Director of Donor Engagement and Special Events
Build relationships. Inspire investment. Create experiences that advance AVDA’s mission.
AVDA is seeking a strategic, relationship-centered fundraising leader to grow individual giving, major gifts, corporate sponsorships, donor stewardship, and fundraising events. This is a visible, hands-on role for a development professional who can move comfortably from one-on-one donor cultivation to complex event execution—and who knows how to turn meaningful engagement into lasting philanthropic support. Reporting directly to the Chief Executive Officer, the Director will partner with AVDA’s Board of Directors, Marketing, Finance, program leadership, and the Director of Institutional Giving and Grants to advance annual revenue goals and deepen AVDA’s relationships across Greater Houston.
What You’ll Lead
- A high-quality portfolio and pipeline of individual donors and major-gift prospects.
- Personalized cultivation, solicitation, stewardship, renewal, upgrade, and reactivation strategies.
- AVDA’s donor appeals, giving campaigns, stewardship calendar, and donor-recognition activities.
- Fundraising and cultivation events, including the Home Safe Home Gala, New Beginnings Luncheon, Friends of AVDA gatherings, donor receptions, corporate-engagement events, and approved third-party fundraisers.
- Corporate sponsorships, underwriting, cause-marketing opportunities, employee engagement, and other non-grant partnerships.
- Board, event-chair, committee, and fundraising-volunteer engagement tied directly to donor development and events.
KEY RESPONSIBILITIES
Individual Giving & Major Gifts
- Develop and execute an annual individual-giving and donor-engagement plan aligned with AVDA’s strategy, budget, and revenue goals.
- Identify, qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors through meetings, tours, calls, appeals, briefings, and personalized follow-up.
- Manage a documented moves-management portfolio with clear stages, next actions, anticipated asks, and relationship owners.
- Prepare donor briefings, talking points, solicitation plans, and follow-up actions for the CEO and Board members.
- Maintain timely and accurate donor, gift, pledge, and relationship records in AVDA’s donor database.
Donor Stewardship & Appeals
- Build and manage a stewardship calendar that includes acknowledgments, impact updates, recognition, appreciation, and meaningful follow-up.
- Lead individual-donor appeals and campaigns, including strategy, segmentation, solicitation approach, response tracking, and follow-up, in coordination with Marketing.
- Monitor donor retention, renewal, upgrades, and reactivation, and recommend strategies to strengthen results.
Fundraising & Cultivation Events
- Own event strategy, project plans, budgets, revenue goals, sponsorship plans, timelines, execution, and evaluation.
- Recruit and support event chairs, host committees, and fundraising volunteers with clear goals, roles, deadlines, and accountability.
- Coordinate venues, vendors, contracts, production, registration, logistics, guest experience, and post-event follow-up in accordance with AVDA requirements.
- Evaluate gross and net revenue, expenses, attendance, sponsor fulfillment, donor conversion, and other approved measures to improve future events.
Corporate Sponsorship & Community Engagement
- Develop relationships with corporate sponsors, community leaders, civic organizations, and philanthropic influencers.
- Lead sponsorship strategy, proposals, benefit packages, solicitation, fulfillment, recognition, renewal, and follow-up within approved parameters.
- Represent AVDA at community functions, networking events, corporate meetings, and philanthropic gatherings.
Reporting, Operations & Collaboration
- Provide accurate monthly and quarterly reporting on pipeline activity, donor retention, appeals, sponsorships, event performance, forecasts, and next actions.
- Partner with Finance to reconcile gifts, pledges, sponsorship payments, event revenue and expenses, restrictions, and acknowledgment information.
- Protect confidential information and maintain organized, complete records consistent with AVDA policies and internal controls.
- Collaborate closely with Marketing, program staff, Finance, and Institutional Giving while maintaining clear ownership of donor engagement, sponsorships, and events.
How This Role Partners with Institutional Giving
The Director of Donor Engagement and Special Events and the Director of Institutional Giving and Grants are peer roles with distinct areas of ownership. This position leads individual donors, major gifts, individual appeals, event sponsorships, underwriting, fundraising events, and related volunteer engagement. The Director of Institutional Giving and Grants leads private-foundation, application-based corporate-grant, and government-grant opportunities, including proposals, reporting, compliance, renewals, and closeout. Opportunities with both grantmaking and sponsorship potential are coordinated jointly, with the CEO resolving any ownership questions.
What Success Looks Like
- Annual individual-giving, major-gift, sponsorship, appeal, event, retention, and donor-pipeline goals are achieved.
- The donor portfolio and moves-management plan remain current, actionable, and reviewed with the CEO at least monthly.
- Donor acknowledgments, stewardship actions, sponsor fulfillment, event follow-up, database records, reconciliations, and reports are timely and accurate.
- Events are delivered within approved scope and budget and are evaluated against meaningful financial and engagement measures.
- AVDA’s network of qualified donor and sponsorship prospects grows through thoughtful outreach and community relationships.
QUALIFICATIONS
Required
- Bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution.
- At least five years of successful experience in individual giving, major gifts, donor relations, sponsorships, fundraising events, business development, nonprofit development, or a closely related field.
- Demonstrated success securing individual gifts, major gifts, sponsorships, or event revenue.
- Strong relationship-management, solicitation, communication, project-management, organization, and follow-through skills.
- Experience leading complex fundraising or cultivation events involving multiple stakeholders, vendors, deadlines, and budgets.
- Ability to build trusted relationships with donors, corporate executives, community leaders, Board members, and fundraising volunteers.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office and the ability to consistently use CRM, donor-database, event-management, and project-management tools.
- Commitment to AVDA’s mission and sound judgment in handling sensitive donor, client, and organizational information.
Preferred
- Established relationships within Houston’s philanthropic, business, and civic communities.
- Experience managing fundraising events with substantial revenue, sponsorship, and volunteer-leadership components.
- Experience in domestic violence, victim services, legal services, behavioral health, human services, or a related nonprofit field.
- Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) credential or comparable professional training.
Work Requirements
- Availability for donor meetings, community functions, and events, including occasional evenings and weekends.
- Ability to manage competing priorities and fixed event, solicitation, fulfillment, and reporting deadlines.
- Ability to travel within the Greater Houston area for donor, sponsor, community, and event activities.
Compensation
The salary range for this full-time, exempt position is $80,000–$100,000, commensurate with experience and qualifications. The position may also be eligible for performance-based bonuses tied to the achievement of established fundraising goals, subject to AVDA’s approval and applicable terms.
Help AVDA build the relationships and resources that make lasting impact possible.
