Under the direction of Dr. Thea Kano, The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, DC (GMCW) is a nationally and internationally recognized organization which inspires equality, justice, and inclusion through the performing arts. Our organization is comprised of our 300-member flagship chorus, the GenOUT Chorus for LGBTQ+ and allied youth ages 13-18, the chamber ensemble Rock Creek Singers, the a cappella group Potomac Fever, the gospel/inspirational ensemble Seasons of Love, and the dance troupe 17th Street Dance.
Since 1981, the GMCW has presented thoughtful, sophisticated, entertaining, and enlightening concerts to hundreds of thousands of people in the nation’s capital, around the United States, and at international venues. Our season is anchored by three major shows presented at the historic Lincoln Theatre in Washington, DC. Typical seasons also include a Cabaret, a classically programmed concert, and a fully staged musical. In addition, the main chorus and our small ensembles perform an ever-increasing number of outreach events throughout the season, totaling over 100 each season.
GMCW is the voice of LGBTQ+ people in Washington, DC for such events as the Kennedy Center Honors (for which GMCW has performed twice), Presidential inaugural festivities (performing for Presidents Clinton and Obama), and historically significant ceremonies (including the interment services for Frank Kameny and Matthew Shepard and the celebration of the Supreme Court’s pro-marriage equality decision in United States v. Windsor). In addition to these high-profile events, GMCW and its small ensembles can be found performing weekly around the DC metro region at faith communities, businesses, and schools, promoting justice and equality for all through song.
About the Role
The Development Director is a new role on the GMCW team and will be responsible for managing and implementing all fundraising activities. This position is both strategic and tactical, as it is responsible for developing, managing, and executing GMCW’s annual development plan. The ideal candidate has a clear grasp of all core components of development, including individual contributions and stewardship, annual and online giving campaigns, corporate partnerships/funding, special events, and grant writing. This role requires experience managing development operations, including CRM management, budget-building, and gift-processing.
This role will report to and work closely with the Executive Director (ED) in addition to partnering with other staff to promote an organizational culture of philanthropy.
The Development Director can expect his/her/their work to include:
Leadership and Development Strategy:
- Contribute positively to organizational culture and reflect GMCW’s values
- Actively engage with GMCW staff and members to truly understand the Chorus’s mission and vision and to gather stories about Chorus members for use in development communications
- Manage and execute GMCW’s development and stewardship plans to achieve annual revenue goals
- Update existing development and stewardship plans with new ideas, industry best practices, and data-driven analysis
- Ensure a robust gift pipeline big enough to hit annual revenue goals by actively managing prospective and current donors, foundations and other funders solicited via proposals, grant applications, multiple appeals, and other fundraising activities
- Participate in strategic planning for GMCW to ensure development plans align with and are in service of evolving organizational goals
- Serve as the staff leader and liaison to the board of directors’ development committee
- Other duties, as assigned
Fundraising and Donor Relations
- Research, design and lead the moves management plans for major individual and corporate donors
- Manage and develop existing initiatives, appeals, and campaigns focused on targeting new donors and stewarding existing donors
- Serve as the primary POC for all small and mid-size donors
- Help develop creative and mission-focused fundraising messaging that effectively articulates the special role and impact of GMCW in the community
- Project manage the ED’s fundraising work, directing them where and how best to spend their time and efforts on a weekly, monthly, and quarterly basis
Managing Grant Opportunities
- Conduct prospect research to ensure GMCW has a robust pipeline of local, regional, and national grant opportunities to pursue
- Create and manage a grant calendar to track all upcoming applications and reports, collaborating with staff as needed
- Clearly and effectively draft dynamic, reader-friendly, and high-quality writing free of typos, jargon, and lackluster prose
- Track all grant work in Patron Manager, GMCW’s CRM to ensure all grant opportunities and tasks are current and well-detailed
Managing Development Operations and Revenue Tracking
- Establish and monitor annual and long-term revenue goals and budgets
- Design and update a regular progress-to-goal report and development dashboard for the Executive Director
- Conduct weekly gift processing and acknowledgement letter mail merges
- Spearhead development-focused data input and ensure accuracy in all records and development reports in Patron Manager
- Routinely update how-to documentation to codify and safeguard systems
- Work closely with Director of Patron Services to ensure data integrity
Overseeing Consistent and Creative Donor Stewardship
- Manage the execution of GMCW’s donor stewardship plan
- Think creatively about the donor stewardship plan and update it annually with new and meaningful ways to connect donors and foster a sense of community
- Collaborate with the Director of Marketing on the optimal design and content for a donor-focused annual report
About You
To be maximally successful in this role, you need to be:
- A born project manager with a knack for working backwards from a deadline to create a plan
- Accustomed to working on multiple projects with different deadlines simultaneously
- A natural people person who appreciates that everyone has an important story to tell
- A dynamic, professional, and poised brand ambassador for GMCW
- A reliable and friendly communicator who reaches out and follows up
- A practiced public speaker who can think on your toes
- A stickler for details and quality
- A caretaker of sensitive information about donors, Chorus members, GMCW’s community, etc.
- A strong self-motivator
- A creative thinker willing to test out new ideas
- An advocate for justice, dignity, and equality for all
You need to have:
- A Bachelor’s degree and 6-8 years of nonprofit development experience
- Demonstrable experience as a fundraising generalist, with hands-on practice at institutional giving/grant writing, major gifts, annual giving, corporate partnership building, special events, direct mail, and online giving campaigns
- Experience managing and improving development operations, ranging from CRM management to budget monitoring to gift processing
- Enthusiasm to propose fresh ideas without prompting by leadership, openness to feedback on those ideas, and a persistence to bring those ideas to life
About Compensation and Benefits
- Salary commensurate with experience, $80,000-100,000
- 403(b) retirement plan match after initial 90-day period
To Apply:
Interested applicants should submit a resume, cover letter and writing sample to employment@gmcw.org with “Development Director” in the subject line. Office location is 1140 3rd St NE, 2nd Fl, Washington, DC 20002.
GMCW does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, age, ethnicity, religion, national origin, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, genetic information, marital status, disability, or status as a US veteran. Final applicants will be subject to a background check.
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