Assistant Director of the Foundation

Full Time

Monday - Friday 8:00am - 5:00pm

Non-Leadership - Exempt position

Position Summary

The Assistant Director of the Foundation supports the Executive Director in advancing the mission, strategic priorities, fundraising goals, donor relationships, and daily business operations of the Rush Memorial Hospital Foundation (RMHF).

This position serves as a key operational and donor-development partner to the Executive Director. The Assistant Director helps build and implement a sustainable, relationship-based philanthropy program that expands the Foundation’s support beyond special events. Primary responsibilities include donor cultivation and stewardship support, prospect and donor-pipeline management, fundraising program coordination, Foundation financial and operational support, Board and committee support, volunteer-program leadership, and coordination of selected fundraising and community-engagement activities.

The Assistant Director is expected to exercise sound judgment, maintain a high degree of confidentiality, communicate effectively with internal and external stakeholders, and represent the Foundation and Rush Memorial Hospital professionally in the community. This position reports directly to the Executive Director of the Foundation.

Essential Functions and Responsibilities

Donor Relations, Stewardship, and Fundraising Support

1. Support the Executive Director in implementing the Foundation’s strategic fundraising plan and long-term donor-engagement strategy.
2. Help identify, research, qualify, and track prospective donors, including individuals, businesses, foundations, community organizations, and professional advisors.
3. Maintain an organized donor and prospect pipeline, including contact information, relationship history, giving history, prospect research, next steps, stewardship activities, and follow-up deadlines.
4. Build and maintain positive, professional relationships with current and prospective donors, sponsors, volunteers, Board members, hospital leaders, staff, and community partners.
5. Coordinate donor cultivation and stewardship activities, including donor visits, hospital tours, donor meetings, donor recognition, acknowledgement letters, impact communications, appreciation activities, and appropriate follow-up.
6. Prepare donor research, donor profiles, briefing materials, gift-history reports, meeting materials, correspondence, solicitation support materials, and follow-up plans for the Executive Director and Foundation Board members.
7. Support annual giving, recurring giving, corporate and business giving, sponsorships, memorial and honor gifts, employee giving, grants, planned-giving outreach, and other strategic fundraising initiatives.
8. Ensure donor gifts, pledges, acknowledgements, receipts, recognition, stewardship communications, and gift restrictions are documented accurately and handled in a timely manner.
9. Assist in developing compelling donor communications and cases for support that connect hospital needs, patient care, capital priorities, workforce initiatives, and community-health opportunities with philanthropic investment.
10. Maintain donor confidentiality and exercise discretion in all donor, financial, gift, and relationship matters.

Foundation Operations and Financial Support

1. Support the Executive Director in the effective daily administration and business operations of the Foundation.
2. Maintain appropriate access to and working knowledge of Foundation financial information, including budgets, fundraising revenue, restricted funds, grant activity, event financial performance, and operational expenses.
3. Assist with preparation and monitoring of the Foundation’s annual budget, revenue forecasts, expense tracking, and regular financial reports.
4. Coordinate and maintain accurate documentation for gifts, pledges, sponsorships, invoices, deposits, donor restrictions, grant funds, and financial transactions in accordance with Foundation and hospital procedures.
5. Support gift processing, donor database entry, pledge tracking, sponsorship payment tracking, deposit documentation, reconciliation support, and reporting.
6. Maintain accurate, timely, and confidential donor, gift, financial, volunteer, and fundraising records using approved donor-management, accounting, volunteer-management, and reporting systems.
7. Assist with preparation of financial summaries, fundraising reports, dashboards, budget updates, and other information for the Executive Director, Foundation Board, and Foundation committees.
8. Support compliance with Foundation policies, gift-acceptance procedures, donor restrictions, confidentiality standards, internal financial controls, grant requirements, and applicable charitable and 501(c)(3) requirements.
9. Identify opportunities to improve Foundation workflows, financial reporting, donor data integrity, operational processes, technology use, and donor experience.

Strategic Planning, Board, and Committee Support

1. Partner with the Executive Director to implement the Foundation’s long-range strategic plan, annual operating plan, and fundraising priorities.
2. Maintain project plans, timelines, milestones, dashboards, and accountability tools for Foundation initiatives, donor programs, campaigns, events, and special projects.
3. Coordinate Foundation Board and committee meetings, including agendas, meeting materials, minutes, action items, attendance, follow-up, and record retention as assigned.
4. Prepare timely and accurate information to support informed Board and committee decision-making, including fundraising activity, donor information, financial performance, event outcomes, strategic initiatives, and volunteer-program updates.
5. Support Board-member engagement in donor cultivation, stewardship, fundraising, community outreach, advocacy, and event participation.
6. Assist with evaluation of Foundation programs, campaigns, events, and fundraising initiatives based on mission alignment, donor engagement, net revenue, resource use, and long-term sustainability.

Volunteer Program Leadership

1. Lead and manage the Rush Memorial Hospital volunteer program in partnership with hospital leadership and department leaders.
2. Recruit, screen, onboard, orient, train, schedule, place, support, recognize, and retain qualified hospital volunteers.
3. Maintain complete volunteer records, schedules, hours, training documentation, screening and compliance requirements, and other required program documentation.
4. Collaborate with hospital departments to identify appropriate volunteer placements that support patient experience, guest services, departmental needs, community engagement, and hospital priorities.
5. Develop and implement volunteer engagement, recognition, communication, and retention strategies that create a positive, meaningful, and safe volunteer experience.
6. Coordinate volunteer participation in Foundation activities, donor events, hospital events, community outreach, and special projects as appropriate.
7. Ensure compliance with hospital policies, confidentiality expectations, safety requirements, infection-prevention expectations, and volunteer-program procedures.

Events and Community Engagement

1. Coordinate selected Foundation events, donor-recognition activities, community programs, and one-time fundraising opportunities as assigned by the Executive Director.
2. Support planning, logistics, volunteer coordination, sponsorship administration, communications, budget tracking, donor follow-up, and post-event evaluation for Foundation events.
3. Ensure Foundation events are used strategically to support donor cultivation, stewardship, community awareness, sponsorship development, and defined fundraising goals.
4. Work with the Executive Director and Foundation Board to evaluate events based on net financial return, donor and sponsor retention, new-donor acquisition, relationship-building value, staff and volunteer effort, community impact, and alignment with Foundation priorities.
5. Assist with identifying opportunities to improve, redesign, consolidate, expand, reposition, or sunset events based on their strategic contribution to sustainable Foundation revenue and donor engagement.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor’s degree in nonprofit management, business, finance, communications, marketing, public relations, healthcare administration, community development, or a related field is preferred.
• An equivalent combination of education, experience, demonstrated fundraising or business operations capability, community engagement, and healthcare experience may be considered.

Experience

• Three to five years of progressively responsible experience in nonprofit development, fundraising, donor relations, Foundation operations, business operations, financial administration, volunteer management, healthcare, community relations, event management, or a related field is preferred.
• Demonstrated experience supporting donor cultivation, donor stewardship, fundraising campaigns, annual giving, grant activity, sponsorships, community partnerships, or nonprofit development programs is preferred.
• Experience working with budgets, financial reports, revenue and expense tracking, donor records, invoices, gift processing, accounting processes, or other financial and operational information is preferred.
• Experience coordinating volunteers, events, committees, community programs, or cross-functional projects is preferred.
• Healthcare, hospital Foundation, nonprofit, community-development, donor-relations, or advancement experience is strongly preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Strong relationship-building skills and the ability to communicate professionally with donors, prospective donors, volunteers, Board members, hospital leaders, staff, and community partners.
• Knowledge of or willingness to learn donor stewardship, relationship-based fundraising, gift acknowledgement, donor confidentiality, donor database practices, and fundraising operations.
• Business-minded approach with comfort working with budgets, revenue, expenses, financial reports, donor restrictions, operational processes, and resource allocation.
• Strong organizational, project-management, and time-management skills, with the ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, stakeholders, and detailed processes.
• Ability to analyze information, identify trends, prepare accurate reports, and recommend practical improvements.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including donor correspondence, Board materials, stewardship communications, meeting materials, event communications, and reports.
• High degree of integrity, discretion, professionalism, sound judgment, accountability, and attention to detail.
• Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a dynamic environment with changing priorities.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications and ability to learn and effectively use donor-management, volunteer-management, accounting, and reporting systems.
• Ability to work occasional evenings, weekends, and flexible hours as needed for Foundation events, donor activities, Board meetings, volunteer functions, and community engagement.

Accountability and Reporting Relationship

• Reports directly to the Executive Director of the Foundation.
• Works collaboratively with the Foundation Board of Directors, Foundation committees, hospital leadership, hospital departments, volunteers, donors, sponsors, community partners, and external vendors.
• Supports the Executive Director in providing timely, accurate information necessary for Foundation leadership and the Board to make informed decisions.

Performance Expectations

Performance may be evaluated using measures that reflect the Foundation’s strategic and operational priorities, including:

• Timeliness and accuracy of gift processing, donor records, acknowledgements, pledge tracking, financial documentation, and reporting.
• Completion of donor follow-up, stewardship communications, donor recognition, cultivation activities, and prospect-management tasks.
• Growth and quality of the Foundation’s donor and prospect pipeline.
• Donor retention, recurring giving, sponsor retention, donor satisfaction, and completion of stewardship plans.
• Progress toward annual fundraising, grant, sponsorship, donor-engagement, and strategic-plan goals.
• Timeliness, accuracy, and usefulness of Board materials, financial summaries, dashboards, meeting records, and committee follow-up.
• Volunteer recruitment, retention, onboarding, training completion, satisfaction, hours, recognition, and compliance.
• Net revenue, donor engagement, sponsorship results, and strategic value of supported Foundation events and fundraising activities.

Physical and Mental Requirements

The physical and mental demands described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Ability to communicate effectively in person, by telephone, in writing, and through electronic communication.
• Ability to work in an office and community setting, attend meetings, participate in donor and volunteer activities, and travel locally as necessary.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, exercise sound judgment, maintain confidentiality, and work effectively under occasional deadlines and event-related pressures.
• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends for meetings, events, donor activities, volunteer functions, and community outreach.

Working Conditions

• Primarily works in a professional office environment with regular interaction with hospital departments, donors, volunteers, Board members, community organizations, and vendors.
• Work environment is generally clean, well-lighted, and moderately quiet, with periodic work at hospital, community, and event locations.

Other Responsibilities

• Conducts self in a professional manner and serves as a positive representative of the Rush Memorial Hospital Foundation and Rush Memorial Hospital.
• Complies with all hospital and Foundation policies, procedures, confidentiality requirements, and professional standards.
• Participates in emergency procedures, fire drills, evacuation procedures, disaster plans, and other required organizational activities.
• Completes required education, training, projects, and assignments in a timely manner.
• Performs other duties as assigned by the Executive Director of the Foundation, consistent with the scope and purpose of the position.