Jobs

Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY
Director of Development

For nearly half a century, the Museum of Arts and Design (MAD) - formerly the American Craft Museum - has served as the country's premier institution dedicated to the collection and exhibition of contemporary objects created in media such as clay, glass, wood, metal and fiber. Today, the Museum celebrates materials and processes that are embraced by practitioners in the fields of craft, art and design, as well as architecture, fashion, interior design, technology, performing arts, and art and design-driven industries. The institution's new name, adopted in 2002, reflects this wider spectrum of interest, as well as the increasingly interdisciplinary nature of the Museum's permanent collection and exhibition programming.

The Director of Development will provide the leadership, management and coordination for the Museum's broad-based fundraising efforts, including unrestricted funds, restricted program funds, capital funding, and especially to build the institution's endowment. He/She will lead a development effort that broadens the organization's ongoing base of private support, expanding contributions from individuals, foundations and corporations. This individual will play a key role in increasing major donor support by identifying, cultivating and soliciting existing and new major donors. This individual will also be responsible for membership, corporate membership, event fundraising, and revenue-generating rentals and initiatives. He/She will also take the lead in developing a strategic plan for closing the $15 million outstanding balance of the capital campaign and achieving a $20 million endowment fund. The Director of Development oversees other departmental functions that support the institution's fundraising efforts, including donor research, donor database and cultivation activities, such as special donor cultivation trips and travel program.

Reporting directly to the Director of the Museum, the Director of Development will work in close partnership with the Director, as well as with the Board of Trustees, to develop strategies and create new fundraising initiatives. The Director of Development also ensures the ongoing engagement of key constituencies in the successful solicitation of multi-faceted revenue streams, including cultivation of Trustees, major donors and upper-level members, and members of board standing and ad hoc committees.

The Director of Development will thoroughly understand MAD's structure and organization, finances and stakeholders; be sensitive to its donors, partners, staff and Board; develop short-term and longer-term strategies to implement a comprehensive fundraising plan for individual, corporate and foundation gifts; oversee development activities, including annual appeal, planned giving, special events, and donor cultivation and research; manage the Development Department and ensure that all staff efforts are focused on meeting fundraising goals and working interactively for the common good; supervise and motivate the staff; and manage departmental budgets; proactively cultivate support from individuals, corporations and foundations; identify and engage new donors to support the Museum and its programs and exhibitions; work both independently and with the Director and trustees to solicit and close gifts to raise annual and capital funds; build and maintain effective working relationships with the Board of Trustees; enlist and motivate Board members to actively and aggressively participate in fundraising activities and advocate for MAD and its programs; know and understand the Board's giving patterns and encourage their participation as major donors and solicitors; implement strategies to assist them in identifying prospective donors and maximizing their outreach and fundraising potential; work with all segments of the Museum to understand their fundraising needs and help them to strategize and execute fundraising efforts to meet goals; create persuasive fundraising materials: write engaging and inspiring letters and proposals and prepare dynamic presentations customized for target audiences; work with the appropriate staff to create strategies to expand membership, increase planned giving, and build on the Museum's successful special events program; develop and grow MAD's donor base; manage and oversee the cultivation of all donors; ensure diversity and sustainability of the donor base; oversee the entire donor process from donor identification through collections to stewardship; oversee stewardship for all gifts, including gift acknowledgements, pledge reminders, and stewardship reports to foundations, corporations and individual donors; maintain fundraising schedules, objectives, databases and tracking systems; ensure that plans are implemented, goals achieved, timely reports generated and information shared; ensure that fundraising is done in the most efficient and cost-effective way; collaborate with the Public Relations and Marketing staff and encourage synergy between development and related communications functions, including appropriate crediting of donors, the creation of relevant publications and printed materials for members and prospects, and promotion of conferences and fundraising events; work with the Finance Department to reconcile records and forecast expenses; manage and serve as principal staff liaison with the Board Development Committee and the Nominating and Governance Committee; recruit, train and interact with volunteers, including trustees and other fundraising volunteers; develop and maintain relationships; nurture partnerships with current and prospective funders through donor recognition programs and stewardship; cultivate long-term relationships to ensure continued funding and funder involvement; manage all fundraising events; work with Director of Special Events to oversee all development aspects of fundraising and cultivation events, including Visionaries!, SOFA New York, the PaperBall, Loot!, cultivation events, corporate fundraisers and membership events.

The ideal candidate will be entrepreneurial, ambitious and creative and should have proven experience developing and implementing a significant and successful fundraising effort in an institution or organization that has a reputation for quality and excellence; a record of measurable results in organizing and implementing such activities as annual funds, planned giving, major donor programs, corporate sponsorship, foundation giving, donor segmentation and research, membership and special events; demonstrated ability to work effectively with and quickly gain the respect and support of various constituencies, including Board, staff members, potential donors, and foundation, corporate and civic leaders; a successful track record of personally identifying, cultivating and soliciting major individual donors for annual, capital and planned gifts; a knowledge and understanding of the New York funding community and the ability to communicate MAD's mission and interests to a broad audience; demonstrated experience in managing people and budgets; computer literacy; a level of comfort with museums and the art and design worlds; a track record as an effective communicator; skilled in writing and speaking; adept at crafting proposals, donor correspondence and other kinds of materials.

For addition information about the Museum, please visit www.madmuseum.org.

Applications and nominations should be sent to the attention of Becky Klein and Mark Tarnacki at MAD@PhillipsOppenheim.com