DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT KANSAS CITY SYMPHONY Kansas City, Missouri http://kCsymphony.org The Aspen Leadership Group is proud to partner with the Kansas City Symphony in the search for a Director of Development. The Director of Development is the leader of the Symphony’s Development department and a member of the Orchestra’s senior-management team. The Director is responsible for establishing, facilitating, and evaluating a highly professional, ethical, and successful fundraising program. This person mentors and manages staff and volunteers in their design and implementation of annual, capital, endowment, and planned-giving programs. Major-gifts solicitation, stewardship, Board support, and a positive public presence are important facets of this position. The Director of Development will have a passion for symphonic music and be able to share her/his enthusiasm for the role of the symphony orchestra in a vibrant community. S/he will be able to articulate with personal conviction the mission and vision of the organization. The Director will appreciate and support the collaborative culture of the Kansas City Symphony, be comfortable sharing authority and delegate work accordingly, but will not hesitate to make decisions. The successful candidate will be a broad and disciplined thinker who identifies opportunities, prioritizes tasks in a demanding work environment, and overcomes obstacles. S/he will be proactive, solution-oriented and possess a balance of creativity and pragmatism. The Symphony places a premium on relationship-based fundraising and excellent stewardship of donors. The successful candidate will be an outstanding listener, a strategic fundraiser, and possess a warm and engaging public presence. The Director will be someone donors enjoy spending time with and will be perceived as an organizational leader. Excellent management and leadership skills, outstanding written and verbal communication abilities, knowledge of all aspects of nonprofit fundraising, an appreciation for and understanding of analytics in fundraising, and direct experience in solicitation of and closing six- and seven- figure gifts for annual and endowment funds are all vital. The Kansas City Symphony is the largest performing arts organization in the Kansas City region, with a FY17 budget of $16.2 million, and it is known for artistic excellence, a strong administrative staff, stable finances, outstanding customer service, and a large volunteer force. Since the 2011 opening of its concert venue, Helzberg Hall at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, the Symphony has achieved striking artistic success and serves as a model for other orchestras throughout the country. The administrative staff is dedicated to providing the best possible experiences for all patrons, not only in the concert hall but in every aspect of its operation. The staff strives for high-level achievement, artistic and administrative excellence, and outstanding relationships with all donors, concertgoers, and community members. The Symphony raises approximately $7 million annually from individuals, foundations, corporations, government, and its five support groups that provided more than $1 million during the 2014-2015 season. In 2012, the Symphony launched an endowment campaign with a $55 million goal. Masterpiece: A Campaign to Support the Kansas City Symphony has raised $51.2 million to date, and the public phase of the campaign will be launched in fall 2016. REPORTING RELATIONSHIPS The Director of Development will report to the Executive Director. WHAT MAKES THIS A GREAT OPPORTUNITY? By Frank Byrne, Executive Director, Kansas City Symphony First and foremost, this is a great opportunity because this is a very special organization. We are financially strong, having a balanced budget for 19 out of the past 20 years. We have posted six- figure surpluses for five years running, and have a very generous philanthropic community with even greater potential. We have a remarkable organizational culture where our board, staff, musicians, and volunteers truly like and respect one another. There is an extraordinary degree of trust and collaboration between musicians and management, a rarity in the orchestra world. We have shared objectives, and we behave in ways that demonstrate we are on the same team. We have very high artistic standards, a fine Music Director who is very connected to the community, a truly superb performance space in Helzberg Hall at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts, and an orchestra that wants to grow and thrive. Kansas City has been recognized as one of the most vibrant cities for the arts in the nation, and the Kansas City Symphony aspires to embody and realize all that is possible in that fertile environment. The Kansas City Symphony is a very well-run, efficient, and ambitious organization. We set the standard for how a 21st century performing arts organization should function both on and off the stage. The Kansas City Star states “The Kansas City Symphony is a shining model of the way things can be when musicians and management work together with mutual respect and a common goal: making great music. Late last month, the musicians of the Kansas City Symphony voted to ratify a four-year contract that will give them a 19.7 percent increase in wages over four years, as well as greater benefits in health care and long-term disability insurance. The agreement was reached in eight meetings with no attorneys present.” Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/entertainment/music-news-reviews/classical-music- dance/article81373582.html#storylink=cpy. Kansas City is a city on the move, a great place to live and raise a family. The cost of living is very attractive and there are many different neighborhoods and cities to choose from. KC has been described as one of the most “hip” places in the nation and a place that truly loves the arts. The success we have created, especially since our move into the Kauffman Center in 2011, demonstrates our considerable momentum and energy, speaking directly to the enormous potential before us. None of us believe that we have “arrived.” Our success has been hard won, and we take nothing for granted going forward. We know that we will have to work even harder to sustain and build on that very high level of success. We also know that we CAN do it and, as a result, we have the rare opportunity and privilege of making something remarkable happen here in Kansas City with this organization. The sum of these positive assets will energize and inspire the right person to help us build an even more vibrant future. 2 PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES The ideal candidate will be motivating and motivated, flexible, adaptable, respectful, knowledgeable, patient, independent, proactive, insightful, mature, passionate, and a proven leader and fundraiser. S/he will be a strong manager and team builder, preferably with experience with a symphony orchestra or other cultural organization. The Director of Development will have direct experience collaborating with staff, board and volunteers, leading them to excellence and achievement. S/he will be confident when meeting, soliciting and stewarding high net-worth donors and will be able to work with the Music Director, guiding him at Development events and in gift solicitations. The ideal candidate will understand the need for open, clear, and complete communication. This person will have the unquestioned ability to appropriately deal with confidential and sensitive information. The Director of Development will earn the full trust and confidence of the Executive Director and will be a good sounding board and advisor. The successful candidate will be bold in asking for money, creative in structuring gifts and gift opportunities, and strategic in moving gifts forward. The successful candidate will be a person of the highest integrity and ethical standards, and will inspire confidence. The Director of Development will • design and implement strategic annual and endowment fundraising plans in keeping with the overall direction and strategies of the Symphony; • advise the Executive Director and Board of Directors about goals, objectives, strategies, and tactics; • develop and execute the annual fund campaign, meeting and exceeding goals in all constituent segments; • supervise and plan the completion of the quiet phase of the endowment campaign and, working with the Executive Director, Endowment Committee, and Endowment Campaign Manager, plan and execute the public phase of the endowment campaign; • regularly update the Executive Director and Board on development progress; • inspire development staff and volunteers to meet and exceed development goals while maintaining an ethical, focused, and fair fundraising program; • manage a portfolio of major and leadership donors, including members of the Board of the Directors; • supervise all aspects of donor groups and ensure benefit fulfillment; • steward donors with the highest level of customer service through events, pre-concert and intermission receptions, VIP and sponsor tickets, personal meetings, and carefully curated personal gifts; • create and implement multi-channel communications with donors, including print and direct mail, brochures, program book and website features and profiles, personalized emails and email blasts, and tele-funding scripts; • collaborate with Symphony staff on the planning and execution of organization-wide programs and activities; • work closely with the Executive Director and marketing department on the creation of collateral