Assistant Director of Annual Giving - Athletics

University of West Georgia

Carrollton, GA

Posted Date: Sep 05, 2026

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QUALIFICATION

Salary Expectation
Not Provided
Years of Experience
1+ Years
Work Type
Full-time

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Athletic Director

Conference

UAC (DI)

SPORTS/DEPARTMENT

Development

About the Job

Job Description

About Us

Since 1906, the University of West Georgia (UWG) has been home to those who seek a transformative college experience. UWG is a leading residential, doctoral comprehensive university that offers a broad undergraduate and graduate curriculum based on a liberal arts foundation. Nestled among the pines on a picturesque 645 acres is the University of West Georgia- a hidden gem approximately 40 miles west of Atlanta. Serving approximately 16,000+ students, and offering more than 100 programs, UWG is committed to advancing innovative academic programs and a student-centered business model. Perennially ranked by U.S. News & World Report, the Princeton Review, and Colleges of Distinction as a top national university, West Georgia offers 86 fields of study, including business, computing, nursing, education, STEM, communication and digital media, social sciences, and the fine and performing arts. UWG generates a regional economic impact of more than $650 million annually and provides a safe, quality, and affordable university experience that connects students to post-graduate career and leadership opportunities. UWG has been recognized by the Carnegie Foundation for its institutional commitment to community engagement through teaching, research and creative activities, and public service. West Georgia is one of only 119 U.S. colleges and universities to receive the elective classification in 2020 and is among only 359 institutions nationally. Dedicated to creating a first-choice university for students, alumni, employees, and communities, UWG seeks employees who will advance and support the University's mission of fulfilling the talent needs of western Georgia and the Atlanta metropolitan area, while contributing to the social, cultural, and economic development of the region and state.

The University of West Georgia offers a comprehensive total rewards package designed to support faculty and staff across multiple dimensions; health, wellness, financial security, and professional growth. Employees working at least 30 hours per week gain access to a range of health plans, including medical, dental, and vision, wellness programs, and robust retirement options through Georgia Teachers Retirement System (TRS), Optional Retirement Program, and voluntary 403(b) and 457(b) plans. Employees are granted 13 paid holidays and paid time off accruals and are eligible to participate in the University System of Georgia's Tuition Assistance Program. Fringe benefits include a variety of resources focused on employee physical, mental, financial, and social well-being through Acentra Employee Assistance Program in addition to personal financial advising with Captrust. UWG also offers exclusive discounts and special offers on entertainment, travel, and other products and services through the Perks at Work program, free access to the university recreation facility, discounted campus dining options, and more!

Living in Carrollton, "The City of Dreams," offers the advantages of city life with a small-town vibe. This progressive community with Southern flair offers plenty of shopping, restaurants, nightlife opportunities, and cultural events. Named a City of Excellence in Georgia and listed as one of the 50 Best Small Southern Towns, Carrollton is the cultural, educational, health care, and commercial center for the west Georgia region.

At the heart of Carrollton is its historic downtown and Adamson Square lined with shops, galleries, and restaurants. Each season offers unique local events and opportunities for year-round recreation. Outdoor activities abound through award-winning spaces, including an 18-mile paved walking and biking Greenbelt trail that encircles the city and passes through the UWG campus.

The city embraces the University's students, faculty, and staff, and welcomes the diversity UWG brings to the community.

Invested in education with highly rated city and county K-12 systems, both city and county public school graduation rates are 90% and above and rank among the top in the nation by U.S. News & World Report.

Location

About Us

The city embraces the University's students, faculty, and staff, and welcomes the diversity UWG brings to the community.

Location

Our campus is located at 1601 Maple Street, Carrollton, GA 30118.

Faculty and staff members are expected to be physically present on campus as needed to support the in-person educational experience and on-campus vitality at the University of West Georgia. Depending upon teaching assignments and student demand, this could include the Carrollton or Newnan campuses.

Job Summary

The Assistant Director of Annual Giving - Athletics is responsible for building and sustaining a comprehensive athletics annual giving program that increases philanthropic support through integrated fundraising strategies, donor engagement initiatives, annual campaigns, donor societies, student-athlete engagement, and university-wide giving efforts such as A Day to Give West. Reporting to the Director of Annual Giving, this position plays a key role in expanding the athletics donor pipeline, increasing recurring and first-time giving, and strengthening long-term financial support for UWG Athletics. The role is designed to evolve over time, building scalable systems that grow athletics annual giving capacity while supporting institutional fundraising priorities. This position serves as a primary liaison between Athletics and University Advancement for annual giving strategy and is expected to collaborate closely with Athletics leadership, coaches, student-athletes, University Communications and Marketing, and Advancement Services to execute a cohesive and growing fundraising program.

Responsibilities

1. Athletics Annual Giving Growth & Program Development
The Assistant Director is responsible for developing and growing a sustainable athletics annual giving program that increases overall donor participation, recurring giving, and long-term philanthropic engagement. This includes identifying and cultivating new donor audiences such as fans, parents, alumni, students, and community supporters, as well as strengthening existing donor relationships to increase retention and upgrade giving levels over time. The position is expected to build scalable annual giving systems that expand athletics fundraising beyond individual campaigns and establish a consistent pipeline of annual support for UWG Athletics. This area focuses on long-term growth and infrastructure development rather than one-time fundraising activity.

2. Wolves Club Strategy & Growth
The Assistant Director provides leadership for the Wolves Club, UWG Athletics primary annual giving society, with responsibility for membership growth, retention, and donor upgrade strategies. This includes developing and implementing renewal campaigns, creating engagement and stewardship strategies for current members, and designing pathways that encourage donors to move from entry-level giving to leadership-level support. The role also supports the development of value-based engagement strategies that strengthen donor loyalty and ensure the Wolves Club functions as a stable and growing foundation for athletics annual revenue.

3. Athletics Crowdfunding Program Oversight
The Assistant Director oversees athletics crowdfunding initiatives as a donor acquisition and engagement tool that supports sport-specific fundraising efforts across UWG Athletics. Responsibilities include coordinating with coaches and athletics staff to execute crowdfunding campaigns, supporting campaign setup and messaging, managing timelines and promotional efforts, and ensuring campaigns are effectively launched and executed. The position also evaluates crowdfunding performance and identifies opportunities to convert crowdfunding donors into long-term annual giving supporters. Crowdfunding is utilized as one component of a broader athletics fundraising ecosystem rather than the central driver of annual giving strategy.

4. A Day to Give West ¿ Athletics Integration
The Assistant Director leads the development and implementation of a comprehensive athletics strategy within A Day to Give West, UWG¿s annual season of giving. This includes building a full-cycle athletics engagement strategy that incorporates donor outreach, participation goals, crowdfunding integration, donor challenges, and stewardship efforts before, during, and after the campaign. The position is responsible for ensuring athletics is fully integrated into A Day through coordinated communications, donor engagement opportunities, and campaign activation strategies that increase participation and giving. This role also evaluates athletics performance within A Day and develops strategies to strengthen future year outcomes and donor retention following the campaign.

5. Student-Athlete Engagement & Philanthropy Education
The Assistant Director develops and supports student-athlete engagement initiatives that promote a culture of philanthropy, gratitude, and participation in fundraising efforts. This includes educating student-athletes on the importance of giving, supporting team-based engagement activities, and integrating student-athletes into campaigns such as A Day and crowdfunding initiatives. The role also contributes to building long-term donor pipelines by introducing student-athletes to philanthropic engagement during their time at UWG, helping establish future alumni donor relationships. Donor Engagement.

6. Stewardship & Pipeline Support
The Assistant Director supports donor engagement and stewardship efforts for athletics donors, ensuring consistent communication and meaningful engagement throughout the donor lifecycle. This includes identifying potential major gift prospects for advancement officer follow-up, supporting donor cultivation strategies through athletics touchpoints, and contributing to stewardship efforts that strengthen donor retention and long-term engagement.

7. Data, Reporting & Campaign Operations
The Assistant Director is responsible for tracking, analyzing, and reporting on athletics annual giving performance across all channels, including Wolves Club, crowdfunding, A Day integration, and other fundraising initiatives. This includes maintaining accurate donor records in CRM systems, supporting campaign evaluation efforts, and collaborating with Advancement Services and University Communications and Marketing to ensure data integrity and effective reporting. This area ensures all athletics annual giving activity is measurable, trackable, and used to inform future strategy and decision-making.

Required Qualifications

Educational Requirements
Bachelors Degree

Required Experience
1 to 3 years of related professional experience in fundraising, sales, marketing, recruiting, business development, or similar field. Working knowledge of the principles and practices of individual giving Experience and demonstrated success in soliciting gifts in the $1000+ range. Computer literacy and knowledge of Raisers Edge is highly desirable. Strong interpersonal skills for interaction with donors, prospects, students, alumni, parents and friends of all ages and backgrounds.

Preferred Qualifications

Preferred Educational Qualifications
Bachelor's Degree

Preferred Experience
Working knowledge of Raiser's Edge highly desirable. Working knowledge of principles and practices in annual giving. Experience and demonstrated success in soliciting gifts in the $500+ range. 2-3 years of fundraising, volunteer management, sales or like field Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite, CANVA and Raisers Edge. Working knowledge of the principles and practices of individual giving Experience and demonstrated
success in soliciting gifts in the $1000+ range. Computer literacy and knowledge of Raisers Edge is highly desirable.

Proposed Salary

Salary is commensurate with experience.

Knowledge, Skills, & Abilities

ABILITIES
Ability to represent the University and to work effectively in a team environment with a mix of alumni, friends of UWG, and UWG colleagues. Ability to work on selected weekdays, nights and weekend evenings as required. Well-disciplined, self-motivated and goal-driven; able to work with a high degree of independence as well as part of a team. Ability to appropriately handle confidential matters and information. High energy and passion for UWG's mission is essential.

KNOWLEDGE
Working knowledge of Raiser's Edge highly desirable. Working knowledge of principles and practices in annual giving. This position exercises independent judgment in the planning, development, and execution of annual giving strategies for athletics. The Assistant Director is responsible for making decisions related to donor segmentation, campaign design, communication strategies, engagement initiatives, and the allocation of resources to maximize philanthropic support. The role requires analyzing giving trends, evaluating program effectiveness, and adjusting strategies to meet institutional and athletics fundraising goals. Decisions are made within established university advancement policies but require a high level of initiative, creativity, and strategic thinking. As a primary liaison between Athletics and University Advancement, the incumbent must make sound decisions that balance the priorities of both units while maintaining alignment with broader institutional objectives. Judgment is also required in managing relationships with internal stakeholders (coaches, administrators, student athletes) and external constituents (alumni, donors, and prospects), ensuring consistent messaging and positive donor experiences.

SKILLS
Strong organizational skills, and effective time management skills. Excellent time management skills and a high degree of organization, careful attention to detail, ability to multitask and to prioritize and manage multiple projects and deadlines. Flexibility and willingness to assume new tasks and special projects. Proficiency in the use of Microsoft Office software; Word, Excel, PowerPoint.

USG Core Values

The University System of Georgia is comprised of our 25 institutions of higher education and learning as well as the System Office. Our USG Statement of Core Values are Integrity, Excellence, Accountability, and Respect. These values serve as the foundation for all that we do as an organization, and each USG community member is responsible for demonstrating and upholding these standards. More details on the USG Statement of Core Values and Code of Conduct are available in USG Board Policy 8.2.18.1.2 and can be found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/sect....

Additionally, USG supports Freedom of Expression as stated in Board Policy 6.5 Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom found on-line at https://www.usg.edu/policymanual/sect....

Conditions of Employment

Offers of employment are contingent upon completion of a background investigation including a criminal background check demonstrating your eligibility for employment with the University of West Georgia as determined by the University of West Georgia in its sole discretion; confirmation of the credentials and employment history reflected in your application materials, reference checks; and, if applicable, a satisfactory credit check. Applicants may be subject to a pre-employment drug test. Offers are made expressly subject to the applicable federal and state laws, to the statutes, rules and regulations of this institution and to the Bylaws and Policies of the Board of Regents (BOR) of the University System of Georgia (USG), which are available for your inspection upon request.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Equal opportunity and decisions based on merit are fundamental values of the University System of Georgia (USG). The Board of Regents prohibits discrimination on the basis of an individual's age, color, disability, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, or veteran status ("protected status"). No individual shall be excluded from the participation in, denied the benefits of, or otherwise subjected to unlawful discrimination, harassment, or retaliation under, any USG program or activity because of the individual's protected status; nor shall any individual be given preferential treatment because of the individual's protected status, except that preferential treatment may be given on the basis of veteran status when appropriate under federal or state law.

Other Information

The mission of the University of West Georgia is to enable students, faculty, and staff to realize their full potential through academic engagement, supportive services, professional development, and a caring, student-centered community. The institutional mission and daily operation of the University of West Georgia are guided by our values that support our vision to be the best place to work, learn, and succeed: ACHIEVEMENT, CARING, COLLABORATION, INCLUSIVENESS, INNOVATION, INTEGRITY, SUSTAINABILITY, and WISDOM.

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