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Assistant Director, Gift Planning

Employer
Swarthmore College
Location
Swarthmore, Pennsylvania

Job Details

Swarthmore College is a highly selective liberal arts college located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, whose mission combines academic rigor with social responsibility. Swarthmore has a strong institutional commitment to inclusive excellence and nondiscrimination in its educational program and employment practices and encourages candidates who will further advance the goal of fostering a diverse and inclusive community. As one of the nation’s finest institutions of higher learning, Swarthmore College is global in outlook and draws students from around the nation and world. The 425‐acre campus is a designated arboretum, complete with gardens, rolling lawns, a creek, wooded hills, and hiking trails in the Crum Woods. Swarthmore College was recently ranked number 3 in the 2021 US News Best National Liberal Arts Colleges rankings - https://www.usnews.com/best-colleges/swarthmore-college-3370.

The opportunity:

The Assistant Director of Gift Planning assists the Director of Gift Planning in implementing the Gift Planning programs with a goal of nurturing positive relationships with donors and to perform a variety of analytical, clerical and stewardship tasks to accomplish the securing, accounting and administration of life income and bequest gifts. This position will be the primary point of contact for inbound donor calls, inquiries from attorneys, and correspondence with the College’s custodian bank and consultants. Acts as primary coordinator between the Advancement Office, the College’s custodian bank, and the College’s Business and Finance offices to ensure the accurate and precise administration of the College’s life income gift program.

Essential Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

  • Acting as primary coordinator in the administration of the College’s gift planning program with over 400 life income gift participants and $42 million of assets under management;
  • Using gift planning software, performs actuarial calculations required by the College Business and Gift Records offices;
  • Acting as primary liaison between the College’s custodian bank (State Street), and the Finance Office to ensure prompt and accurate payments and delivery of tax forms to donors, timely communication of gift termination, and tracking gift designation for donors participating in the life income gift program;
  • In consultation with attorneys, IRA fiduciaries and executors, proactively monitoring estate administration to ensure it is proceeding in a timely manner and funds are received by the College;
  • Performing data entry, data analysis, illustrations, and preparation of reports as needed by Advancement and Finance Office staff.
  • Responds to phone, mail, and email inquiries from constituents seeking information about life income gifts;
  • Drafts correspondence to constituents who have notified Swarthmore that the College has been included in their estate plan, welcoming them into the James A. Michener Legacy Circle;
  • Coordinates with Advancement Communications on Gift Planning marketing including, primary responsibility for maintaining the Gift Planning marketing calendar; coordinating with outside vendors for fulfillment; monitors and enters data for responses to marketing pieces and provides follow-up when required on behalf of Director.
  • Upon being informed of the death of a program participant, follows program procedures for the termination of the gift agreement and payments; if income payments need to be recovered by the College, communicates with the estate attorney, executor, or relative to recover such payments.
  • Acts as primary contact with attorneys, executors, and relatives for the administration of gifts coming to the College from estates and trusts; obtains and reviews relevant estate documents to determine the College’s interest in such estates;
  • Actively tracks estate progression and termination in bequest management software.
  • Maintains estate commitment forms and supporting documentation from donors for appropriate recognition and counting; communicates with Gift Records to ensure accurate estate commitment information is recorded, including the amount and supporting information.
  • Serves as primary liaison to consultants for timely filing of state regulatory financial and investment statements with multiple state governmental agencies, obtaining appropriate College signatures.
  • Prepares gift annuity agreements to incorporate legally required state and federal disclosure language, determines if the gift is restricted or unrestricted and incorporates language as appropriate in the gift agreement;
  • Transmits necessary information to outside counsel for preparation of charitable trust agreements;
  • Generates actuarial calculations for donors and the College Business and Gift Records offices; obtains signatures on documents from College officers; distributes agreements and supporting documentation to the appropriate College offices and third-party administrator.
  • Compiles data or statistics for life income and estate gifts as requested by the College’s Business and Finance offices;
  • Enters data in the College’s database for alumni who are members of the James A. Michener Legacy Circle;
  • Completes, distributes, and monitors accounting documents, such as invoices, internal requisitions, receipts to ensure appropriate billing and payment.

Who you are:

  • Basic knowledge or ability to learn tax terms and concepts to gain understanding of the various types of planned giving vehicles.
  • Strong organizational abilities, in particular abilities to manage multiple projects. Strong attention to detail and ability to handle multiple and varied tasks independently, while also working collaboratively.
  • Strong skill in connecting with people, especially older and high net worth individuals, using tact and diplomacy, and the ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality. Strong customer service skills.
  • Strong skill in articulating the value of higher education.
  • Ability to use a variety of computer applications, including demonstrated skills in the use of word processing and spreadsheets (e.g. Microsoft Word, Excel, Google Docs and Sheets)
  • Ability to work evenings, weekends, or as needed to complete projects or meet heavy demand.

What you bring:

  • Bachelor’s degree with three (3) years of experience or Associate degree with five (5) years of experience. An advanced degree is preferred.
  • A minimum of three (3) years working in institutional advancement or equivalent, related professional experience.
  • Valid US driver’s license and ability to travel locally and regionally to meet with donors periodically throughout the year as needed.

Preferred

  • Paralegal or Notary certification or both.
  • Experience with fundraising databases (e.g. Banner), reporting software (e.g. Argos), and gift planning software (e.g. PGCalc).
  • Experience working in a college or university setting, especially in a comprehensive fundraising campaign environment.
  • Exposure to planned giving vehicles.

 What You Will Get:

You’ll work at one of the world's most renowned liberal arts Colleges, with incredible benefits, a stunning 420-acre campus, and a hybrid work environment. You’ll join a passionate, creative, and supportive team who works hard while having fun. You will be supported, heard, and respected with the opportunity for professional development and engagement in campus life. You will be encouraged to bring new ideas to the table and will be considered a thought-partner in order to advance innovation and spread joy. If you are excited about this role, we want to hear from you!

For full consideration, submit applications with pay expectations including resume and cover letter by August 29, 2022.

Swarthmore College actively seeks and welcomes applications from candidates with exceptional qualifications, particularly those with demonstrable commitments to a more inclusive society and world. Swarthmore College is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Women and minorities are encouraged to apply.

Organization

Swarthmore College, a highly selective college of liberal arts and engineering, has supported thinkers and doers for more than 150 years. Since 1864, it has lifted students to their full intellectual and personal potential so they can apply their knowledge with meaning and purpose.Swarthmore college main

Located 11 miles southwest of Philadelphia in the borough of Swarthmore, Pennsylvania, Swarthmore has been co-educational since its founding by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers). Our Quaker founders believed in the practical application of knowledge for the common good. While Swarthmore is no longer a religious institution, these Quaker roots anchor and inform how Swatties learn and work. 

The College offers two degrees: the B.A. in the arts and sciences and the B.S. in engineering. With a student/faculty ratio of 8:1, Swarthmore ensures that its students have close and meaningful contact with their professors.

Swarthmore’s alumni body is small (about 20,000 living alumni) but distinguished. Five Swarthmore graduates have won the Nobel Prize; Swarthmore is also among the top five highest producers of doctorate recipients in the humanities, life sciences, and all sciences combined, with 20 percent of Swarthmore graduates going on to earn a doctorate degree. Some prominent Swarthmore alumni are acclaimed artist Njideka Akunyili Crosby ‘04, novelist Jonathan Franzen ’81, Ashesi University founder Patrick Awuah ’89, Chris Van Hollen ’83, U.S. Senator from Maryland, fashion designer Joseph Altuzarra ’05, and noted sociologist Sarah Lawrence-Lightfoot '66.Swarthmore college main

As of June 30, 2016, the College has an endowment of approximately $1.7 billion. Swarthmore's robust financial aid program ensures the College’s commitment to providing access to an exceptional liberal arts education for all qualified students without regard to their ability to pay and allows the College to meet each admitted student's demonstrated financial need. With one of the most generous financial aid programs in the country, Swarthmore awards aid -- without loans -- to more than half of its students.

True to its Quaker heritage, Swarthmore maintains a commitment to service and the common good. Students find support for service projects through the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility and in the nearby communities of Chester and Philadelphia and around the world. In addition, Swarthmore is one of 10 charter members of Project Pericles, which supports students who propose and implement projects to identify issues and advance solutions.

Swarthmore's residential campus features more than 425 wooded acres, including rolling lawns, a creek, wooded hills, and hiking trails which are maintained by staff horticulturists as the nationally registered Scott Arboretum.

Swarthmore College, a highly selective liberal arts college located in the suburbs of Philadelphia, has supported thinkers and doers for more than 150 years. Swarthmore has a strong institutional commitment to excellence through diversity in its educational program and employment practices and actively seeks and welcomes applications from candidates with exceptional qualifications, particularly those with demonstrable commitments to a more inclusive society and world.

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