United States

Position:  Vice President of Advancement

Classification: Full-Time Exempt

Description:   

In the past three years South Arts has tripled its budget ($3M - $9M).  We want to continue this momentum and anticipate significantly increasing the program budget 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 President & CEO, 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 and we want to increase our foundation footprint, but South Arts also 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 three 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

Work directly with the Vice President of Programs to identify revenue streams for programs

Work closely with the Communications Director to advance South Arts

Design and implement an annual individual giving campaign

Support and partner with the President & CEO 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

Hire, train, and mentor any additional staff, interns or contractors in 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

Physical Requirements:

Sedentary work - Exerting up to 10 pounds of force occasionally and/or a negligible amount of force frequently or constantly to lift, carry, push, pull or otherwise move objects, including the human body. Sedentary work involves sitting most of the time.

The worker is required to have close visual acuity to perform an activity such as: preparing and analyzing data and figures; transcribing; viewing a computer terminal; extensive reading; visual inspection involving small defects, small parts, and/or operation of machines (including inspection); using measurement devices; and/or assembly or fabrication of parts at distances close to the eyes.

Use of fingers - Picking, pinching, typing or otherwise working, primarily with fingers rather than with whole hand or arm as in handling.

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.

Application Deadline: Open Until Filled

Email resume and cover letter to:
Attn: Human Resources
E-mail to: hr@southarts.org

South Arts’ mission is Advancing Southern vitality through the arts. South Arts is a non-profit regional arts organization founded in 1975 to build on the South’s unique heritage and enhance the public value of the arts. South Arts’ work responds to the arts environment and cultural trends with regional perspective. South Arts offers an annual portfolio of activities designed to address the role of the arts in impacting the issues important to our region, and to link the South with the nation and the world through the arts.

The organization works in partnership with the state arts agencies of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. It is funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, member states, foundations, businesses and individuals.

For more information about South Arts, please refer to our website at www.southarts.org

Equity Statement:

South Arts is an inclusive employer and adheres to Equal Employment Opportunity Commission standards. South Arts does not and shall not discriminate on the basis of race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, age, disability, genetic information, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, pregnancy, marital status, military status, economic status, or geographic location in any of its activities or operations.