Director of Development

Neighborhood Music School; New Haven (CT); On-site; USD 90,000 - 150,000; Full time

Job summary

Neighborhood Music School in New Haven, CT seeks a Director of Development to lead a growing fundraising program as part of a 115-year legacy. The DOD will build infrastructure, expand partnerships, and drive contributed revenue with the Executive Director, the Board, and a collaborative leadership team.

This role emphasizes equity and inclusion, capital campaign readiness, major gifts, and foundation partnerships, with a focus on expanding annual giving and strategic philanthropy to broaden the

Qualifications

• Proven success developing fundraising strategies that have grown contributed revenue.
• Experience building and strengthening donor management systems and processes.
• Growing an annual giving program over multiple years.
• Success cultivating, soliciting, and closing major gifts and managing donor relationships across the full cycle.
• Experience with capital or comprehensive campaigns, including readiness, prospect development, and campaign execution.
• Experience with foundations and institutional fundraising: grants, reporting, stewardship.
• Track record developing corporate and business partnerships and securing government funding.
• Ability to partner effectively with an Executive Director and Board, driving development while leveraging the leadership team.
• Commitment to equity and inclusion and fostering an anti-bias culture.

Responsibilities

• Build the infrastructure and relationships to significantly grow contributed revenue.
• Work with the Executive Director, Board, and Administrative Leadership Team to expand fundraising capacity.
• Lead the development of a comprehensive fundraising program across major gifts, annual giving, grants, and campaigns.
• Cultivate, solicit, and steward major gifts and significant institutional partnerships.
• Guide capital campaign readiness and planning, feasibility, and execution.

Skills

Fundraising strategy

Donor management

Annual giving

Major gifts

Capital campaigns

Foundation fundraising

Corporate partnerships

Grant reporting

Stakeholder collaboration

Equity & inclusion

Job description

The Director of Development (“DOD”) will join Neighborhood Music School at anunusually exciting moment in its 115-year history. NMS is financially strong and poised forsignificant growth in both its reach and impact. The School is developing plans toexpand its community partnerships and programming while exploring a significantexpansion of its physical campus. A capital campaign is already beginning to takeshape around this vision.

NMS has a strong fundraising foundation, including an annual fund that consistentlyraises approximately $400,000–$500,000, longstanding relationships with individual andinstitutional supporters, and significant untapped philanthropic potential. What NMS hasnot had in recent years is a dedicated senior development professional with the timeand expertise to bring these assets together into a comprehensive fundraising program.

Working in close partnership with Executive Director Noah Bloom, the Board of Directors,and a highly collaborative Administrative Leadership Team, the DOD will build theinfrastructure and relationships necessary to significantly grow contributed revenue.Over time, success will mean that development is no longer something held primarily by
the Executive Director, but an organizational capacity shared by a skilled developmentfunction, an engaged Board, and a leadership team that plays a vital role inphilanthropy.

For a development leader energized by building, this is a rare opportunity to join abeloved, financially healthy institution with strong leadership, significant unrealizedphilanthropic potential, and big ideas about what’s next.

Required Skills and Experience

• Demonstrated success developing and implementing fundraising strategies that have resulted in meaningful growth in contributed revenue.
• Skilled at building and/or strengthening the systems, tools, and processes necessary for an effective development operation, including donor and prospect management, and CRM systems.
• Growing an annual giving program over multiple years.
• Success cultivating, soliciting, and closing five-figure individual gifts, with experience managing relationships across the full donor cycle.
• Meaningful experience working within a capital or comprehensive campaign, including campaign readiness and planning, feasibility, prospect development, case development, major gifts, and campaign execution.
• Experience with foundation and institutional fundraising, including prospect identification, grant management, reporting, and relationship stewardship.
• A record of developing corporate and business partnerships and securing government and public-sector funding.
• Demonstrated ability to partner effectively with an Executive Director and Board, independently driving the development work while organizing and leveraging the time, expertise, relationships, and involvement of both.
• Motivated to become an integral part of an organization and its community, building the relationships and understanding needed to fundraise for its mission with authenticity and credibility.
• Experience collaborating with and contributing to a larger leadership team to support overall organizational health and strategy.
• Commitment to equity and inclusion, and a desire to be part of fostering an anti-bias anti-racist culture.

Preferred Skills and Experience

• A background in fundraising within the arts, arts education, creative youth development, education, or community-centered organization.
• Familiarity with the philanthropic landscape of New Haven and/or CT.
• A personal connection to the arts and an understanding of their capacity to foster learning, creativity, human connection, and community.
• A degree is welcomed but not required.