Individual Giving Officer

Boston Symphony Orchestra; Boston (MA); On-site; USD 100,000 - 115,000; Full time

Job summary

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is seeking an Experienced Individual Giving Officer to lead direct engagement and solicitation of donors capable of six-figure gifts, at Symphony Hall and Tanglewood. You will collaborate with the individual giving team to advance annual, endowment, and capital priorities.

You will qualify prospects, coordinate board involvement, maintain CRM records, and travel as needed. A BA/BS with 4+ years fundraising experience and strong verbal and written communication is

Qualifications

• BA/BS or equivalent
• 4+ years of professional fundraising experience
• Experience with direct donor contact
• Experience with Tessitura a plus
• Strong verbal, written, and interpersonal skills
• Ability to manage donor relationships and meet goals

Responsibilities

• Meet goals for qualification, engagement, and solicitation of prospects.
• Coordinate involvement of board members and staff with donor strategies.
• Develop strategic plans and provide visit and gift tracking data.
• Track outreach and information in CRM in a timely fashion.
• Travel as appropriate to meet with prospects and donors.

Skills

Donor relations

Fundraising

Prospect development

Communication

Interpersonal skills

Education

BA/BS or equivalent

Tools

Tessitura

CRM software

MS Word

Excel

Job description

Summary/Objective Job Description

ABOUT THE BSO The Boston Symphony Orchestra engages millions of people each year in the remarkable diversity and wonder of orchestral music and maintains homes at its iconic venues, Boston’s Symphony Hall and Tanglewood in Western Massachusetts. From the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on the Charles River Esplanade to free community concerts throughout Greater Boston, an annual BSO Youth and Family series at Symphony Hall, humanities programs at the Tanglewood Learning Institute, and tour performances in concert halls around the world, the BSO remains committed to innovation, creativity, artistry, cultural relevance, education, civic engagement, and making orchestral music accessible to audiences of all ages, backgrounds, and levels of familiarity.

The development department will be essential to fueling and supporting this transformation. The Individual Giving Officer will join an organization that has an extraordinarily loyal, committed, and generous donor base. It will also play a key role in supporting the ambitions of this next chapter, with an imperative to engage a new, broader generation of prospects and donors.

ABOUT THIS ROLE

The Individual Giving Officer will be responsible for the direct engagement and solicitation of Boston Symphony Orchestra donors and prospects with the capacity to make six-figure gifts, at both Symphony Hall and Tanglewood. The IGO will collaborate with individual giving team members and donor relations staff to develop donor-centric individual strategies and will help ensure that the orchestra's annual, endowment, capital, and special project funding priorities are met. The IGO will also work closely with various staff to identify and qualify new prospects and will serve as a key relationship manager for those prospects as the BSO prepares for, and executes, various fundraising initiatives.

RESPONSIBILITIES

• Meet specific personal goals for qualification, engagement, and solicitation of prospects as developed with the Director of Individual Giving and Senior Philanthropic Officer.
• In consultation with senior development leadership, coordinate involvement of board members, volunteers, and BSO management and staff as appropriate with donor strategies.
• With colleagues, develop strategic plans and goals for each prospect. Provide visit and gift tracking data. Track all prospect outreach and information in Customer Relationship Management (CRM) software in a timely fashion.
• Complete other projects as assigned.
• Travel as appropriate to meet with prospects and donors.
• This position may require relocation to Tanglewood for the summer or parts of the summer.

QUALIFICATIONS

• BA/BS or equivalent
• 4+ years of professional experience in a similar fundraising role, donor relations, or external affairs. Demonstrated experience with direct donor contact.
• Skilled in MS Word and Excel, demonstrated facility in working with fundraising databases. Experience with Tessitura a plus.
• Exceptional verbal, written, and interpersonal skills with the ability to articulate a compelling case for support.
• Proven customer service or relationship-building skills demonstrating discretion and independent judgment.
• Interest in and/or background in the performing arts preferred

JOB REQUIREMENTS

• Ability to work occasional evenings and weekends in support of concerts and engagement and stewardship events as needed.
• Must be able and willing to travel to Tanglewood (Western Massachusetts).

SALARY RANGE:

$100,000 - $115,000

Required Education and Experience

BOSTON SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA'S COMMITMENT TO EQUITY, DIVERSITY, AND INCLUSION Over the past three years, the Boston Symphony Orchestra has been actively engaged in deepening its equity, diversity, and inclusion focus and the culmination of this engagement will be articulated in an external-facing statement in tandem with the incorporation of these principals into the BSO's strategic planning process. The BSO's commitment to equity, diversity, and inclusion is evolving from an organic process of creating spaces for diverse artistic expression, to a deliberate approach that seeks to dismantle the barriers to accessing world-class music, and to normalizing artistic expressions within broad historical, economic, social, and cultural contexts. The BSO is an equal opportunity employer, and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra gave its inaugural concert on October 22, 1881, and has continued to uphold the vision of its founder, the businessman, philanthropist, Civil War veteran, and amateur musician Henry Lee Higginson, for well over a century.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra has performed throughout the United States, as well as in Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, South America, and China; in addition, it reaches audiences numbering in the millions through its performances on radio, television, and recordings.

It plays an active role in commissioning new works from today's most important composers; its summer season at Tanglewood is regarded as one of the world's most important music festivals; it helps develop the audience of the future through BSO Youth Concerts and through a variety of outreach programs involving the entire Boston community; and, during the Tanglewood season, it sponsors the Tanglewood Music Center, one of the world's most important training grounds for young composers, conductors, instrumentalists, and vocalists.

Today the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Inc., presents more than 250 concerts annually. It is an ensemble that has richly fulfilled Henry Lee Higginson's vision of a great and permanent orchestra in Boston.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra has performed throughout the United States, as well as in Europe, Japan, Hong Kong, South America, and China; in addition, it reaches audiences numbering in the millions through its performances on radio, television, and recordings.

It plays an active role in commissioning new works from today's most important composers; its summer season at Tanglewood is regarded as one of the world's most important music festivals; it helps develop the audience of the future through BSO Youth Concerts and through a variety of outreach programs involving the entire Boston community; and, during the Tanglewood season, it sponsors the Tanglewood Music Center, one of the world's most important training grounds for young composers, conductors, instrumentalists, and vocalists.

We are an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

The Boston Symphony Orchestra is committed to building a culturally diverse staff and encourages applications from female and minority candidates.