Fountain Valley School, a selective and diverse boarding school, educates 250 students in grades 9–12 on a beautiful 1,100-acre campus in Colorado Springs, CO. Founded in 1930, the School provides a rigorous, global curriculum in academics, arts, athletics and the outdoors.

The Opportunity:

Reporting to the Director of Development, the Director of Development Operations will work closely with internal and external partners in support of engagement and philanthropic goals of Fountain Valley School. The Director of Development Operations will have demonstrated and progressive experience in development operations to include database management, gift processing, data and financial reporting, service contract management, prospect management, and creation of development policy and procedures. This position will also manage and oversee one direct report.

Essential Functions:

●      In collaboration with the Director of Development, will develop and maintain a comprehensive data management strategy that supports and aligns with all fundraising, stewardship and engagement programs in the department. Ensures data integrity and consistency within the database for all donor records.

●      Manages the gift entry and gift acknowledgement process in a timely and accurate manner.  Develops and produces all needed fundraising reports to support the development office efforts.

●      Anticipates, assesses needs, and recommends viable solutions for data entry, reporting and tracking of important information in support of the work in the development office.

●      Develops and maintains development policies and procedures for the database and gift processing.

Duties and Responsibilities include but are not limited to:

●      Responsible for the Raiser’s Edge Database, including but not limited to, its maintenance, upkeep, upgrading and ensuring that all necessary information is accessible, accurate and clean. Ensures a process for integrating data from other software programs (e.g. Graduway, Give Campus, Finalsite, etc.).

●      Annually ensures donor records are updated and ready for the new school year with all appropriate information; also performs all ongoing updates throughout the year.

●      Design and produce accurate queries, imports, exports, reports and lists for mailings, newsletters, annual reports, event invitations.

●      Ensures gifts are entered in a timely manner and gift acknowledgements letters are accurate and sent out promptly and recorded in our system.

●      Establishes moves management, proposal tracking systems to support capital campaign efforts; also establishes metric reports for major gift officers.

●      Administers a donor endowment report process to include the letter to donors, updates on the endowments from the business office and the proper coding in the database.

●      Administers a pledge reminder process and tracking in the database.

●      Working with the development team, updates on-line giving pages and continually evaluates our platforms for on-line giving.

●      Works with the Business Office on a regular basis to support the annual audit, monthly reconciliations, gift questions and other needs as necessary.

●      Creates and updates standard operating procedures in line with best practices and the needs of the development team’s goals.

●      Analyzes and performs on-going analysis of the fundraising and prospect research software and makes recommendations regarding their application to our fundraising efforts.

●      Performs prospect research on an annual and ongoing basis.

●      Plans, and coordinates conversions, tests upgrades, new releases, and enhancements of the development office technology platforms.

●      Oversees and maintains budget for technology platforms and general development office service contracts.

●      Manages and conducts prospect research and trains team members on how to use our research software

●      Processes NCOA updates and other address finder information and how it is marked and processed into the database.

●      Maintains and submits annual NAIS DASL survey information.

●      Trains office team members on RE.

●      Manage the production of the annual report donor lists.

●      Schedules, assigns, inspects, and reviews work of direct report to ensure work is performed according to established standards.

●      Performs other duties as assigned.  

Required Qualifications:

●      Bachelor’s degree in business, accounting, or related field; advanced degree preferred  

●      Five years of experience in development, fundraising, donor relations, and prospect management; educational institutional experience preferred; capital and/or comprehensive campaigns experience preferred.

●      Two years of supervisory experience.

●      Proficient knowledge of Raiser’s Edge, Microsoft Office and Google Suite

●      Knowledge of budgets and finance as it relates to development activities.  

●      Knowledge of regulations and guidelines governing fundraising, gift processing, and gift accounting (e.g. IRS, CASE, FASB, etc.).

●      Knowledge of project management principles, practices, techniques, and applications.

●      Excellent attention-to-detail, verbal and written communications and collaboration skills

●      Strong analytical, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills.

●      Enthusiastic, curious, growth-oriented mindset

●      Ability to manage multiple projects, meet deadlines and prioritize among assignments.

●      Ability to work independently and as an effective team player.

Working Conditions:

●      Environment: office and indoor classroom working with some outdoor events

●      Physical demands: able to sit and stand for at least 8 hours per day; must be able to lift 40 lb.

●      Attendance at certain community events will be required.

●      Working relationships: students, parents, outside vendors, and all other employees

Salary: $75,000 - $90,000, based on experience

Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, Short and Long Term Disability, Life Insurance, Retirement plan with 8% match, EAP, Gym and Pool access

Application Deadline: November 1, 2024