from $100K and above.
• Aim to secure $1 million yearly in commitments from cash/pledges, irrevocable (charitable gift annuities, charitable trusts), and revocable (bequests, beneficiary designation of life insurance, retirement plans, etc. ) categories in the first two years and $1. 5 million in subsequent years.
• Other duties as assigned.

• Bachelor's degree required; advanced degree preferred.
• Experience working for a university or non-profit with a track record of fund-raising success or working in business with a track record of sales/marketing success.
• Taylor University alumni, current or former parent of a Taylor student, or someone who has demonstrated an affinity for Taylor.
• Leadership, strategy development, portfolio management, technology, people, fundraising, and communication experience required.

• Believe in giving and model financial stewardship. S/he believes in helping people be biblical stewards of their resources; values that "God loves it when the giver delights in the giving. " (2 Cor 9:7).
• Highly relational. S/he must be motivated to network socially and have a call and passion for building relationships with a variety of personality types.
• Self-starter. S/he must work effectively in the Advancement office, from a home office environment, or while traveling around the country. Must be someone who can get up each morning energized by the reality of making phone calls, sending emails, and having appointments to advance the University.
• Eager to align others with Taylor. S/he will be motivated by the discovery of potential, naturally curious, always following up on leads, and seeking the potential in a situation or prospective donor. Must diagnose donor/prospects' interests and match them with university priorities.
• Must be comfortable talking about philanthropy, money, and asking for specific gifts.
• Must be thoughtful about finding the balance between relationships and intentionally taking productive steps toward major gifts.
• Must be strategic in the use of time, resources, and relationships.
• Enjoyed by others. The successful candidate must be someone whom people will want to include in their social lives. S/he must be comfortable and fluid in one-on-one and small group settings with excellent communication skills.
• Project Manager. S/he must assist or manage small to mid-size events.
• Technologically savvy. S/he must be competent in using email, smartphone, using Word to draft and print documents and proposals, use Excel, use the University's fundraising database, and assess donor/prospect research analysis. A Prospect Research Coordinator provides support services. There is limited secretarial assistance.
• The Regional Director interacts with administrators, staff, students, parents, alumni, and friends. An understanding of the mission, programs, and goals of the University is critical.

• Physical Demands
  • No or limited physical effort is required.
  • Prolonged periods of sitting at a desk and working on a computer, required.
  • Candidates should live within easy driving distance to campus.
• Work Environment
  • Work is normally performed in a typical interior / office work environment.
  • Travel to meet with donors and partners is required.
  • Occasional night and weekend work required for partner and prospect meetings and events.
• Environmental Conditions
  • No or very limited exposure to physical risk.