Director of Development

Institute of Contemporary Art San José; San Jose (CA); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 120,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health, vision, and dental insurance

Retirement plan

Unlimited PTO

Job summary

Institute of Contemporary Art San José is seeking a Director of Development to lead all fundraising initiatives, including major gifts, annual appeals, sponsorships, events, and memberships. You will steward Board relationships, prepare revenue forecasts, and collaborate with the Executive Director to build a sustainable donor pipeline.

The role requires cultivating donors, managing campaigns, overseeing the annual Benefit & Art Auction, and integrating moves-management for a robust CRM.

Qualifications

• Education and five years of related experience or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Knowledge of fundraising principles and multi-year giving, memberships, annual appeals, events.
• Familiarity with Bay Area arts nonprofits, boards, committees, and donors.
• Grant writing experience and capital and endowment campaigns.
• Strong management, budgeting, forecasting, and finance understanding.
• Proficiency with CRM systems and Google Suite; adaptable to new tools.

Responsibilities

• Develops and implements fundraising strategies for major gifts, annual appeals, events, and sponsorships.
• Leads solicitations, cultivations, and stewardship activities and tracks progress in the donor database.
• Designs board engagement plans and trains Trustees for fundraising participation.
• Creates tailored proposals and the ICA case for support for major prospects.
• Oversees donor events, coordinates logistics, and collaborates with ICA staff and Board leadership.
• Maintains moves-management system and contributes to CRM implementation and data integrity.
• Prepares regular fundraising and financial forecasts for the Board and committees.

Skills

Donor cultivation

Solicitations

Board relations

CRM (Blackbaud)

Budgeting & forecasting

Moves management

Event planning

Project management

Communication

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Blackbaud CRM

Google Suite

Job description

Reporting to the Executive Director, the Director of Development coordinates fundraising initiatives, including major and planned giving, annual appeals, corporate sponsorships, special events, membership, and donor stewardship, to maximize the ICA’s short and long-term revenue growth.

The Director of Development is responsible for developing and monitoring revenue forecasts for the operating budget and prepares reports for the Board and committees on fundraising initiatives, revenue projections, and financial forecasting. They work closely with the Executive Director to steward and cultivate the Board of Trustees, and to implement special campaigns for exhibitions, collections, programs, and endowment.

The Director of Development also serves as the staff liaison to the Board’s Development committee and works closely with the committee to design and implement fundraising strategy for the ICA San José’s Annual Benefit & Art Auction, which raises more than 10% of the annual operating budget. This work is supported by the Development and Membership Coordinator, with whom the Director of Development will work closely with to supervise and co-create successful fundraising programs in support of the ICA’s Vision and Mission and aligned with a core set of Priorities.

The role maintains a visible community presence and regularly participates in networking, including events on evenings and weekends. This is a Knight Foundation grant‑funded position, with the possibility for extension, with the goal of building the consistent contributed revenue stream to sustain intended institutional growth.

Duties and Responsibilities

• In coordination with the Executive Director and Board President, manages and stewards Trustee giving. Supports the Executive Director and Nominating and Governance Committee to identify, cultivate, and recruit new Board members and other leadership volunteers, building their capacity to strengthen philanthropic relationships.
• Supports solicitations by the Executive Director, preparing background information and helping develop strategies. Leads an active schedule of personal solicitations,cultivation visits/events, and stewardship activities, tracking this activity in the donor database.
• Develops a Board fundraising engagement plan, including expectations, training, and accountability structures for Trustee participation in solicitation and cultivation.
• Develops tailored cultivation and solicitation strategies for a portfolio of major prospects and donors; creates and presents written and oral proposals, especially framing long‑time practices and new initiatives in compelling language, including development of an overall ICA case for support.
• Serves as a primary point person for Development events, coordinating event logistics, and communications while working closely with Board leadership and ICA staff. Occasional evening and weekend work for events and donor cultivation, etc. required.
• Builds upon the established moves‑management system for tracking prospect stages, solicitation activity, and stewardship, with an eye towards eventual implementation of a robust CRM.
• Delivers regular reports to the Board of Trustees, Executive Committee, Development Committee, and Finance and Policy Committee on fundraising initiatives, revenue projections, and financial forecasts.
• Oversees the Museum’s signature annual Benefit & Art Auction, working closely with co‑chairs, a committee, and ICA staff.
• Develops and executes strategies to maximize corporate funding opportunities, including matching gifts, sponsorships, and direct giving.
• Overhaul and oversee the current Membership program, creating new avenues for engagement and participation with the goal of seeing increased renewals.

Qualifications

• Education and/or Experience: Bachelor's degree (B.A.) from a four‑year college or university preferred, and five (5) years related experience and/or training, or equivalent combination of education and experience, including experience working with leadership donors, direct solicitations, and working with and coaching Trustees and leadership volunteers to conduct personal solicitations of these donors.
• Extensive knowledge of fundraising principles and strategies that span multi‑year individual giving, corporate donations, membership, annual appeals, planned giving and events.
• Strong familiarity with the philanthropic and arts communities in the Bay Area; experience working with nonprofit boards, committees, and donors.
• Demonstrated success with grant writing and experience with capital and endowment campaigns.
• Excellent management and administrative skills, including a track record of managing a development operation and inspiring steady and successful performance.
• Strong understanding of budgets and finance, including restricted and unrestricted funds; experience with budget projections, forecasting, and tracking.
• Competence with Google Suite products and project management software, including knowledge of CRM (Blackbaud preferred).
• Comfort operating with ambiguity and limited existing infrastructure; self‑directed and able to build systems and processes rather than relying on established ones.

Salary, Hours, & Benefits

• Salary: $110,000–$120,000 annually
• Hybrid, with 3 days per week in the office
• Benefits: Health, vision, and dental insurance; retirement plan; unlimited PTO

Target start date:

As soon as possible

The ICA is an equal opportunity employer. As such, the ICA will not discriminate in the hiring, compensation, promotion, discipline, or termination of employees based on their race, religion, sex, gender identification, sexual orientation, age, color, national origin, disability, veteran status, income, or any other category or classification protected by applicable federal, state, or local laws.