Director of Advancement

Anselm House is seeking a Director of Advancement who is passionate about the work of helping students and faculty connect Christian faith and knowledge with all of life at the University of Minnesota, and who can articulate this strategic mission to donors and prospects in a way that educates and invites them into generous giving.

Who We Are

Anselm House is a center for Christian studies with a mission to help students and faculty at the University of Minnesota (Twin Cities) connect Christian faith & knowledge with all of life. We provide hospitality and educational programs for students, and host conversations, lectures, and courses open to the general public. Also, our Center for Faith & Learning hosts conversations and roundtables for the academic community at the University. For more than forty years, we have been equipping the next generation of servant leaders in the university, the church, and the world. Anselm House has historic roots in two organizations serving the University of Minnesota: Christian Student Fellowship (founded 1974) and the MacLaurin Institute (founded 1982).

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Our Namesake

St. Anselm of Canterbury was an 11th century theologian and philosopher. He is remembered, among other things, for the concept of “faith seeking understanding.” He believed that our faith and our knowledge of the world are intertwined. His life of thoughtful faithfulness and engagement with learning provides a model for our presence at the university.

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Our Values

Hospitality: We open our lives (and living rooms) to the University of Minnesota community, honoring the heart-soul-mind-strength complex that is every human person.

Character: We cultivate practices that order our lives to the true, good, and beautiful, believing that following Jesus requires careful attention to his way of being human.

Faith: We honor the breadth and depth of the Christian tradition, centered in the self-disclosure of the Triune God in the person of Jesus Christ.

Knowledge: We support the University of Minnesota’s pursuit of knowledge, holding that a personal apprehension of reality is a guide to truth.

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Position Overview

Our next Director of Advancement will be passionate about the work of helping students and faculty connect Christian faith and knowledge with all of life at the University of Minnesota, and can articulate this strategic mission to donors and prospects in a way that educates and invites them into generous giving. This person will be responsible for overseeing annual and long-term strategic planning, implementation, execution, and coordination of all aspects of Anselm House’s annual, major gift and planned giving programs including campaigns. In addition, he or she will provide wise guidance of critical functions such as gift processing, database management, research, communication, stewardship, and analytics. This person will also serve as a member of the Leadership Team, and will personally steward a portfolio of key major gift/planned giving donors and prospects.

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Reporting

The Director of Advancement reports to the Executive Director of Anselm House and serves as a member of the Leadership Team.‍

Responsibilities

Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

• As a member of the Leadership Team, support the Anselm House staff and community in seeing Advancement efforts as integral to its mission within the University of Minnesota community, and work with directors and colleagues to execute the Anselm House mission, faithfully pursue its vision, stabilize its growth, and set a staff culture of virtue conducive to such ends.
• Develop and execute development plans in keeping with long-term strategic plans, and set strategic vision for Advancement Team and all fundraising and communications efforts and evaluate the efficacy of existing efforts.
• Oversee all aspects of fund development strategy and execution (including campaigns) with a focus on the growth of major and planned giving, working to identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donor relationships and focus on institutional priorities, including growth of the Annual Fund, Initiatives of the Center for Faith and Learning, and future capital and endowment campaigns as needed.
• Oversee and empower an Advancement Team composed of an Associate Director of Donor & Community Engagement, who oversees a Student Fellows Enrollment Manager, Communications & Development Manager, Graphic Designer, Salesforce Administrator, and a Development & Office Coordinator. Serve as a model and advocate for ongoing education for improved professional practice.
• Ensure the successful achievement of fundraising goals through stewarding a portfolio of major and legacy society givers, and also provide supervision and regular and ongoing coaching, tactical direction, and accountability to colleagues involved in donor care and stewardship.
• Effectively plan, communicate, implement, and assess the performance of short-term and long-term development strategies.
• Produce reports for regular Board meetings, and serve as a key staff leader working with the Development Committee of the Board.
• Ensure compliance with federal and state laws in the administration of all gifts, but particularly planned gifts and oversee the administration, collection, and appreciation of pending estate distributions.
• Write and/or assist with grant opportunities working collaboratively with Anselm House colleagues.
• Establish effective working relationships with attorneys and other professional advisors as appropriate at the donor’s request, especially related to gifting of complicated assets and/or planned gift designs (like gift annuities) in accord with Gift Acceptance Policies.
• Promote a spirit of cooperation with all regulatory organizations, managing with an expectation of appropriate compliance and corrective measures.
• Encourage the team’s ongoing evaluation and improvement of fundraising infrastructure and practices — including gift reception, receipting, and donor research — and ensure database integrity is maintained, records are set up correctly, gifts are entered accurately, and dashboard reporting is accurate (current: Salesforce).

• Contagious commitment to the Anselm House mission and vision.
• Strong organization & strategic visioning skills, and able to oversee, set vision for, and galvanize a team engaged in multiple activities, events, and deadlines
  concurrently.
• Resourceful & reliable, and a determined problem-solver, finding ways to accomplish goals and meet deadlines.
• Engaging personality & public speaking gifts, and able to connect personally with others.
• Self-starting, and a willingness to dive into new territory.

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Skills and Experience:

• At least five years experience providing leadership to a Development or Advancement Team.
• Demonstrated experience in personally securing both major and planned gifts and managing relationships with high net-worth individuals.
• Bachelor’s or equivalent degree; Masters degree and/or CFRE preferred.
• Strong writer and communicator.
• Strong time and project management skills, follow-through, and reliability.
• Experience with creating gift agreements (strong with gift design), endowment documents, and other fundraising correspondence, publications, and grants.
• Great collaborator who builds strong relationships internally and externally.
• Experience utilizing Salesforce as a CRM is a plus.

Compensation

• This is a full-time, benefits-eligible position.
• Starting salary will be commensurate with the experience and qualifications of the candidate.

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Benefits

• Medical insurance—provisional options for vision, dental (including pediatric dental)
• Life insurance
• Parental Leave
• 3% Anselm House match to Retirement Savings Plan after One Year of Employment
• Parking stipend
• 9 or 10 paid Holidays, and a generous PTO plan
• Discretionary additional paid time off for continuing education or professional development

To apply, email apply@anselmhouse.org with your resume, along with a letter of interest detailing your interest in this position and your own sense of vocation in connection with the Anselm House mission.