Director of Development, Performance

Description

SUMMARY

The Director of Development, Performance, is a key member of CalArts’ Advancement team. The Director helps shape fundraising initiatives, based on their relationships with student experience leadership and their knowledge and understanding of the prospects and donors that support CalArts’ students and their co-curricular experiences. The director of development focuses on CalArts’ leadership and major gift-giving opportunities during a pivotal time of growth for the Institute. The advancement division has a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to build its infrastructure and grow the staff because of restricted private philanthropy. Guided by the vision of a dynamic President and Chief Advancement Officer, as well as a highly motivated staff of fundraising professionals, the growing advancement efforts at CalArts support a strategic framework rooted in increased access and equity for all students. In addition to increasing the endowment, giving opportunities will fund campus-wide infrastructure and facility upgrades to ensure sustainable growth and exemplary student experiences.

The director is responsible for planning and executing strategic fundraising strategies that successfully result in leadership and major gifts from a broad base of individual supporters, including CalArts alumni, current and former parents, and friends of the Institute. In addition, the director will lead foundation and corporate conversations with specific areas of responsibility for grantwriting as needed.

The Director is also responsible for meeting fundraising targets and contributing to the overall growth of annual operating support for the Institute, including scholarship support, operating support, special projects funding, and capital needs.

The director must be dedicated to nurturing and growing the donor pipeline at all stages of cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship autonomously and with colleagues, and to upholding the Advancement team’s shared values of collaboration, trust, and transparency. As such, the director will collaborate with stakeholders across the Institute—including CalArts Deans, faculty, and administrative leadership. This position is partnered with areas of CalArts that highlight performance in their pedagogy and practice. These include: the School of Music, the School of Dance, the School of Theater and the introducing and performing arms of CalArts - CNP and REDCAT. The director will meet regularly with deans and program directors within these areas, under the direction of the AVP of Development and VP/CAO. The director will have previous experience funding performing arts, either in a traditional or contemporary space. They will be able to translate outcomes in their metiers to align with CalArts’ higher education initiatives. They will have knowledge of the best practices in dance, musical, and theater performance and will be interested in growing their experience as it relates to the arts by interacting with and learning from donors interested in supporting the creative development of artists and storytellers.

Qualifications

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS:

Frontline Fundraising

• Qualify, cultivate, solicit, secure, and steward philanthropic gifts from a portfolio of approximately 150 prospects and donors capable of making contributions of $25,000 and more for current use and endowment opportunities
• Build relationships that encourage and promote a culture of philanthropy with stakeholders including alumnx, families, faculty, staff, friends, foundations, and corporations
• Conduct a high volume of outreach through personalized electronic, phone, and in-person visits to qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward the assigned portfolio
• Develop deep insights into portfolio relationships in order to align prospects’ and donors’ philanthropic interests with the funding priorities at the Institute. Adeptly manage or recommend strategic next steps that result in successful donor outcomes
• With knowledge of the fundamentals of planned giving, integrate sophisticated giving options in donor conversations when appropriate
• Perform strategic lead responsibilities for cultivation events specifically related to the director’s focus areas. This includes but is not limited to all aspects of event planning – event proposal and brief, budget, logistics, invitee and attendee segmentation, research and management, and post-event stewardship
• Produce articulate fundraising proposals and supporting documents, including personalized Gift Packages and Gift Agreement contracts as needed to solicit and close gifts
• Produce personalized communications that align with donors’ affinities and ensure donor-centric care of all relationships.
• Maintain meticulous account records and donor cycle-related data within the CRM datab