Director of alumni relations vs development director

The differences between directors of alumni relations and development directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a director of alumni relations and a development director. Additionally, a development director has an average salary of $107,044, which is higher than the $106,332 average annual salary of a director of alumni relations.

The top three skills for a director of alumni relations include alumni relations, alumni engagement and alumni association. The most important skills for a development director are digital marketing, oversight, and patients.

Director of alumni relations vs development director overview

	Director Of Alumni Relations	Development Director
Yearly salary	$106,332	$107,044
Hourly rate	$51.12	$51.46
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	23,650	63,008
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	4

What does a director of alumni relations do?

The director of alumni relations is liable for relationship management between a university and its alumni. They serve as a connection between the graduates and the university community. One of the major duties of directors of alumni relations is to create engaging activities and events for alumni to participate in, such as homecoming weekends, class reunions, and dinner parties. This job requires excellent communication skills to coordinate their engagement activities with the other departments of the university, from the office of president to campus security.

What does a development director do?

A development director is an individual who is responsible for securing funds and sponsors for non-profit organizations. Development directors must actively seek new business partners and develop relationships with volunteers and donors. They meet with members of the development team to help advertise and promote brand awareness and funding. Development directors must possess skills and experience in managing human resources, marketing, and budgeting functions. They must also obtain a bachelor's degree in business management, public relations, or related field.

Director of alumni relations vs development director salary

Directors of alumni relations and development directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Director Of Alumni Relations	Development Director
Average salary	$106,332	$107,044
Salary range	Between $68,000 And $165,000	Between $64,000 And $177,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Jersey City, NJ
Highest paying state	California	New Jersey
Best paying company	Marshall University	Cornerstone Research
Best paying industry	Education	-

Differences between director of alumni relations and development director education

There are a few differences between a director of alumni relations and a development director in terms of educational background:

	Director Of Alumni Relations	Development Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Stanford University	Stanford University

Director of alumni relations vs development director demographics

Here are the differences between directors of alumni relations' and development directors' demographics:

	Director Of Alumni Relations	Development Director
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 35.6% Female, 64.4%	Male, 50.2% Female, 49.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 5.9% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 74.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%	Black or African American, 6.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 74.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between director of alumni relations and development director duties and responsibilities

Director of alumni relations example responsibilities.

Work cross functionally to write and manage multi-million dollar budgets, alliances and ROI analytics.
Supervise the creation of mailing of annual fund announcements, appeals and thank you's to achieve annual fund goals.
Program development includes managing and building strong relationships with corporate and affinity partners to secure sponsorship and career enhancement for alumni
Design performance review process and share oversight with route sales leadership.
Design, management, and oversight of administrative budget ($ 2,000,000) & employee benefits, including 401k.
Assist in identifying appropriate market segments to develop effective annual fund solicitations and/or appeals for print, electronic and social media.

Development director example responsibilities.

Manage CRM program for coordination and partnerships with marketing resources.
Manage website re-launch, create communications plan, co-le rebranding taskforce.
Manage clients and internal production team to meet budget and scope of contract eLearning solutions.
Help manage the CRM system with input and output for the resource development department and the entire organization.
Manage analytical method validation and method transfer to QC and CMOs for APIs, excipients, and finish products.
Hire, manage and train a team of six sourcing professionals as well as a team of 3 QA managers.

Director of alumni relations vs development director skills

Common director of alumni relations skills

Alumni Relations, 18%
Alumni Engagement, 9%
Alumni Association, 8%
Alumni Events, 6%
Event Planning, 4%
Alumni Programs, 4%

Common development director skills

Digital Marketing, 8%
Oversight, 6%
Patients, 6%
Lead Generation, 5%
ROI, 4%
Project Management, 4%

Director Of Alumni Relations vs. similar jobs

Director Of Alumni Relations related careers

Director Of Alumni Relations related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Director Of Alumni Relations
Director Of Alumni Relations vs Development Director

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs