Discovery Gift Officer

Discovery Gift Officer

Development Department

Individual Giving

THE ORGANIZATION

The San Francisco Symphony is among the most adventurous and innovative arts institutions in the United States, celebrated for its artistic excellence, creative performance concepts, award-winning recordings, and standard-setting education and community engagement programs. Since it was established in 1911, the Symphony has grown in acclaim under a succession of distinguished music directors: Henry Hadley, Alfred Hertz, Basil Cameron, Issay Dobrowen, Pierre Monteux, Enrique Jordá, Josef Krips, Seiji Ozawa, Edo de Waart, Herbert Blomstedt, Michael Tilson Thomas, and Esa-Pekka Salonen.

The San Francisco Symphony presents more than 200 concerts and presentations annually for an audience of nearly 350,000 in its home of Davies Symphony Hall and around the Bay Area. A cornerstone of its mission, the San Francisco Symphony provides some of the most extensive education and community programs offered by any American orchestra. The Symphony’s free music education experiences engage students in grades 1–12 throughout the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD), serving more than 25,000 students annually.

In 2001, the SF Symphony became the first American orchestra to launch its own in-house record label SFS Media. Recorded live in concert and engineered at Davies Symphony Hall, SFS Media recordings showcase music by contemporary composers as well as core classical masterworks. 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 SF Symphony launched the groundbreaking multimedia Keeping Score series on PBS-TV and the web; the series was made available for unlimited free streaming on the Symphony’s YouTube channel in 2020. In 2014, the San Francisco Symphony inaugurated SoundBox, an experimental and eclectic live music series, which takes place in an alternative performance space located backstage at Davies Symphony Hall. In 2023, the San Francisco Symphony partnered with Apple for the launch of a new classical music streaming app, Apple Music Classical, and has since released 15 spatial audio recordings of live concert performances through the app. For its adventurous programming, the Symphony has been honored 19 times by the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, and the Symphony’s recordings have garnered France’s Grand Prix du Disque and Britain’s Gramophone Award, as well as 17 Grammy® Awards.

JOB SUMMARY

The Discovery Gift Officer (DGO) reports to the Senior Giving Officer, New Philanthropy (SGONP), and is a member of the Frontline Fundraising Team. The Officer will engage prospects, donors, and other members of the community to help develop new major gift donors and support for the institution. The DGO will actively manage a donor portfolio, qualify new donors, make discovery calls, and build a pool comprised of new prospects and past donors, to develop support at the $2,500 - $25,000 level. They work closely with the other Gift Officers to move prospects from their identification and qualification work into full-time portfolios to deepen donors' engagement and investment in the institution.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Work with the SGONP to establish annual goals for gift revenue, as well as other performance and productivity measures.
• Develop and implement strategies to solicit mid-level donors, subscriber non-donors, and community members through in-person visits, email, phone, and direct mail contact.
• Manage a living prospect portfolio of 70-80 households to bring forward new major gift donors and gifts for the institution throughout the year.
• Develop strategies to cultivate and identify key individuals to be moved into a portfolio, while at the same time disqualifying prospects who do not need portfolio management.
• Work collaboratively with the Annual Giving and Major Gift teams to coordinate management of donors who have the potential to make leadership gifts.
• Co-lead Prelude, a young professional $2,500+ annual donor group, in collaboration with the Annual Giving Officer, Baton Circle.
• Collaborate with the Legacy Giving team on identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship for Legacy Giving prospects in the Discovery portfolio.
• Author and/or edit funding proposals, consistent with Symphony protocols, to facilitate effective gift solicitations.
• Conduct job functions and activities in alignment with the principles of the SFS's Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work, and support the organization's DEI work through participation in working groups and other initiatives as possible.
• Perform additional duties as required by the SFS.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

• 5-7 years of individual fundraising experience, with a track record of success preferably in the performing arts.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal.
• Ability to professionally and diplomatically communicate and interact with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders.
• 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.
• 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.
• Proficient in Microsoft Office and donor database software. Tessitura preferred.
• Willing to attend concerts and events, regularly on nights and weekends.
• Able to travel around the Bay Area and Northern California as needed.

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS

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

• Individual Giving team and broader Development team
• Orchestra Personnel, Community Engagement & Volunteer Services, Artistic and Education
• Board Leadership
• Donors and prospects

EEO STATEMENT

In alignment with the values statement above, the San Francisco Symphony is committed to providing an environment of mutual respect where equal employment opportunities are available to all applicants and employees without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy (including childbirth, lactation and related medical conditions), national origin, age, physical and mental disability, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, genetic information (including characteristics and testing), military and veteran status, and any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, the San Francisco Symphony will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.