Director of Advancement

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Contract type:

Salary: 
Negotiable based on professional experience
Application Deadline: 
Open until filled

Description:   

In the past two years South Arts has more than doubled its budget ($2.3M - $5.5M).  We want to continue this momentum and anticipate at least doubling the program budget again within the next 3 – 5 years.  South Arts is seeking a dynamic individual with a proven track record that can accomplish that goal.  This position reports to the Executive Director, is part of the executive management team, and will be expected to be a major contributor of vision and leadership, helping to accomplish the strategic plan and fulfill South Arts’ mission of advancing Southern vitality through the arts.

Our major sources of funding have been government and foundations, to include: The National Endowment for the Arts, The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies.  These will continue to be important sources, but South Arts wants to diversify its funding streams by moving into corporate and individual contributions.  South Arts is not a membership organization and is not planning to become one.  We serve nine southern states and anticipate that advancement will be an effort in each state. 

South Arts is one of six regional arts organizations in the United States and has been primarily serving the performing arts field. A recent example of the organization’s programming initiatives is a multimillion-dollar national grant program related to Jazz artists touring across the United States.  In the past two years South Arts has expanded to serve a broader range of art forms and constituents. Diversity, equity and inclusion are key values of this organization.  It is an exciting growth period for South Arts, and we are looking for someone who wants to be a valuable part of that growth.

Responsibilities: 

Advancement:

  • Design development strategies and oversee ongoing development efforts for the organization working with the executive management team, board and staff to identify funding opportunities, targets and approaches that integrate with South Arts’ program plan and overall strategic plan
  • Working directly with the Deputy Director for Programs to identify revenue streams for programs
  • Design and implement an annual individual giving campaign
  • Support and partner with the Executive Director and Board of Directors on all major fundraising initiatives and staff the Advancement Committee
  • Develop all fundraising proposals, including corporate sponsorship and local and national grants
  • Oversee grant compliance and reporting
  • Help the organization define performance measures for fund development and systematically monitor results
  • Devise and implement special fundraising projects as needed (e.g. programmatic campaigns, etc.)
  • Oversee all donor information using the Salesforce database system, provide statistical analysis to the board and the executive team as needed, and support staff responsible for daily Salesforce functions and donation tracking and processing
  • Assist with the hiring, training, and mentoring of any additional staff, interns or contractors assigned to the advancement office
  • Identify and steward prospective donors
  • Stay on top of fundraising trends and the nonprofit community
  • Respond to donor and prospect inquiries in a timely fashion
  • Use prospect research tools and your donor database to build donor relationships

External Relations

  • Represent South Arts at professional meetings, conferences and programs as requested by executive management
  • Draft speeches and talking points for meetings at which you will be representing the organization 
  • Draft correspondence to third party organizations, foundations and individuals as needed for strategic alliance follow-up
  • Maintain account information and contacts in Salesforce for third party strategic alliance organizations

General

  • Participate fully as part of the executive team in advancing the organization to fulfill the mission and strategic plan of South Arts
  • Assist other staff with the creation of solicitation materials
  • Run database reports as needed for prospect tracking and activities
  • Manage the coordination of mailings as needed
  • Conduct and analyze research

Qualifications:

Education:

  • Bachelor’s degree in a relevant field is required
  • A Master’s or advanced degree is considered a plus

Experience:

  • A minimum of five years’ experience in successful revenue generation, preferably in the nonprofit field; experience in a related field or job functionality required
  • Proven success leading and managing fundraising at the organizational level
  • Supervisory experience is a plus

Skills:

  • Excellent communication skills, both written and oral; ability to influence and engage a wide range of donors and build long-term relationships
  • Flexible and adaptable style; a leader who can positively impact both strategic and tactical fundraising initiatives
  • Ability to work both independently without close oversight, and a team player who will productively engage with others at varying levels of seniority within and outside the organization
  • Strong organizational and time management skills with exceptional attention to detail

Knowledge:

  • Best practices in grants management
  • Time management and multi-tasking skills
  • Creative, self-starter attitude
  • Donor and volunteer service mentality
  • Basic knowledge of MS Office, with advanced knowledge of:
  • Outlook – scheduling meetings, managing calendars, use of rooms and other advanced functions; also managing, importing and exporting contacts; task management
  • Word – document formatting, review options/tracking, mail merge, layout options
  • Excel – spreadsheet creation; column and row formatting; data sorting; page formatting, including borders, gridlines, and use of headers and footers
  • Basic knowledge of customer relationship management systems, Salesforce experience beneficial
  • Basic knowledge of remote team meeting software, presentation tools and graphics tools

Other Requirements:

  • Regular travel will be required
  • The position will be based at the South Arts office in Atlanta

Salary and Benefits:

  • Salary Range – Negotiable Based on Professional Experience
  • Benefits –South Arts offers an excellent benefits package that includes health, dental, and life insurance; long-term and short-term disability; vacation; paid holidays; and a 403(b) plan with company match.