Associate Athletic Director for Development
Romeoville, IL
Posted 6 weeks ago
Job Description
PAF/Position Details
For more information on our benefits, please click the link Office of Human Resources | Benefit.
Key Responsibilities:
- Lead the department’s athletic development efforts in collaboration with University Advancement, overseeing annual giving, leadership giving, major gifts, capital campaigns, donor stewardship, planned giving, and the strategic direction of the Flyer Club.
- Develop and manage a balanced portfolio of alumni, parents, corporate partners, and community stakeholders by identifying, qualifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding annual, leadership, major, and planned gift prospects while leading annual fundraising initiatives, including Giving Day, crowdfunding, alumni appeals, and digital campaigns.
- Direct the growth and success of the Flyer Club through membership development, donor engagement, stewardship, communications, member benefits, and volunteer leadership.
- Cultivate, solicit, negotiate, and manage high-value corporate partnerships that generate significant revenue for Lewis Athletics while collaborating with external operations staff on partnership activation and fulfillment.
- Collaborate with coaches and administrators to develop fundraising strategies and execute donor engagement events, including the annual golf outing, alumni events, Hall of Fame, and donor stewardship activities.
- Serve as a sport supervisor for assigned programs, supporting coaches in achieving competitive, academic, and developmental goals for student-athletes.
- Support community and donor engagement initiatives that strengthen relationships with alumni, supporters, and corporate partners.
- Maintain accurate donor records, manage gift reporting, and ensure all activities comply with university, NCAA, and conference policies.
- Represent Lewis Athletics at university, alumni, community, and donor events to strengthen philanthropic and corporate relationships.
- Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
- At least 3 years of successful fundraising, development, or sponsorship experience, preferably in a collegiate athletics or non-profit environment.
- Demonstrated experience in cultivating and soliciting major gifts.
- Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build relationships with donors, alumni, and corporate partners.
- Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
- Proficiency with donor management systems (i.e., salesforce, raisers edge, donor management database, etc.) and Microsoft Office Suite.
- Ability to work evenings and weekends and travel as needed.
- Experience working in intercollegiate athletics.
- Knowledge of NCAA compliance rules and athletic department operations.
- Three to five years of experience in personally soliciting individuals for philanthropic support at the leadership annual giving level ($2,500+).
- Experience negotiating and managing corporate sponsorship contracts.
- Experience developing and executing comprehensive fundraising strategies.
- Familiarity with planned giving and campaign fundraising.
- Experience working with Raisers Edge, RENXT or Fundraiser Performance Management (Reeher).
- Demonstrated success managing a donor portfolio and meeting annual fundraising goals.
Lewis University is an innovative and entrepreneurial Catholic university offering market-relevant undergraduate and graduate programs to 6,500 students. Sponsored by the De La Salle Christian Brothers, Lewis University is nationally recognized for preparing intellectually engaged, ethically grounded, globally connected and socially responsible graduates. Visit www.lewisu.edu for further information.
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