Associate Director of Institutional Giving

Recognized as an industry leader in artistic excellence, sustainable innovation, and community impact, Orchestra of St. Luke’s fulfills its mission through programming in three areas: Performance, Education, and The DiMenna Center for Classical Music. OSL performs 60-70 concerts annually with a subscription series in each of Carnegie’s three halls; a partnership with Paul Taylor Dance Company at Lincoln Center; a composition institute; a summer residency at the Caramoor Center for Music and the Arts; a free youth orchestra; concerts in all five boroughs, and Free School Concert series that has reached over 1,000,000 NYC Public School students. 

Orchestra of St. Luke’s is distinguished by artistic flexibility and financial stability with a budget of $9.7M.  Having recently completed a $25M capital campaign that tripled the endowment and allowed OSL to satisfy the mortgage on The DiMenna Center, the company is now in the position to grow a sustainable annual fund by investing in the Development Department, which includes creating this new role.  The Orchestra celebrates its 50th anniversary in the 2024-25 season.

Job Purpose

Orchestra of St. Luke’s seeks an Associate Director of Institutional Giving to fuel the mission and business of Orchestra of St. Luke’s through a thriving institutional giving program. This new position cultivates and stewards an impressive portfolio of foundation, corporate, and government funders, while prospecting new funders for general operating support, programs, and future capital projects. Orchestra of St. Luke’s has a growth mindset and the Associate Director of Institutional Giving will achieve growth in all aspects of its institutional giving program.

The Associate Director of Institutional Giving joins an organization on the rise with an impressive history of support from major arts and culture funders. They will assume a well-managed portfolio generating $1.5M annually and bring institutional fundraising capacity back in-house after several years of successful work with a part-time consultant, who will remain on as a part-time grant writer.

Responsibilities:

This role will initially spend at least 40% of their time on developing new opportunities and 60% of their time on managing and soliciting the existing portfolio of institutional funders.

·         Support and grow OSL’s grant portfolio by overseeing all aspects of institutional relationship management, including prospecting, cultivation, grant writing, reporting, and stewardship.

·         Perform prospect research using a range of online tools and develop prospect profiles of both current and prospective institutional funders. Develop strategies and plans to cultivate and engage new funders and introduce them to the Orchestra.

·         Serve as the primary liaison between OSL and institutional funders, with the ultimate goal of developing deep ties with program officers and associated staff.

·         Work across departments, particularly the finance and program teams, to develop application materials, budgets, and to ensure compliance with grant terms.

·         Partner with the Vice President to set annual revenue goals. Create and implement annual work plans and strategies, and measure and report on progress.

·         Primary responsibility for all materials for institutional funders, including applications, letters of inquiry, grant reports and other documentation as required.  

·         Supervise and delegate writing and proposal work to a part-time consultant for the duration of that contract.

·         Maintain OSL’s multi-year grant calendar of deadlines and requirements, along with thorough record-keeping of applications and award letters.

·         Coordinate and support OSL leadership in funder engagement and relationship management

Qualifications:

·         At least four years of professional experience in development, with strong preference for experience in grant writing and management.

·         Exceptional ability to synthesize information from multiple departments to create compelling and thorough grant proposals and reports.

·         Excellent organizational skills, with ability to manage up, down, and sideways to meet required deadlines.

·         Excellent verbal and written communication skills.

·         Proficiency in generating budgets, forecasting revenue, and interpreting financial data.

·         Skilled in Microsoft Office, and database management. Experience with Raiser’s Edge is a plus.

·         Strong communication skills, written and verbal, with the ability to form clear, structured, articulate, and persuasive proposals, appeals, and stewardship materials.

·         A bachelor’s degree is desirable or the equivalent combination of experience sufficient to successfully perform essential functions of the job.

Competencies and Success Factors:

·         Creative researcher who enjoys discovery and generating new ideas.

·         Attentive and methodical planner and tasks manager.

·         Independent self-starter who takes ownership of their duties.

·         Knowledge of the New York City philanthropic network and arts funders a plus.

·         Background and interest in being an advocate for the arts preferred.

Reports To:

Vice President of Development

Working Conditions:

Regular business hours are 9:30am – 5:30pm, hybrid work schedule (on-site Tuesday, Wednesday & Thursday, with option to work remotely Monday and Friday), open office, some evenings and weekend events required, local travel to concerts and events.

Physical Requirements:

Basic office and conversational functions