The Catholic University of America

The Director, Strategic Giving and Special Initiatives, is a frontline fundraiser responsible for securing philanthropic support for institutional priorities, cross-cutting initiatives, and opportunities that do not naturally reside within a specific school or program.

This role builds a portfolio from the ground up and engages donors and prospects whose interests align with interdisciplinary initiatives, emerging priorities, and institution-wide opportunities. The Director operates with a broad, enterprise-wide perspective and partners closely with unit-based fundraisers to ensure alignment and maximize impact. This fundraising role will have clearly defined performance expectations, including visit activity, pipeline development, relationship development and revenue generation.

The projected salary or hourly pay range for this position, which represents the full range of anticipated compensation, is: $90,000 - $100,000. 

Success in this role will be measured by a combination of activity, pipeline development, and revenue outcomes,
including:

• Annual fundraising goal aligned with portfolio capacity and institutional priorities
• Target of approximately 100–125 substantive prospect visits annually (in-person or virtual) 
• Growth of donor pipeline in strategic and cross-cutting priority areas 
• Number and quality of proposals and solicitations, particularly in the $100K–$1M+ range 
• Pipeline movement, including qualification and advancement of new prospects 
• Development of new funding opportunities aligned with institutional priorities 
• Collaboration with colleagues to ensure alignment and maximize institutional impact

• Bachelor's degree required, master’s preferred
• 10-12 years of fundraising experience
• Demonstrated success securing six and seven-figure gifts
• Experience working across complex organizations 
• Strong ability to identify and develop new opportunities 
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills 
• Experience working within an academic environment, and with faculty is preferred
• Proficiency with CRM systems; technical literacy, demonstrable writing and analytical abilities
• Mission focused
• Collaborative & Communicative
• Organized & Reliable
• Creative, Inventive, Strategic, Decisive
• Must be comfortble with travel