Director of Major Gifts and Individual Giving

Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation (“Ailey”) was founded and built on a key premise: no limitations.

For more than 60 years, the Ailey organization has furthered the pioneering vision of the choreographer, dancer, and cultural leader Alvin Ailey by building an extended cultural community that provides dance performances, training and education, and community programs for all. Since its founding, the Ailey organization has been widely recognized for its unparalleled artistry and commitment to social change.

More than a dance company, this performing arts community plays a crucial social role, using the beauty and humanity of the African American heritage and other cultures to unite people of all races, ages, and backgrounds.

Ailey seeks an experienced fundraising professional to lead the organization’s individual giving strategy. Reporting to and partnering with the Managing Director of Development, the Director of Major Gifts and Individual Giving (“Director”). leads a four-person team dedicated to raising $3.8M+ each year from individuals.

The Director develops and implements strategies to maintain and increase revenue from individual donors, including targeted major gift solicitations, direct mail campaigns, online campaigns, planned giving, and special events. A strong focus on building and managing individual connections through in-person visits and personalized, direct, written and telephone communications is key.

This is a senior administrative position on the Development Team and is responsible for developing and managing talented and committed staff. The Director will also work closely with the Board of Directors, as appropriate, to support their fundraising efforts. This full-time position will be housed in the New York City office, with a network, reach, and community in New York and beyond.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Managing an individual giving team of three full-time and one part-time employees responsible for meeting annual contributed revenue goals.
• Supervising, mentoring, and cultivating staff members to meet their individual goals in service of the team’s fundraising plan(s), as well as contributing to the cultivation of their expertise, interests, and skills.
• Developing and implementing strategies for the research, cultivation, stewardship, and solicitation of donors and prospects to grow engagement and contributed revenue.
• Creating and implementing a strategy for Ailey’s major gifts program and donor pipeline in collaboration with the Chief External Affairs Officer, Managing Director for Development, and individual giving team.
• Working with the Executive Director, Artistic Director, Development Committee of the Board, and Board of Trustees overall on cultivation, stewardship, and solicitation of donors and prospects.
• Conducting research into Ailey’s current individual donors to determine opportunities for increased giving potential, as well as researching the donor potential among other Ailey constituencies, such as ticket buyers, parents of children enrolled in The Ailey School, and adults taking dance classes through the popular Ailey Extension program.
• Creating cultivation events and other opportunities to engage individual donors and build relationships.
• Soliciting contributions from individuals with the goal of growing the Artistic Director’s Circle membership program ($10,000+ annual membership) and other groups of major donors.
• Overseeing monthly, quarterly, and yearly plans to quantify individual giving and special events moves management and outcome goals. Director should furnish organization with ambitious evidence-based revenue projections annually, while establishing longer term goals. Director will monitor goals’ efficacy over time and course correct as necessary.
• Partnering with content creation staff, alongside the Managing Director of Development and Chief External Affairs Officer, in ensuring to produce written and online fundraising collateral and maintain the integrity of Ailey’s messaging and case for support.
• Working with Programmatic staff to align Ailey’s fundraising with programmatic priorities and meaningfully include Programmatic staff in Development activities, as appropriate.

In addition, strong candidates will offer:

• Minimum of 10 years of successful fundraising experience, with emphasis on individual giving.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills.
• Excellent organizational skills with great attention to detail.
• Ability to thrive in a fast-paced, goal-oriented work environment.
• Working knowledge of Microsoft Office Suite and Salesforce.

The salary range for this role is $150,000 -$170,000 and it is offered along with a competitive benefits package, which includes employer-provided health/dental insurance, a Flexible Spending Account (FSA), retirement plan, and savings on transit/parking.

Koya Partners, the executive search firm that specializes in mission-driven search, has been exclusively retained for this engagement. Chartíse Clark and Tracy Michelle León of Koya Partners have been exclusively retained for this search. To express interest in this role please submit your materials to the Koya applicant portal. All inquiries and discussions will be considered strictly confidential. View the full position description on the Koya website.

Koya Partners is committed to providing reasonable accommodation to individuals living with disabilities. If you are a qualified individual living with a disability and need assistance expressing interest online, please email NonprofitSearchOps@divsearch.com. If you are selected for an interview, you will receive additional information regarding how to request an accommodation for the interview process.

Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation is an Equal Opportunity Employer. Employment is based upon personal capabilities and qualifications without discrimination based on race, color, religion, creed, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, citizenship status, or any other protected characteristic as established by law.