Major Gift Officer

Major Gift Officer 

Development Department 

Individual Giving 

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 Esa-Pekka 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 Major Gift Officer (MGO) reports to the Senior Major Gift Officer (SMGO) and is a member of the Individual Giving Team. The MGO is a frontline fundraiser responsible for managing a portfolio of 120-130 Major Gift and Planned Giving prospects that collectively contribute $1.5M - $3M annually to the Annual Fund.The MGO is charged with meeting Symphony targets and contributing to the overall growth of private philanthropy. 

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS & RESPONSIBILITIES 

• Manages a Major Gift and Planned Giving portfolio of 120-130 households through all stages of identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship totaling $1.5M - $3M annually. The MGO will work with donors to craft personalized giving strategies, providing individual major gift proposals or planned gift illustrations as appropriate. 

• Works with the SMGO to establish annual goals for gift revenues, as well as other performance and productivity measures. 

• Collaborates with the Director, Planned Giving on identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship for Planned Giving prospects in the portfolio. 

• Works collaboratively and strategically with other Development staff and key volunteers, as appropriate, to coordinate strategic and purposeful cultivation and solicitation activities. 

• Authors and/or edits funding proposals, consistent with Symphony protocols, to facilitate effective gift solicitations. 

• Endeavors to be well informed of the Symphony’s strategic priorities and gift opportunities in order to best align them with the interests of those donors and prospective donors who have the capacity and inclination to support them. 

• Recognizes opportunities and anticipates needs, reviews requests for information and determines appropriateness of release, and keeps SMGO, Deputy Director, Development and Individual Giving & Chief Philanthropy Officer informed of items requiring attention. 

• Ensures that his/her prospect portfolio is routinely updated with regard to contact reports, moves management, and documentation of other key milestones in the donor’s relationship with the Symphony. 

• Able to articulate the case for support so that individuals "buy in" to the vision/mission/goals of the Symphony, and to secure gifts at assigned donor giving levels. 

• Maintains a broad knowledge of tax laws that impact charitable giving, personal assets and estates. 

• Broad knowledge of the principles of fundraising – able to participate in all aspects of the gift cycle. 

• Conducts job functions and activities in alignment with the principles of the SFS’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work, and supports the organization’s DEI work through participation in working groups and other initiatives as possible.  

• Performs additional duties as required by the San Francisco Symphony.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS 

• 5-7 years of experience in fundraising, with a track record of success preferably in the performing arts. Relevant experience outside the nonprofit environment working with high net worth individuals will be considered. 

• Proven experience in major individual gift fundraising, preferably in performing arts organizations, and in cultivating and soliciting prospects capable of gifts at the $25K+ level. 

• Major gift success working during a Campaign in a sophisticated and complex environment preferred. 

• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal. 

• Strong analytical and problem-solving skills. 

• Ability to professionally and diplomatically communicate and interact with a wide variety of internal and external stakeholders. 

• Familiarity with and/or passion for orchestral music a plus. 

• Proficient in Microsoft Office and donor database software. Tessitura preferred. 

• Strong organizational skills. 

• Ability to handle multiple tasks and priorities, and meet deadlines in a high-volume, fast-paced environment. 

• Willing to attend concerts and events, regularly on nights and weekends. 

• Must be willing to travel around the Bay Area as needed. 

SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES 

None 

WORKING RELATIONSHIPS 

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

• Individual Giving team, broader Development team 

• CPO 

• Education and Orchestra Personnel departments 

• Donors and prospects