Director, Donor Relations

The New York Historical; New York (NY); On-site; USD 125,000 - 135,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Paid time off

Medical insurance

Dental insurance

Life insurance

Retirement plan

Flexible spending accounts

Employee Assistance Program

Store discount

Job summary

The New York Historical in New York, NY seeks a Director of Donor Relations to lead donor stewardship, membership growth, and communications, reporting to the Vice President for Development.

You will supervise two staff, build strategies to engage individuals, foundations, and corporations, and use data to drive philanthropy and revenue.

The role requires strong writing, strategic thinking, and deep knowledge of Tessitura; evening and weekend events are expected.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent.
• 6-8 years' experience in development, donor relations, or related fields.
• Superb writing and communication skills.
• Creative thinker with a strong strategic mindset.
• Fluency with development CRM systems, Tessitura preferred.
• Highly organized with meticulous attention to detail and deadlines.
• Self-starter in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment.
• Collaborative, team player with strong interpersonal skills.
• Knowledge of NYC philanthropic and cultural communities.

Responsibilities

• Lead donor stewardship, membership, and annual giving strategies to grow and upgrade the donor base.
• Develop messaging and content for donor engagement across materials like reports, proposals, and website.
• Leverage data and analytics to inform strategy and grow donor relations and communications.
• Establish systems for tracking and reporting significant gifts leveraging Tessitura.
• Oversee acknowledgement strategies and bespoke correspondence for leaders.
• Manage donor recognition and naming strategies for exhibitions and spaces.
• Lead administration and stewardship of endowed funds with finance and program partners.
• Provide cross-institution coordination to integrate donor commitments into planning.
• Manage two staff members.

Skills

Donor relations

Communication

Strategic thinking

Leadership

Data analytics

Project management

Education

Bachelor’s degree

Tools

Tessitura

Job description

JOB TITLE: Director, Donor Relations

DEPARTMENT: Development

REPORTS TO: Vice President for Development

About The New York Historical

New York’s first museum, The New York Historical is a leading cultural institution documenting over 400 years of American history through a peerless collection of art, documents, and artifacts. Our offerings span groundbreaking exhibitions; acclaimed educational programs for teachers and students nationwide; and thought-provoking conversations among leading scholars, journalists, and thinkers about the past, present, and future of the American experiment. The New York Historical is a museum of museums and a collection of collections. We are home to the Patricia D. Klingenstein Library, the Center for Women’s History, the Reiss Family Graduate Institute for Constitutional History, the Dorothy Tapper Goldman Center for Teaching Democracy, the DiMenna Children’s History Museum, and the future American LGBTQ+ Museum. We elevate the perspectives and scholarship that define the United States’ democratic heritage and challenge us all to shape our ongoing history for the better.

Job Summary

The Development Department secures funding to advance The New York Historical’s mission, fostering relationships with individuals, foundations, and corporations to raise philanthropic support, driving membership growth, working with government funders, and securing contributed revenue through event rentals in our landmarked building. The Director of Donor Relations leads strategies and programs that strengthen donor and member relationships, demonstrates the impact of philanthropy, and supports retention and revenue growth. The position oversees donor stewardship, membership, annual giving, and donor communications, using data to drive strategic decision-making and program growth. The Director supervises two employees.

Essential Job Duties

• Lead the development and implementation of comprehensive donor stewardship, membership, and annual giving strategies to deepen engagement, demonstrate the impact of giving, and grow, retain, and upgrade the Museum’s donor base;
• Develop messaging strategies and content to engage, retain, and inspire supporters. Collaborate with institutional leadership, program teams, and external partners to create compelling impact narratives and donor-facing materials, including case documents, proposals, reports, letters, emails, the website, and other materials as needed;
• Leverage data, donor insights, and analytics to inform strategy and drive growth across donor relations, membership, annual giving, and communications, improving retention, recurring giving, and donor lifetime value while developing qualification and engagement strategies that build a strong pipeline for mid-level and major giving;
• Establish systems, processes, and standards for tracking and reporting on significant programmatic, endowed, and capital gifts, leveraging Tessitura. Oversee the planning, preparation, editing, quality control, and distribution of compelling donor communications and reports;
• Manage and continuously improve gift acknowledgement strategies, processes, and correspondence, developing differentiated approaches based on gift level, engagement, and philanthropic potential. Establish efficient workflows and standards, leveraging Tessitura, to ensure timely, accurate, and appropriately personalized acknowledgement of gifts. Provide direction and quality control for acknowledgement correspondence and write bespoke correspondence for Museum leaders as appropriate;
• Manage donor recognition and naming strategy and implementation for exhibitions, programs, capital projects, named spaces, and positions. Establish standards, guidelines, and approval processes to ensure naming commitments, agreements, and recognition requirements are accurately documented, tracked, and fulfilled, partnering with internal stakeholders to deliver consistent and meaningful recognition across printed materials, digital platforms and the institution;
• Lead the administration and stewardship of endowed funds, establishing systems and processes to maintain governing documentation, ensure compliance with donor intent, and support accurate and transparent use of funds. Partner with finance, program, and investment stakeholders to monitor endowment activity and ensure timely communication of relevant information;
• Provide leadership and coordination across the institution to ensure donor stewardship, membership, annual giving, and communication commitments are integrated into organizational planning and executed to a high standard;
• Manage two staff members.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent;
• 6-8 years' experience in development, donor relations, or related fields;
• Superb writing and communication skills;
• Creative thinker with a strong strategic mindset;
• Fluency with development CRM systems, preferably Tessitura; technologically proficient with strong understanding of data-driven donor engagement;
• Highly organized with meticulous attention to detail. Able to prioritize multiple projects, meet deadlines and to problem solve;
• Self-starter who thrives in a fast-paced, deadline-driven environment;
• Collaborative, team player with strong interpersonal skills;
• Knowledge of the New York City philanthropic and cultural communities;
• Discretion, tact and ability to handle confidential material responsibly;
• Commitment to and enthusiasm for the mission of The New York Historical;
• Availability to work evening and weekend events.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS

The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee with or without accommodation, to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. At times, this is a sedentary role using a computer; however, some filing or shelving is required. This would require the ability to lift files, open filing cabinets and bend or stoop as necessary. The ability to lead tours through the museum is also required.

Compensation & Benefits

The expected salary range for this position is $125,000-$135,000 per year. The successful candidate will be offered a salary within this range based on specific factors such as their individual qualifications, experience, and internal equity considerations.

• Paid time off, including vacation, sick and personal days, and holidays observed by the Museum;
• Medical, dental, vision and life insurance;
• Short and long-term disability coverage options;
• 403(b) retirement plan with eligibility for employer contributions following one year of full-time service;
• Flexible spending accounts for health-related expenses, dependent care, and parking and transit expenses;
• Employee Assistance Program for all employees and their families;
• 20% discount at the NYHistory Store, Café Clara and Clara restaurant, located within the Museum;
• Free admission to various museums and cultural institutions across the city.

The New York Historical is an Equal Opportunity Employer.