Director of Membership and Annual Giving

REPORTS TO: Associate Vice President of Philanthropy, Annual Giving

POSITION SUMMARY: Develop and drive the strategy and implementation of a broad-based annual giving program to grow sustaining philanthropic support for the SLSO. Provide leadership for Friends of Music and Patron’s Circle programs, playing a leadership role in increasing revenue and participation among member/donors contributing at annual gift levels from $75 to $1,999. With staff colleagues and vendor partners plan, execute, and achieve ambitious revenue goals.

FUNCTIONS OF THE JOB:
• Serve as a member of the SLSO’s philanthropy team responsible for management and execution of Friends of Music ($75-749) and Patron’s Circle ($750-1,999) by securing broad-based community support with annual revenue responsibility exceeding $800,000.
• Work as a key leader of the Philanthropy team to execute a multi-channel annual fund plan to secure recurring member contributions including direct mail, phone solicitations, digital and social media, e-solicitations, and on-site sales.
• Provide guidance and support for all member/donor communications, events and stewardship plans.
• Working creatively with data operations colleagues, develop and implement a broad-based solicitation plan to target existing donors and actionable new prospects to meet and exceed revenue goals and increase the number of active member/donor households.
• Guide Friends donors through a structured process of cultivation, solicitation and stewardship.
• Work closely with direct mail and tele funding partners and vendors to support Friends of Music and Patron’s Circle giving and to assess and understand results and response rates.
• Manage revenue and expense budget and track metrics and ROI.
• Coordinate Friends of Music stewardship efforts including volunteer thank you calling program and note writing efforts.
• Coordinate and develop a comprehensive membership fulfillment program, including the creation, distribution, and tracking of member benefits, communications, and recognition materials to ensure timely and engaging experiences for all members.
• Provide event and concert duty as assigned.
• Assist other areas of the philanthropy team as needed.

POSITION QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS:
Knowledge: Thorough knowledge of best practices in annual fundraising campaigns with deep experience in managing direct mail (online and regular mail), tele funding and social media at a scope and scale comparable to the SLSO. Working knowledge of not-for-profit, volunteer-based development programs, database management, data mining and analytics and event planning. Familiarity with development and office-based software, social media and marketing resources.

Experience:
• Minimum of 5 years of broad-based fundraising experience, preferably in a membership organization, with a focus on annual fund campaigns encompassing all methods of direct marketing.
• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, fundraising or related field, or equivalent experience.
• Experience with the implementation of an annual giving plan, an ability to work proactively with staff colleagues and supervisory experience are all important.
• Face-to-face solicitation experience is a plus.
• Proficient with Microsoft Office products and experience with fundraising databases preferred.

Skills and Abilities:
• Demonstrate excellent written, interpersonal and public speaking skills to communicate with internal and external contacts.
• Display the ability to work with, influence, solicit, and close gifts from members and donors.
• Show flexibility and initiative, as well as the ability to achieve independent goals, combined with the skills for thriving in a team environment.
• Ability to analyze and segment data to effectively implement various annual giving appeals.
• Ability to motivate and manage volunteers to support the SLSO’s mission and achieve organizational goals.
• Strong ability to successfully manage multiple projects with close attention to detail and prioritization to meet deadlines.
• High professional and ethical standards for handling confidential information.
• Available to work events that are held during the evenings or weekends as needed.