Associate Director for Philanthropy

UW Medicine Advancement has an excellent opportunity for an Associate Director for Philanthropy to join their team.

At UW Medicine, we work to improve health for all people through excellence in clinical, research, and education and training programs. As the only comprehensive clinical, research and learning health system in the five-state WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) region, UW Medicine provides the most up-to-date care for each individual patient, leads one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive medical research programs, and provides innovative learning programs for students, trainees, and practitioners in the health professions.

The passionate, 79-person team at UW Medicine Advancement works collaboratively to connect donors with meaningful opportunities to enhance patient care, expand educational opportunities and advance research at UW Medicine. This inspiring, challenging and rewarding work provides team members an opportunity to grow their careers, while making a difference in people's lives, in our community and around the world. In the 2024 fiscal year, UW Medicine Advancement raised nearly $305 million in gifts and private grants (48 percent of the University of Washington’s total) from 14,300 donors to support the mission of UW Medicine. You can find out more about UW Medicine Advancement’s priorities and office culture on our career website:

The Associate Director for Philanthropy (Associate Director), as part of a dynamic major gift fundraising team, focuses on securing major gifts ($25,000+) for the UW Medicine Eye Institute and cultivating donors capable of giving at that level. The Associate Director will collaborate with academic leaders, volunteers, and other staff to identify, cultivate, and solicit major gift prospects in support of UW Medicine. Responsibilities include oversight and coordination of major gift fundraising programs for the UW Medicine Eye Institute and other assigned departments or programs. Additionally, the Associate Director provides direct support to the department chair for presentations and reports to the Director for Philanthropy.

In partnership of collaboration, the Associate Director will be responsible for staffing The Eye Institute Community Action Board (CAB) and potentially other volunteer fundraising partnerships and committees. This role includes identifying, recruiting, training, and developing leadership roles for volunteers who assist with major gift fundraising activities. The Associate Director will also support the Ophthalmology department and CAB through activities such as the Chairs' lunch, CAB dinners, and other donor cultivation and stewardship events as directed by the department chair.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Direct Fundraising Responsibilities – 85%:

1. Make 9-10 personal cultivation/solicitation/stewardship visits per month to assess the interests and capacity of potential donors. As appropriate, identify individuals as annual, major gift or planned giving prospects; solicit for gifts ($25,000 and above); and determine follow-up strategies including stewardship.
2. Cultivate longtime annual donors for planned giving possibility and work with Planned Giving colleague to prepare communication and materials for that purpose.
3. Develop and present 15-20 gift proposals each year with a target of securing an average of $1 million in new commitments.
4. Serve as a qualification officer for new leads for major gift prospects ($25,000+) and planned gifts from prospect research, faculty referrals, prospect screening tools, donor base, and fundraising colleagues.
5. Manage a portfolio of 100-125 donor prospects ($25,000+) with a focus on those with potential of $50,000+.
6. Work with fundraising colleagues, faculty, academic leaders, administrators, and volunteers to develop cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies for all prospects.
7. Collaborate with major gift officers to develop prospect pool, cultivate, solicit and steward major gifts. Record and track all donor activity using the University’s prospect management and tracking system.
8. As appropriate, work with colleagues to ensure that the annual fund plan supports and dovetails with personal qualification and solicitation strategies.

1. Support the development of annual operating plan including quantitative and qualitative goals and objectives. Plan should include a list of the “Top 25” prospects who will be asked in the next 12-18 months. Prepare monthly reports to track and assess progress.
2. Prepare written proposals, gift illustrations, and informational materials needed to secure major gifts.
3. Develop basic knowledge of and information resources for all areas of UW Medicine, focusing on research, patient care and education activities within the School of Medicine.
4. Ensure that all fundraising activities involving patients are compliant with the HIPAA federal privacy regulations.
5. Seek appropriate professional development opportunities.
6. Complete annual performance self-assessment as key component of Annual Review.
7. Complete other duties as assigned.

1. Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
2. Five years of increasingly responsible experience in institutional advancement with a preference for experience cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding leadership gifts.

1. Values the UW’s commitment to inclusiveness and UW Medicine’s commitment to becoming an anti-racist organization. Demonstrates respect for diversity, equity, and inclusion.
2. Experience with face-to-face cultivation and solicitation activities.
3. Ability to write clearly and concisely in order to distill complex scientific/medical information and data; ability to multi-task and complete assigned projects in a timely manner with the utmost attention to detail.
4. Strong interpersonal skills and customer service orientation. Poised, professional manner and the ability to communicate clearly, directly and empathetically in all interactions: verbal and written communications, one-on-one conversations and in groups, etc.
5. Ability to make decisions in ambiguous situations, exercise good judgment based on information and analysis in a fast-paced, dynamic, deadline-driven environment in an organized and professional manner.
6. Demonstrated ability to maintain confidences and protect confidential information.
7. Familiarity with Microsoft Office applications, including Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint.

1. Development experience in a health care, medical research and/or higher education setting is preferred.