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The Assistant Director of Advancement plays a critical role in achieving IU Auditorium's fundraising and engagement goals by leading all aspects of annual giving, including donor cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, and alumni engagement. In partnership with the Director of Development, this position strengthens the donor pipeline by identifying, cultivating, and advancing relationships with donors, alumni, patrons, and community partners.
 

Department Specific Responsibilities

• Collaborates with the Director of Development and Senior Director of Advancement & Administration to achieve goals and advance strategic priorities while partnering with the assistant director of finance to ensure proper donor fund management and with the communications team to maintain consistent messaging.
• Leads annual giving campaigns, targeted solicitations, and crowdfunding initiatives.
• Develops initiatives that strengthen connections among alumni, donors, and IU Auditorium.
• Serves as the primary contact for donor inquiries, including VIP ticketing and artist access, in collaboration with box office and audience engagement teams.
• Plans and executes donor events, including receptions, reunions, advisory board gatherings, and the annual season announcement; attends events to cultivate prospects and steward donors; partners with the Auditorium events team on logistics and execution.
• Plans and executes donor-focused events and engagement activities; develops contact strategies and timelines.
• Tracks progress toward goals and presents updates to leadership to inform advancement strategy.
• Analyzes donor data and trends to produce forecasting and benchmarking reports and support budget planning.
• Cultivates donor relationships through targeted communications, impact reporting, and curated donor events.
• Manages donor and corporate partner recognition, including listings, invitations, announcements, and concierge ticketing.
• Maintains donor records in the Crimson database and completes list pulls and solicitation approvals in Workfront or AlumniQ.
• Serves as the primary contact for donor inquiries, including VIP ticketing and artist access, in collaboration with box office and audience engagement teams.
• In partnership with the Director of Development, oversees scholarship distribution procedures and best practices to ensure compliance with donor intent and university policy.
• Ensures timely, accurate gift processing and acknowledgments.
• Serves as liaison to IU Foundation business operations, ensuring compliance, donor recognition, and gift-use reporting.
• Maintains records for all giving funds, including vendor payments, transfers, scholarships, and reimbursements.
• Develops initiatives that strengthen connections among alumni, donors, and IU Auditorium.
• Serves as staff liaison for the IU Auditorium Alumni Association, overseeing programs, communications, events, and engagement tracking.
• Supports communications and engagement for the Auditorium Board of Advisors.
• Plans and executes donor events, including receptions, reunions, advisory board gatherings, and the annual season announcement; attends events to cultivate prospects and steward donors.
• Partners with the Auditorium events team on logistics and execution.
• Uses advancement data to guide planning and evaluate event effectiveness through follow-up and reporting.
• Research and compiles information to support donor engagement and prepares materials to address donor inquiries.
• Research donor and foundation prospects and presents findings to leadership to identify pipeline opportunities and guide engagement.
• Identifies potential campaign donors through donor communications and giving history reviews and refers prospects to the appropriate development staff.
• Consistently works with people of different backgrounds. 
   

General Responsibilities

• Responsible for supporting the university's stewardship efforts to ensure adherence to donor intent of donated funds, proper donor acknowledgment/recognition, and reporting on how gifts are used.
• Individually follows up via phone or in-person with donors to provide updates on fund allocation and projects/initiatives pursued through funding and convey appreciation for the support of Indiana University. Assists Major Gifts Officers in acknowledging donors for life by way of visits, providing information, handling thank you letters, and other forms of recognition.
• Through communications with donors and review of giving history reports, identifies potential donors to ongoing university campaigns and refers to the appropriate development staff for outreach.
• Generates and analyzes regular reports of donor activity; ensures that tracking and reporting of stewardship activities/data are timely, thorough, and transparent.
• Investigates and resolves claims of non-adherence to donor intent, escalating to manager as appropriate, taking care to preserve ongoing positive relationships with donors.
• Monitors Foundation accounts to ensure the integrity of funds against donor intent. Collaborates with departments/schools to standardize stewardship practices and share best practices.
• Provides an excellent donor experience through customer service, active listening, inclusive language, and thoughtful and persuasive discussion, consistently upholding the integrity and mission of Indiana University.
• May take on special projects, such as developing suitable recognition plans tied to cultivation and solicitation strategies for market segments and designing targeted events for potential donors.
• May delegate administrative tasks, such as preparing and sending digital and direct mail donor communications and forwarding donations to be processed, to Stewardship Coordinators. May provide guidance to lower-level Stewardship Officers.

Combinations of related education and experience may be considered. Education beyond the minimum required may be substituted for work experience. Work experience beyond the minimum required may be substituted for education.

EDUCATION

Required

• Bachelor's degree in related field.

WORK EXPERIENCE

Required

• 2 years of experience in fundraising, sales, a higher education foundation, or related field.

SKILLS

Required

• Proficient communication skills.
• Maintains a high degree of professionalism.
• Demonstrates time management and priority setting skills.
• Demonstrates a high commitment to quality.
• Possesses flexibility to work in a fast-paced, dynamic environment.
• Seeks to acquire knowledge in area of specialty.
• Highly thorough and dependable.
• Demonstrates a high level of accuracy, even under pressure.

About Indiana University Auditorium

Since opening its doors in 1941, Indiana University (IU) Auditorium has served as a university and community gathering place, hosting an array of world-class artists, entertainers, musicians, and lecturers in its 3,200-seat theatre. As the leading performing arts organization in South Central Indiana in terms of quality, leadership, innovation, and overall guest satisfaction, IU Auditorium exists to create world-class arts and event experiences at Indiana University. In addition to the wide variety of arts and entertainment events, the Auditorium continues to serve as the community's gathering place, hosting a variety of university ceremonies, orientation programs, conferences, weddings, and special events. In addition to hosting events within our historic venue, IU Auditorium extends its expertise and resources beyond our 4 walls. Our team collaborates with campus and community partners to support off-site events, including university ceremonies, donor receptions, community festivals, and educational outreach programs. We provide event planning, logistical coordination, and technical support for events held at venues such as Presidents Hall and more. These efforts help amplify the... cultural and educational mission of Indiana University throughout South Central Indiana and beyond. We are excited to welcome into our Auditorium family a dynamic team member who can uphold our reputation of providing expert and professional service to our clients and guests.

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Connections working at Indiana University Auditorium