Description

UW Medicine Advancement has an outstanding opportunity for a Director for Philanthropy to join their team.

At UW Medicine, we work to improve health for all people through excellence in clinical, research, and education and training programs. As the only comprehensive clinical, research and learning health system in the five-state WWAMI (Washington, Wyoming, Alaska, Montana, Idaho) region, UW Medicine provides the most up-to-date care for each individual patient, leads one of the world’s largest and most comprehensive medical research programs, and provides innovative learning programs for students, trainees, and practitioners in the health professions.

The passionate, 86-person team at UW Medicine Advancement works collaboratively to connect donors with meaningful opportunities to enhance patient care, expand educational opportunities and advance research at UW Medicine. This inspiring, challenging and rewarding work provides team members an opportunity to grow their careers, while making a difference in people’s lives, in our community and around the world. In the 2025 fiscal year, UW Medicine Advancement raised nearly $382 million in gifts and private grants (44 percent of the University of Washington’s total) from 30,000 donors to support the mission of UW Medicine.  You can find out more about UW Medicine Advancement’s priorities and office culture on our career website: https://give.uwmedicine.org/careers/


The Director for Philanthropy (Director) focuses on securing major gifts ($100,000+) for UW Medicine and cultivating donors who have the capacity to give at that level. The Director will work with the Senior Director for Philanthropy, the Assistant Vice President for Development and Major Gifts, the Chief Advancement Officer, academic leaders, volunteers, and other Advancement staff to identify, cultivate, and solicit major gift prospective donors for gifts in support of UW Medicine. The Director reports to the Senior Director for Philanthropy.

The Director will be the lead staff member generating philanthropic support for UW Medicine with a focus on the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine as well as the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM). In this capacity, the Director will have leadership responsibility for developing and implementing a comprehensive strategy to increase gift and grant support for UW Medicine. In this role, the Director will work with department and institute leaders, administrators, and other academic leaders to develop fundraising strategies that support key programs in Rehabilitation Medicine, ISCRM, and other beats as assigned.

DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Direct Fundraising Responsibilities - 85%:

• Develop a strategic major gifts plan for initiatives and priorities within the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine within the context of the overall UW Medicine Advancement plan.
• Develop a strategic major gifts plan for initiatives and priorities within the Institute for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM) within the context of the overall UW Medicine Advancement plan.
• Work with departmental leaders and advancement colleagues to develop fundraising priorities and to implement programs, if necessary, to sustain major gift ($100k+) support.
• Manage a portfolio of 100 to 150 major gift prospective donors (100k+) with a focus on those individuals with potential of $100,000 or more. Develop and present 10 to 15 major gift proposals each year with a target of securing an average of $2.5million+ in new commitments.
• Maintain an active pool of prospective major gift donors who will be solicited in the next 12-18 month period.
• Identify new major gift prospective donors, with emphasis on securing faculty referrals of grateful patients. Develop and implement a cultivation and solicitation strategy for each assigned major gift prospective donor.
• Record donor activity. Prepare written proposals, informational materials, endowment agreements, and other materials needed to secure major gifts. Develop appropriate stewardship plans.
• As appropriate, identify, recruit, train, and develop leadership roles for volunteers to assist with major gift fundraising activities. Staff volunteer fundraising partnerships and committees as assigned.
• As needed, coordinate major gift fundraising activities with UW Medicine colleagues, and UW colleagues in Gift Planning, Corporate and Foundation Relations, Principal Gifts, Regional Gifts, etc.
  

Activities in Support of Direct Fundraising - 15%:

• Encourage department chairs and faculty to actively and productively participate in the fundraising process.
• Work with UW and UW Medicine colleagues to develop special events, marketing materials, and donor relations activities to support major gift fundraising.
• Seek appropriate training opportunities, including training necessary for proficiency in the use of gift planning techniques.
• Prepare annual operating plan and progress reports as requested.
• Complete annual performance self-assessment as key component of Annual Review.
• Complete other duties as assigned.

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS

• Bachelor’s degree in a related field and six or more years of progressively responsible experience in institutional advancement, with an emphasis on cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major gifts ($100k+).

Equivalent education/experience will substitute for all minimum qualifications except when there are legal requirements, such as a license/certification/registration.

ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS

• Aligns with UW Medicine's Executive Order 31 Nondiscrimination and Affirmative Action by valuing diversity and inclusion. Is committed to building and sustaining a community in which all employees achieve the knowledge, skills and attitudes that value and embrace inclusiveness, equity and awareness to unleash creativity and innovation.
• UW Medicine employees are expected conduct themselves in a professional manner in accordance with UW Medicine Policy on Professional Conduct. An assessment of professionalism is a factor considered in performance reviews, salary adjustments and promotion.
• Proven skill in developing a strategic vision and overall direction for complex advancement programs; ability to create, implement, and manage programs; experience in recruiting and managing volunteers in the advancement process.
• Demonstrated ability to establish, cultivate and steward strong relationships with donors and friends to build lifelong partnerships and trust while aligning the donor’s passions and goals with the institution.
• Strong interpersonal skills and customer service. Ability to communicate in an open, direct and professional manner that engages dialog in a manner that resolves differences.
• Ability to make decisions in ambiguous situations, exercise good judgment based on information and analysis in a fast pace, dynamic, deadline drive environment. 
• Proficiency with Microsoft Office Suite (Word, Excel, Power Point, and Teams). Willingness and ability to learn how to use the UW donor CRM database system and other proprietary software products.
• An equivalent combination of education and experience may substitute for stated requirements.
• Experience in higher education or medicine preferred.

DESIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• At least 6 years of major and planned gift fundraising.
• Experience with grateful patient fundraising.
• Advancement experience in a health care, higher education or research settings.
  
  

To review the full job description and apply for this opportunity, please visit this direct link

Benefits:

•  403(b)
• 403(b) matching
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible schedule
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Retirement plan
• Tuition reimbursement
• Vision insurance