Director of Development

Position: Director of Development

Status: Full-time / Regular / Exempt, Salaried

Reports to: President & CEO

 

 

POSITION DESCRIPTION

Pacific Chorale, the Grammy-nominated resident chorus of Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa, CA seeks a qualified nonprofit development professional to serve as its Director of Development. The Director of Development works directly with the President to identify, cultivate, and engage Pacific Chorale’s patrons to achieve our $1.5 million annual fundraising goals and to build and nurture a thriving community of passionate supporters. This person is charged with leading the annual fundraising plan, including guiding the annual fund campaign and facilitating major gift solicitation and stewardship. In addition, this person will plan and manage the Chorale’s annual major fundraising events and several other small donor cultivation and stewardship events throughout the year.

 

Qualified candidates will bring an entrepreneurial approach to enlist new strategies to acquire, renew, retain, and recognize our valued patrons. They will have a demonstrated record of retaining and stewarding current major donors and for cultivating new donors. They will possess a deep knowledge and understanding of leveraging CRM platforms as a development resource, preferably with experience working with the Tessitura system. This dynamic fundraising professional will be a seasoned, unflappable development leader who thrives working in a very hands-on, highly collaborative team environment and interfacing with highly passionate and dedicated patrons.

 

 

POSITION RESPONSIBILITIES

Annual Fund Campaign

• Identify, cultivate, and steward contributions from individuals to support the Pacific Chorale’s Annual Fund Campaign goals, with an emphasis on moves management.
• Develop and implement a comprehensive annual fundraising plan, set fundraising goals, and manage the Development Department budget.
• Develop and manage all annual direct mail and online giving campaigns and appeals, including hiring and managing of designers, as needed.
• Collaborate with the President, Director of Marketing, and Director of Patron Services to coordinate campaign and communication schedules, manage production timelines, and manage patron touch points.
• Collaborate with the Director of Marketing and the Director of Patron Services to actively engage Pacific Chorale’s patrons through email, newsletters, our website, and social media, and personal contact.
• Each month, complete 4-7 personal visits of Annual Fund donors and prospects to promote Pacific Chorale's giving opportunities and document interactions in the Tessitura database.

 

Donor Stewardship

• Develop strategies to increase the number of overall donors and annual giving levels for the organization and to move current donors into higher levels of giving.
• Develop donor stewardship and benefit strategies and manage donor benefits fulfillment, in collaboration with the Director of Patron Services.
• Coordinate with the Director of Patron Services and Administrative Assistant to manage timely donor gift acknowledgements and track donor recognition.
• Serve as the first point of contact to most of our donors and deliver concierge-level customer service to our patrons and donors.
• Serve as a resource for the Board of Directors; attend Board meetings and serve as the staff support for the Board Development Committee, as requested.
• Attend concerts, events, and select rehearsals to develop relationships with our Board, patrons, and singers.

 

Donor Research & Prospecting

• Collaborate with the President to identify donor prospects who have the potential to develop into major donors or interest in making planned gifts; conduct ongoing wealth screenings utilizing the iWave platform.
• Generate donor lists and segmentation in the Tessitura database to better track and target potential donors.
• Collaborate on prospect identification, grant preparation, research, and reporting for institutional grant applications and reporting.
• Generate frequent campaign and annual giving reports for fiscal year planning, tracking, grant reporting, and Board reports.
• Maintain electronic donor files and records including current contact info, gift records, transaction history, donor acknowledgements and correspondences in Tessitura (Customer Relationship Management platform) to maintain accurate donor profiles and giving history.

 

Special Events Management

• Lead planning and management of annual major fundraising events including the Annual Opening Night Reception, Annual Gala, and other small salon/donor events.
• Develop and monitor event production budgets, cultivate and steward annual Gala committee, and engage and manage event designers, vendors, and volunteers.
• Manage event attendee tracking, registration, and correspondences.
• Coordinate the acquisition and collection of auction items.

 

Other reasonable duties as assigned.

 

 

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• 3-5 years of progressive leadership experience in nonprofit development, preferably in the performing arts
• Demonstrated experience with Tessitura or similar CRM platform (such as Raiser’s Edge or Patron Manager) required
• Excellent interpersonal verbal and written communication skills
• Demonstrated prior experience providing concierge-level customer service
• Attentive problem solver with excellent self-management skills to work effectively on multiple projects and the ability to shift priorities and react thoughtfully, quickly, and calmly to resolve issues in a fast-paced office environment
• Proficient in PC-based Microsoft Office applications: Excel, Word, PowerPoint, and email
• Must be a self-directed individual who also values contributing within a small, but highly collaborative, motivated, and dedicated team
• Must possess a high degree of tact, professionalism, and discretion interfacing with a wide range of professional and volunteer musicians, Board members and patrons
• Knowledge of classical music and music education strongly encouraged
• Must have reliable, independent transportation as this person may be required to visit locations away from the primary office to meet with donors and to support concerts and special events

 

 

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Pacific Chorale’s typical administrative work week is Monday – Friday, 9am – 5pm. Occasional weekends and evenings will be required to support concerts, special events, and for individual donor cultivation and stewardship
• Pacific Chorale is currently working under hybrid office/work-from-home conditions; flexible work setup and schedule may be available
• All employees are currently required to be fully vaccinated against the COVID-19 virus

ABOUT PACIFIC CHORALE

The mission of Pacific Chorale is to inspire our community through artistry and innovation in choral music performances and education programs.

 

Located in Costa Mesa, California, the Grammy-nominated Pacific Chorale has delighted national and international audiences with concerts of great choral music performed at the highest musical standards since 1968. Under the artistic leadership of Robert Istad, the organization produces a series of concerts each year at Segerstrom Center for the Arts, where it serves as the resident choir. Pacific Chorale is recognized for exceptional artistic expression, preserving, and performing classical choral music as well as presenting stimulating American- focused programming. In addition to its own substantial performance season and long-standing partnership with Pacific Symphony, the Chorale is sought regularly to perform with the nation’s leading symphonies, having performed with such renowned American ensembles as the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Boston Symphony, the National Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra, and Musica Angelica. In July 2023, Pacific Chorale will tour Germany, Austria and England.

 

For more information about Pacific Chorale, please visit www.pacificchorale.org.

 

Pacific Chorale is an Equal Employment Opportunity Employer and actively and enthusiastically seeks a diverse pool of candidates.