Donor Stewardship and Engagement Associate

Donor Stewardship & Engagement Associate

Development Department

Donor Engagement

ORGANIZATIONAL PROFILE

The San Francisco Symphony is widely considered to be among the most artistically adventurous and innovative arts institutions in the United States, celebrated for its artistic excellence, creative performance concepts, active touring, award-winning recordings, and standard-setting education programs. In the 2020–21 season, the San Francisco Symphony welcomed conductor and composer EsaPekka Salonen as its twelfth Music Director and embarked on a new vision for the present and future of the orchestral landscape. This exciting artistic future builds on the remarkable 25-year tenure of Michael Tilson Thomas as the San Francisco Symphony’s Music Director. Tilson Thomas continues his rich relationship with the Symphony as its first Music Director Laureate. In their inaugural season together, Esa-Pekka Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony have introduced a groundbreaking artistic leadership model anchored by eight Collaborative Partners from a variety of cultural disciplines: Nicholas Britell, Julia Bullock, Claire Chase, Bryce Dessner, Pekka Kuusisto, Nico Muhly, Carol Reiley, and Esperanza Spalding. This group of visionary artists, thinkers, and doers joins with Salonen and the San Francisco Symphony to chart a new course of experimentation by collaborating on new ideas, breaking conventional rules, and creating unique and powerful experiences.

The San Francisco Symphony presents more than 220 concerts and presentations annually for an audience of nearly 450,000 in its home of Davies Symphony Hall and through its national and international touring. A cornerstone of the organization's mission, the San Francisco Symphony's education programs are the most extensive offered by any American orchestra today, providing free comprehensive music education to every first- through fifth- grade student in the San Francisco public schools, and serving more than 75,000 children, students, educators, and families annually. The San Francisco Symphony’s recordings have won such awards as France's Grand Prix du Disque and Britain's Gramophone Award, as well as 16 Grammy Awards. San Francisco Symphony radio broadcasts, the first in the nation to feature symphonic music when they began in 1926, today carry the Orchestra's concerts across the country. In 2004, the SFS launched the multimedia Keeping Score on PBS-TV and online and in 2014, the San Francisco Symphony inaugurated SoundBox, an experimental performance venue and music series located backstage at Davies Symphony Hall. February 2021 saw the launch of SFSymphony+, the San Francisco Symphony’s on-demand video streaming service. For more information, visit sfsymphony.org.

JOB SUMMARY

The Donor Stewardship & Engagement Associate serves as a support partner for the implementation, coordination, and execution of donor recognition, stewardship, membership, and engagement initiatives. Working directly with the Associate Director of Stewardship and the Director of Donor Engagement, the position is responsible for accurately and thoughtfully recognizing donor support through published materials, ensuring the fulfillment of donor benefits, and assisting with planning and production of donor events. This role directly contributes to the Symphony’s ability to retain and increase philanthropic support through meaningful donor recognition and engagement.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS & RESPONSIBILITIES

Donor Recognition

• Actively reviews, edits, and approves Symphony materials to ensure individual, institutional, and corporate donors and concert sponsors are accurately recognized in print and digital publications, including program books, website, event and marketing emails, invitations, advertisements, and season materials.
• Serves as the primary contact for updating all donor recognition in Encore Program Books; regularly reviews the list of 2,000+ donors and ensures individual are accurately acknowledged and categorized according to their contribution level.
• Manages donor recognition for major special events, such as Opening Night Gala, Deck the Hall, and Lunar New Year alongside the Fundraising Events team.
• Manages input and tracking of all concert sponsorships across team and organization wide databases.

Stewardship

• Coordinates the regular distribution of stewardship communications to ensure donors receive membership benefits in a timely manner but not limited to welcome packets, welcome emails, and complimentary tickets.

• Manages complimentary ticket allocation for the Development department and serves as point of contact with Patron Services for issuance of tickets.
• Coordinates with donor appreciation projects, including identifying thank you opportunities, and producing and distributing donor gifts.
• Supports the Development department in targeted cultivation and stewardship strategies including thank you and follow-up calls, emails, notes, gifts, etc.
• Coordinates backstage tours and private rehearsals for donors.
• Coordinates VIP and donor parking requests for the Development department.
• Managed donor support email and phone lines. Provides excellent customer service for donor inquiries, benefits fulfillment, and stewardship-related requests.
• Supports the Development team with special projects as assigned.

Engagement

• Collaborate with the Associate Director of Strategic Communications on the development and distribution of engagement quarterly newsletters tailored for donors.
• Partner with musician hosts to plan and coordinate meaningful engagement for donor giving circles.
• Supports the planning, execution, and logistics of the Donor Lounge series to ensure a high-quality donor experience.
• Supports event managers as needed on planning and execution of fundraising and engagement events including communications and collateral coordination, production and logistics, RSVP tracking, set-up and break-down, and other duties.
• Maintains strong working knowledge of Symphony’s donor database, Tessitura, to track event engagement activity and pull queries and data reports.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS 

• 2-3 years of experience working in non-profit development and/or event management.
• Strong organizational skills, with ability to work independently and manage highly detailed tasks.
• Ability to handle multiple tasks and priorities, and meet deadlines in a high-volume, fast-paced environment.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Ability to professionally and diplomatically communicate and interact with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders.
• Computer proficiency including Microsoft Office and experience with database management, preferably Tessitura.
• Experience coordinating donor recognition and print and digital listings strongly preferred.
• Committed to success of the symphonic artform and able to communicate thoughtfully and enthusiastically about the work of the San Francisco Symphony.
• Familiarity with and/or passion for orchestral music a plus.
• Ability to lift up to 25 lbs. 
• Willing to attend concerts and events, regularly on nights and weekends.

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES

None

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

The internal and external constituents with whom this position most frequently interacts include:

• Donor Engagement team, broader Development team
• Donors & Corporate Partners
• Patron Services
• Marketing