Gift Officer

Description

Live Arts is seeking a full-time gift officer to actively identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward individual donors for this beloved, volunteer-powered theater in downtown Charlottesville, Virginia. Working in collaboration with the executive director, Board chair, and Development Committee chair, the gift officer will: 

• Build and manage a portfolio of donors and prospects.
• Make direct asks to secure funding for Live Arts.
• Identify and listen for opportunities for gifts of assets or other non-cash gifts, including planned gifts.
• Create a compelling case for giving to be used in donor meetings.
• Participate in the planning of a quasi-endowment campaign. 

This exempt position reports to the executive director and is part of a team of development specialists, including a data manager, grant writer, and marketing coordinator. 

The salary range is $48,000-$52,000, based on experience. Benefits include: 

• Individual health and dental insurance after 45 days of employment. Live Arts pays 80% of the premium.
• 20 days a year of paid time off during the first five years of continuous employment.  
• Nine paid holidays each year, including one “floater holiday” to be used at the employee’s discretion. 
• Subsidized parking.
• Two complimentary tickets to every show.

To apply, email your resume and cover letter to anne@livearts.org by August 25. Position will remain open until filled. Estimated start date is September 15, 2023. This position is not eligible for relocation assistance.

Job Duties

Major Gift Development

• Build and manage a portfolio of 100+ individual donors and prospects.
• Create a plan for each prospect and donor that will serve as a foundational communication and fundraising strategy.
• Execute plans in a timely way to qualify, solicit, retain, and upgrade donors and prospects, and to strengthen donor relationships for long-term support.
• Conduct one-to-one donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship through communications and meetings.
• Secure funding to meet ambitious fundraising goals in support of Live Arts’ operations, strategic priorities, programs, events, special projects, and campaigns.
• Create compelling donor presentations, proposals, agreements, reports, and other materials as needed.
• Grow and manage donor relationships through ongoing communication, anticipation of donors’ needs, and comprehensive knowledge of donor benefits and opportunities.
• Ensure all donor information, strategies, and initiatives are recorded in the Live Arts database (PatronManager), including actions and follow-up activities.
• Follow best practices in donor development.
• Communicate on activities and provide timely and accurate progress reports.
• Engage and support Live Arts’ leadership and staff; Board of Directors; and committee chairs and members in prospect/donor engagement and solicitation activities as assigned.

Donor Identification, Cultivation, and Stewardship

• Lead major and mid-level gift fundraising strategy meetings with staff and Board leadership to identify/qualify prospective donors and opportunities for support, align fundraising activities with Live Arts’ priorities, and strategize fundraising approaches.
• Maintain an active, current body of knowledge on Live Arts and its mission and history, programs and activities, institutional needs, and fundraising priorities.
• Help the team achieve the individual giving goals set forth in the annual fundraising plan.
• Partner with members of the staff and Board on critical administrative and donor stewardship activities, including but not limited to:
  • Complete and update current donor records and mailing lists;
  • Accurate and timely donor acknowledgements and recognition in funding credits;
  • Fulfillment of benefits, deliverables, and agreements;
  • Invitations to exclusive Live Arts events and programs;
  • Delivery of relevant materials such as season announcements, press releases, news articles, etc.
  • Accurate tracking, reporting, and financial forecasts.
• Work with the Executive Director to ensure compliance, accountability, and transparency.
• Participate in fundraising training and professional development.
• Stay up-to-date on major and planned giving trends and vehicles.
• Initiate contact with individual prospects as assigned and assess the viability for support.
• Cultivate and network with donors and prospects and represent Live Arts at events, including some on evenings and weekends.
• Create opportunities for Live Arts’ leadership, volunteers, and staff to interact with donors and prospects, including participation in events and site visits.
• Write donor profiles for social media and website as assigned.
• Assist with other departmental duties as needed or assigned

Sponsorship Cultivation

• Support the executive director, marketing coordinator, and audience experience manager in identifying and soliciting cash and in-kind sponsor prospects, presenting proposals, securing the sponsorship, and stewarding the relationship throughout the year.    
• Coordinate with marketing coordinator to ensure proper sponsor recognition and ad placements in traditional and electronic marketing materials.

Skills Required

Attributes

• A love of theater and the people who make it.   
• A strong appreciation for Live Arts’ legacy as a volunteer-powered community theater.  
• Experience, ability and commitment to working with people from diverse backgrounds.
• Willingness to model Live Arts’ values of community, social change, creativity, learning, equity, and artistic courage. 
• Ability to thrive in a collaborative, team-oriented environment.
• Ability to serve as an enthusiastic and professional representative of Live Arts with donors and prospects.   

Skills

• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to persuasively convey Live Arts’ mission, programs, and impact. 
• Excellent organization skills and ability to meet deadlines.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship management skills. 
• Excellent storytelling, writing, and verbal communication skills.
• High degree of initiative and attention to detail.
• Ability to manage and prioritize multiple projects and deadlines.
• Ability to work independently and exhibit excellent judgment, discretion, and sensitivity to confidential matters.
• Ability to remain poised, articulate, and calm under pressure.

Required Qualifications 

• Bachelor’s degree and at least four years of experience working with individual donors and major and planned gifts fundraising.
• Demonstrated success in personally soliciting and securing five- and six-figure gifts from individual donors.
• Experience in managing a donor and prospect portfolio, designing/implementing cultivation and solicitation strategies, and ensuring follow-up activities and stewardship.
• Established ability to clearly communicate with a wide range of individuals with varied talents, backgrounds, and perspectives.
• Proficiency with computers, Microsoft Office, online research resources, and donor databases. Experience in PatronManager (Salesforce) a plus.
• Knowledge of the Charlottesville community a plus.
• Willingness to work flexible hours/days reflective of the dynamic schedule of a theater.

Work Schedule

The typical work schedule is Monday through Friday, plus some evenings and weekends reflective of the dynamic schedule of a producing theater.  

Additional Info

About Live Arts

Founded in 1990, Live Arts is a national model for engaged community theater. For the last three decades, we have dedicated ourselves to the mission of “forging theater and community” in and around Charlottesville. Our engagement in the community runs deep, and the quality of our volunteer-powered productions is high.

Facilities

We are the anchor tenant in a four-story performance space in the heart of downtown Charlottesville and attract participants, students, and audiences from across Central Virginia. Our building is owned and managed by a separate nonprofit, Charlottesville Contemporary Arts, Inc. 

Programming 

In a typical year, we present a compelling season of mainstage plays and musicals staged by more than 900 volunteers. We produce a month-long new works festival each May that celebrates untold stories by emerging playwrights. We also run an ongoing lab that helps local playwrights develop their work. We welcome hundreds of people to our year-round education workshops and youth summer camps. And for more 25 years, we have provided tech support to high school and college theater companies performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland. 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Live Arts is working to become a more welcoming, inclusive theater. 

We are an equal opportunity employer and do not discriminate against any individual based on any non-merit factor. We are committed to an equitable workplace where everyone is treated as a respected and valued member of the team. We actively seek to build and retain a diverse staff with regard to race, culture, ethnicity, class, religion, physical ability, age, gender, and sexual orientation. 

As an organization working to advance equity, we are committed to elevating the voices of people of color, Native people, LGBTQ+ and transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary people, and people with disabilities. We encourage people from these communities to apply.