Business & Development Director

The Business and Development Director will play a key role in managing the Alumnae Association of Mills College (AAMC) non-profit business operations, performing fundraising duties, marketing and public relations, and will have pivotal role in setting the direction and growing the impact of a non-profit dedicated to women’s education and leadership.

The Director will work with AAMC officers, staff and committees, and with the organization’s fundraising database. They will be responsible for sourcing funding and helping to plan and implement fundraising campaigns and events while overseeing marketing campaigns. The ideal candidate for this position will have experience in sales, marketing, and business development. They will also manage office duties and 1-2 staff to support a lean but impactful nonprofit.

Qualifications

• Proven experience in fundraising, project management, and donor relations.
• Strong leadership skills and ability to collaborate with the board and committees.
• Strong familiarity with CRM systems such as Giveffect.
• Excellent communication and organizational abilities.

Responsibilities

Strategic Leadership

• Help in setting a realistic yet aspirational mission and direction for the nonprofit during its transition.
• Actively engage and collaborate with committees, finance consultants, and the Board.

Fundraising and Donor Relations

• Drive fundraising goals.
• Create campaigns to recruit new donors and re-engage existing ones.
• Lead fundraising campaigns and oversee gift processing and data management in our CRM.
• Secure grants where possible, including large-scale funding opportunities.
• Coordinate fundraising and event volunteers.

Event Planning and Digital Engagement

• Plan and execute successful events and galas.
• Assist with social media and email campaign content to increase engagement.

Database Management and Reporting

• Lead the growth and organization of the database.
• Coordinate the publishing of impact reports to keep officers, staff and membership informed.

Project Management and Governance

• Lead and manage various Board projects.
• Serve as the Board liaison.
• Demonstrate awareness of legal considerations in potential negotiations.

Technology Integration

• Manage and recommend supporting technology platforms for project management, marketing and fundraising as needed (e.g., Giveffect integrations, board management, Brevo, Canva, WordPress, etc).

Miscellaneous

• Help manage non-profit business operations, performing administrative duties related to fundraising, marketing and public relations.
• Assist in managing social media accounts and creating promotional content for AAMC events and merchandise, in conjunction with the Communications committee.
• Manage and direct office staff.
• Represent the AAMC to the Mills alumnae and the campus community, including representatives from Northeastern University,
• Welcome alumnae and guests to Reinhardt Alumnae House and AAMC events with a positive and professional attitude,
• Provide support to the AAMC President and other leaders.

Work Location

Ability to work in the AAMC office on the Mills College campus in Oakland, California, as well as hybrid.

About the Alumnae Association of Mills College (AAMC):

Founded in 1879, the AAMC is an independent membership-based nonprofit composed of the alumnae of Mills College, the historic women’s liberal arts college, which was founded in 1852 and based on a beautiful campus in Oakland, CA.

For 170 years, Mills alumnae have achieved outsized accomplishments across all disciplines, from politics to the arts. The majority of Mills alumnae/I consider Mills College to have been a transformative experience in their lives. College trustees chose to merge with Northeastern University in 2021. While the AAMC historically supported the College with fundraising, recruitment and alumnae events, the merger has required new strategy, which we are in the process of and have several exciting possibilities on the horizon.

The AAMC is unlike any other alumni/ae organization in the country in that it is a fully independent 501c3. With an endowment of $3M and a membership base of approximately 26,000 alumnae, the board of the AAMC seeks to re-envision the mission of the organization so that, regardless, we will continue to honor the legacy of Mills College and bring its ethos of aspirational women’s leadership and education, focus on the arts, and care for the individual to create an even more substantial impact – while increasing the value and numbers of our alumnae network.

The AAMC recently completed a successful fundraising campaign to digitize the world-famous collection of the Mills College Center for Contemporary Music.