Director of Annual Giving Storytelling and Constituent Engagement

Posting Details

Posting Summary

Logo

Posting Number
STA00780PO26

Job Family
Alumni Relations and Development

Job Function
Annual Giving

USC Market Title
Director of Annual Giving

Link to USC Market Title
https://uscjobs.sc.edu/titles/131965

Job Level
M3 - Managerial

Business Title (Internal Title)
Director of Annual Giving Storytelling and Constituent Engagement

Campus
Columbia

Work County
Richland

College/Division
Division of Development

Department
DEV Annual Giving

State Pay Range
G12

USC Market Range
MRK - $86,515 $110,307 $134,098

Anticipated Hiring Range
$86,515 - commensurate with qualifications

Location of Vacancy
Columbia, SC **on-site**

Part/Full Time
Full Time

Hours per Week
37.5

Work Schedule

• The standard hours are generally 8:30am - 5:00pm with one hour for lunch, 37.5 hours per week.
• Required to travel overnight to conferences for continuing education and professional development.
• Must have reliable means of transportation.

Basis
12 months

Job Search Category
Alumni Development

Position Description

Advertised Job Summary

Under limited supervision, reporting to the Senior Director of Annual Giving Programs and Unit Strategy, the Director of Annual Giving Storytelling and Constituent Engagement (Director) is responsible for leading storytelling, constituent engagement, and donor retention strategies for the Annual Giving and Donor Experience programs. The Director will serve as the lead storytelling strategist, creative writer, and content curator for annual giving, developing donor-centered content that supports direct mail, email, digital, social media, crowdfunding, giving day, employee philanthropy, next-generation philanthropy, stewardship, and other engagement efforts. This position will provide strategic direction for key constituent engagement programs, including employee philanthropy, student and young alumni engagement, crowdfunding, assigned unit-based annual giving programs, and metrics-driven donor retention and stewardship strategies designed to improve renewal, second-gift conversion, lapsed donor reactivation, loyalty giving, and long-term donor engagement. The Director will lead a team of fundraising professionals and develop and execute the overarching omnichannel strategy for a complex set of annual giving solicitations for the University of South Carolina and its academic units, university priorities, and special interest programs across assigned programs and portfolios. The Director will utilize Blackbaud CRM and other analytics, project management, digital fundraising, and reporting tools to ensure that strategies are data-driven, personalized, relevant, timely, measurable, and consistent with the goals set forth within the Annual Giving and Donor Experience programs.

Job Related Minimum Required Education and Experience

• Requires a bachelor's degree in a job related field and 5 or more years of job related experience, which may be substituted by an equivalent combination of job related certification, training, education, and/or experience.

Required Certification, Licensure/Other Credentials

Preferred Qualifications

• Experience in Annual Giving, Donor Relations, Alumni Relations, Advancement Communications, Higher Education Fundraising Operations, or nonprofit fundraising.
• Proven experience in creative writing, storytelling, donor-centered communications, constituent engagement, stewardship, donor retention, and integrated fundraising campaigns.
• Previous experience supervising professional staff and managing complex projects across multiple partners or units.
• Previous experience with Blackbaud CRM, crowdfunding platforms, digital fundraising tools, project management tools such as JIRA, or other higher education and/or nonprofit donor systems.

Knowledge/Skills/Abilities

• Comprehensive knowledge of principles and methods of planning and conducting a comprehensive integrated and omnichannel annual giving program.
• Strong knowledge of storytelling, creative writing, donor-centered communications, constituent engagement, donor retention, annual giving stewardship, and metrics-driven fundraising strategies.
• Ability to develop compelling content for multiple audiences and channels, including direct mail, email, digital advertising, social media, crowdfunding, giving day, stewardship, and engagement communications.
• Ability to supervise staff, manage complex projects, align work across multiple programs, and maintain effective relationships with development colleagues, faculty, staff, alumni, donors, students, volunteers, external vendors, and campus partners.
• Understands best industry practices as they relate to annual giving, donor experience, segmentation, UX, content optimization, stewardship, digital fundraising, and analytics tools for fundraising success.
• Utilizes quantitative and qualitative information to improve decision-making, document outcomes, and refine strategies.
• Works with a high degree of flexibility in a collaborative, fast-paced, goal-oriented environment.
• Applies creative and entrepreneurial thinking while using sound judgment and conducting oneself with integrity.
• Outstanding oral, written, editing, and interpersonal communication skills.
• Ability to adhere to industry guidelines, methodologies, and codes of ethics as defined by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, and other professional organizations and associations.

Job Duties

Job Duty

Develop and implement an annual storytelling and constituent engagement strategy to support the goals of Annual Giving and Donor Experience and the priorities of the university, colleges, schools, campuses, and units. Build and maintain an annual content and engagement plan that supports direct and digital solicitations, stewardship, giving day, crowdfunding, employee philanthropy, next-generation philanthropy, and assigned unit-based campaigns. Establish a consistent story pipeline by partnering with development officers, communications colleagues, faculty, staff, students, alumni, and campus partners to identify stories that demonstrate donor impact and inspire annual giving. Coordinate staff and partner contributions to ensure annual giving communications are timely, audience-specific, and aligned with campaign goals.

Essential Function
Yes

Percentage of Time
20%

Job Duty

Lead creative writing, content curation, and messaging strategy for annual giving solicitations and engagement communications. Serve as the lead creative writer and editor for annual giving storytelling, including direct mail, email, digital advertising, social media, crowdfunding, giving day, stewardship, and other donor engagement communications. Translate institutional priorities, unit needs, student experiences, faculty work, alumni stories, and donor impact into compelling content that strengthens donor connection and supports fundraising outcomes. Ensure messaging is donor-centered, brand-aligned, personalized, and adapted for key constituencies and generations.

Essential Function
Yes

Percentage of Time
25%

Job Duty

Manage and implement constituent engagement programs for key annual giving audiences. Provide strategic direction for employee philanthropy, next-generation philanthropy, student and young alumni engagement, crowdfunding, volunteer or ambassador-based engagement, and other targeted annual giving constituencies. Guide the Next Generation Philanthropy program in developing and implementing strategies that connect students, young alumni, and crowdfunding efforts to broader annual giving goals. Develop strategies to increase employee giving, strengthen engagement, and build a culture of philanthropy across the university. Assist with the coordination and implementation of the university-wide giving day, currently known as Give 4 Garnet.

Essential Function
Yes

Percentage of Time
20%

Job Duty

Develop and implement metrics-driven annual giving donor retention and stewardship strategies. Create strategies to improve renewal, second-gift conversion, lapsed donor reactivation, loyalty giving, and continued engagement among annual giving donors. Develop tailored stewardship and engagement approaches for key segments, including first-time donors, consecutive donors, loyal donors, lapsed donors, employee donors, student donors, young alumni donors, crowdfunding donors, giving day donors, and donors to assigned colleges, schools, campuses, and units. Collaborate with Donor Experience; Donor Relations, Communications and Marketing; Advancement Services, and unit development teams to develop meaningful donor touchpoints that demonstrate appreciation and impact. Track progress, analyze results, and recommend adjustments based on donor behavior, retention trends, and engagement outcomes.

Essential Function
Yes

Percentage of Time
20%

Job Duty

Provide strategic support, reporting, and best-practice guidance for assigned annual giving programs and unit portfolios. In collaboration with the Senior Director, supervise and guide assigned units in developing direct and digital marketing strategies . Support the development of annual plans, campaign calendars, segmentation strategies, content plans, and performance reports. Provide timely qualitative and quantitative reports of solicitation, engagement, stewardship, and retention performance for the Annual Giving and Donor Experience department, assigned units, and other partners as needed. Build and maintain a portfolio of best practices and emerging trends in storytelling, annual giving, donor retention, constituent engagement, employee philanthropy, next-generation philanthropy, crowdfunding, and stewardship to enhance fundraising outcomes.

Essential Function
Yes

Percentage of Time
10%

Job Duty

Performs other duties as required or assigned.

Essential Function
No

Percentage of Time
5%

Position Attributes

Employees in Safety-Sensitive or Security-Sensitive positions will be subject to pre-employment and post-employment drug testing in accordance with University policy HR 1.95 Drug and Alcohol Testing.

Safety Sensitive or Security Sensitive
No

Hazardous weather category
Non-Essential

Posting Detail Information

Number of Vacancies
1

Desired Start Date
01/18/2027

Job Open Date
10/15/2026

Job Close Date
11/30/2026

Open Until Filled
No

Special Instructions to Applicant

Positions are advertised for a minimum of five (5) business days on our job website. After five (5) business days, positions can be closed at the discretion of the department at any time. This employment site is updated on a regular basis. The length of the recruitment and screening process may vary from position to position, depending upon a variety of factors. Should review of your qualifications result in a decision to pursue your candidacy, you will be contacted by phone or email.

We are only accepting applications submitted by November 30, 2026.

The University of South Carolina offers a valuable benefits package including but not limited to:

• Health and Life Insurance
• Retirement Programs
• Paid Tuition
• Dependent Scholarships
• Annual Leave
• Sick Leave
• 13 Paid Holidays (including an extended December holiday)
• Paid Parental Leave
• Professional Development Opportunities

Quicklink for Posting
https://uscjobs.sc.edu/postings/214660