Associate Director of Annual Giving - Pomona College

Pomona College is seeking an Associate Director of Annual Giving to lead Pomona's annual appeal and crowdfunding strategies, coordinating with internal teams and external vendors to deliver compelling, timely campaigns. Located in Southern California, this hybrid role plays a vital part in campaign readiness and donor engagement, offering the chance to drive impact within a growth-minded, mission-driven advancement team.

Another Source's client, Pomona College, is recruiting an Associate Director of Annual Giving to join their team in the heart of Southern California. You will have the opportunity to work from home 2 days per week and be onsite with the team 3 days per week.

Here's a little about the Pomona College and the position they are recruiting for:

Located just east of Los Angeles, California, Pomona College is consistently ranked among the nation's leading liberal arts institutions. Founded in 1887, Pomona is celebrated for its small, discussion-based classes, rigorous academic programs, and close-knit community that fosters meaningful connections between students and faculty. With abundant opportunities for research, leadership, and personal growth, Pomona offers an exceptional undergraduate experience as a proud member of The Claremont Colleges.

Learn more about the Pomona College here: https://www.pomona.edu/about

About the Role

Reporting to the Director of Annual Giving, the Associate Director manages Pomona College's annual appeals across digital and print channels to grow donor participation, strengthen the giving pipeline, and maintain consistent, brand-aligned messaging. Overseeing the annual appeal and crowdfunding calendars, this role collaborates with Advancement Communications, Advancement Services, campus partners, and vendors to deliver timely, compelling solicitations and support volunteer-driven peer outreach. Highly collaborative, the Associate Director aligns engagement and fundraising efforts across the College, serves as a backup to the Director, and contributes to planning for Pomona's upcoming campaign.

The anticipated yearly salary range for this position is: $75,000 - $85,000 annually based on experience.

What you can expect to be doing:

Appeal Strategy and Execution

Leading the development, timing, and execution of a comprehensive annual appeal production calendar, including direct mail, email, text, social, and video content.

• Guiding strategy and copy for messaging across all appeals, ensuring alignment with Pomona College's brand voice and campaign objectives.

• Managing all aspects of appeal production with external vendors, from concept through delivery, including bidding, timelines, and creative review.

• Partnering with the Assistant Director of Development, Digital Engagement to support multichannel integration and optimize digital appeal performance.

Data and Performance Analytics

• Defining segmentation strategies and coordinating with Advancement Services to build targeted appeal lists.

• Analyzing solicitation performance and providing regular reports to the Director of Annual Giving to identify trends and optimize messaging, segmentation, and channels.

• Partnering with the Research, Relationship Management & Analytics (RRMA) team to assess and implement predictive modeling for donor behavior.

Volunteer Fundraising Cohort and Content Support

• Providing tools and messaging frameworks to support volunteer-based peer-to-peer solicitations in alignment with institutional strategy.

• Collaborating with colleagues across the Leadership, Annual & Reunion Team to support key volunteer fundraising groups (e.g., leadership ambassadors, reunion cohorts, affinity volunteers).

Crowdfunding and Special Campaigns

• Managing Pomona's crowdfunding calendar and coordinating with department leads to activate targeted fundraising projects aligned with institutional priorities.

• Ensuring all crowdfunding projects meet brand, messaging, and stewardship standards.

Collaboration and Cross-Campus Engagement

• Cultivating partnerships with departments across campus (e.g., Student Affairs, Career Development, Athletics) to identify and amplify stories of impact.

• Training student employees and volunteers in engagement and solicitation techniques and best practices.

Project Leadership and Special Assignments

• Serving as project lead for cross-team initiatives, ensuring timely execution and stakeholder engagement from launch through evaluation.

• Acting as a resource or backup for the Director of Annual Giving and contributing to strategic planning and implementation as needed.

• Assisting with other duties and special projects, including systems or content-focused tasks, pool assignments, and solicitations.

Measures of Success

• Growing annual donor count and participation, particularly among key segments.

• Improving ROI and performance of multi-channel fundraising appeals.

• Increasing engagement and solicitation effectiveness among fundraising volunteers.

• Successfully implementing crowdfunding campaigns aligned with institutional priorities and constituent affinities.

• Meeting annual giving dollar and participation goals during the College's comprehensive campaign.

Minimum Qualifications:

• A bachelor's degree in marketing, communications, business, liberal arts, or a related field, or an equivalent combination of education and experience, is required.

• A valid driver's license or equivalent means of reliable transportation to off-site meetings and events is required.

• Minimum 3 years of experience in annual giving, digital fundraising, or direct marketing. Higher education or nonprofit advancement experience strongly preferred. Proven project management and vendor coordination experience.

• Demonstrating strong writing, editing, and communication skills.

• Managing projects with a variety of internal and external stakeholders, including developing and maintaining project management systems, handling multiple projects in a fast-paced environment, and ensuring strong attention to detail.

• Applying comprehensive knowledge and experience in multi-channel solicitations to generate and sustain annual support.

• Planning, organizing, and implementing solicitation efforts for large numbers of prospects across multiple segments.

• Deploying professional fundraising skills in collaboration with colleagues to advance the College's strategic interests.

• Recognizing opportunities, identifying high-impact activities, and prioritizing tasks to achieve goals.

• Understanding principles and techniques relevant to fundraising.

• Supervising student workers, including hiring, training, assigning and monitoring workloads, and evaluating performance.

• Communicating the mission and history of Pomona College and the liberal arts education effectively.

• Using data-driven decision making to determine the most effective communication strategies, leveraging ROI, KPIs, and predictive analytics.

• Demonstrating effective, accurate, and clear communication with excellent verbal, written, interpersonal, reading, phone, customer service, and leadership skills to supervise, facilitate, motivate, and inspire diverse partners.

• Operating computers proficiently with Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Outlook) and other professional software, using assigned technology to achieve annual goals while maintaining confidentiality.

• Handling highly confidential information with patience, discretion, good judgment, courtesy, and tact when working with individuals from diverse backgrounds.

• Prioritizing and performing multiple projects, managing changing priorities, meeting deadlines, and responding proactively in a timely manner while working independently or collaboratively with a high standard of integrity and ethics.

• Applying exceptional organizational, time management, and analytical skills to complete work accurately with keen attention to detail.

What's in it for you:

Pomona College offers a comprehensive benefits package for fulltime staff including:

• Health

• Dental

• Vision

• Retirement

• Life Insurance

Learn more about the benefits here: https://alliantbenefits.cld.bz/25tccbenguideeng/32/

Notices:

Disclaimer: This job description has been designed to indicate the general nature and level of work performed by employees within this classification. It is not designed to contain or be interpreted as a comprehensive inventory of all duties, responsibilities and qualifications required of employees assigned to this position. When duties and responsibilities change and develop, the College will review this job description and make changes of business necessity.

ADA & OSHA: This job description defines the essential job duties of this position. The College expects that employees hired for this position can perform the essential functions of this job without imposing risk of substantial harm to the health or safety of themselves or others. It may also include marginal functions, generally defined within Title I of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA).

Another Source works with their clients, on a retained project basis. We are committed to building inclusive candidate pools as we partner with hiring teams. Veterans, women, people of color, LGBTQIA+, and people with disabilities are encouraged to apply. As you read through the job posting and review the list of qualifications (required and/or preferred), please do not self-select out if you feel you do not meet every qualification. No one is 100% qualified. We encourage you to apply and share your story with us.

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