DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT 

Full Time, Exempt

Salary $59,000 – $86,000 PER YEAR

Reports to:  Executive Director

Directs Reports: Grant Writer (contract role)

The dynamic and enterprising Minnesota Marine Art Museum (MMAM) seeks a Director of Development at an exciting time of transition and opportunity. The Museum is positioning itself to launch a major capital campaign and build on the recent growth in contributed and earned revenues from individuals, corporate giving and foundation support.

Our Director of Development will bring the vision, drive, and experience to reach ambitious fundraising goals with an eye toward growing high-end stewardship, membership, principal and major gifts, campaigns, and opening new revenue markets. The Director of Development will be a passionate and knowledgeable advocate for the arts, an inspiring and effective guide and manager, an articulate and persuasive communicator, and a relationship-builder of the highest integrity. This is a unique opportunity to serve on the MMAM leadership team, to work with a cadre of talented colleagues, and to position a strong development program for significant growth.

The Director of Development and the Advancement Team will create an environment where the Executive Director can be most successful working with the organization’s top donors and prospects. The Executive Director will need a strong partner who can articulate both the challenges and the possibilities of funding opportunities, and will jointly work with the Board of Directors in reaching development goals.

The Director of Development will be a highly skilled and effective fundraiser and manager, with a proven track-record of securing six-figure gifts and will carry a significant portfolio of top donors and prospects, along with the charge for growing and managing a top-tier development operation in the arts and culture sector. This will require a professional who can envision new partnerships and engage new audiences, set and exceed goals and expectations, initiate and grow authentic relationships, and motivate and inspire action in others, all while raising unrestricted support, restricted support for key initiatives, and endowed funds that will build a strong foundation for the Museum’s growth.

The Director of Development will grow the advancement efforts of the Museum, working alongside the Director of Communications and Director of Operations, while overseeing and managing a contract grant writer, aiming to exponentially grow the Museum’s annual fundraising goals of $600,000 of its $1.8M operating budget. MMAM is looking for a skilled leader to join the Advancement Team who can provide a strategic vision and an integrated development plan with clear goals. The team will welcome an inspiring leader who knows how to mentor and bring out the best in everyone but is not afraid to make changes or difficult decisions.

The Director of Development must be an effective manager with a history of improving advancement systems and processes for nonprofit organizations, with preference for someone who has done this work in the arts and culture sector. Currently, there is a heavy reliance on the membership model of individual giving and a core demographic of older members and donors from the local area. To be successful in the future, the Advancement Team will need to refine practices for inspiring existing members and donors to greater levels of commitment including 5-, 6- and 7+ figure gifts and grow the donor pool region-wide (greater Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, and Illinois). Attractive new programs, such as evening and weekend events, dynamic art programs, and outdoor activities are drawing a more diverse and younger population. Creative and cost-effective processes must be envisioned and implemented to move transactional givers into members and on to long-term involvement as donors. Establishing an effective long-term art acquisition fund and strategy, and engaging in a $6M-$10M campaign readiness effort will shape the next Development of Director’s efforts in the first year.

This position offers an ambitious, energetic and forward-thinking person with a passion for the arts the opportunity to partner with the Executive Director in taking the MMAM into its next great era of excellence and to continue to grow its reputation as a guide and innovator.

Fundraising, Cultivation and Stewardship (70%)

Identify, cultivate and successfully solicit major gifts from a diverse group of individuals, corporations and foundations. Ensure high-quality and appropriate stewardship of donors at all gift levels.
Increase membership at all levels and develop effective strategies for inspiring new members, retaining existing members, and creating stimulating benefits and programming.
Manage a portfolio of top donors and prospects, identifying key events and programs to invite them to as cultivation opportunities, and assist and support the Executive Director with their portfolio of top donors and prospects. Assign, monitor and evaluate the portfolios of other team members and provide support and guidance when needed.
Ready the Museum for a near-term capital campaign.
Train, mentor and support Museum colleagues and MMAM Board members in their donor and prospect engagement activities. Seek ways to maximize their personal giving and participation in philanthropic programs.

Planning and Management (20%)

Align advancement department activities by creating an ambitious, comprehensive, written annual development plan and calendar with clearly defined goals, objectives, timelines and assignment of responsibilities.
Create, manage, and monitor an annual development program budget and track progress through monthly and annual reports.
Work with the Director of Communications to ensure that development and marketing materials are unified and consistent with the Museum brand.
Motivate and mentor colleagues on the organization’s Advancement Team, and across the organization. As a member of the Leadership Team,  create a supportive, collaborative, productive, and healthy work environment based on respect, teamwork and clear expectations and responsibilities.
Oversee and evaluate all processes and procedures related to prospect identification, donor engagement and stewardship activities, and contributions management.
Develop and enhance the organization’s new donor technology/CRM platform (Altru), drafting and implementing policies and procedures for entering data, managing constituent data, regularly creating contact notes and running reports.
Organize and lead annual development events, including annual fundraising gala.

Leadership (10%) 

Provide innovative, visionary, and strategic operational planning and leadership for all Museum development activities.
Serve as an active and collaborative member of the Executive Director’s leadership team.
In collaboration with the Executive Director, be an effective partner with the MMAM’s Board of Directors regarding development goals and keep them informed with regular reports on development progress, challenges in meeting goals, data analyses and projections and stories of donor giving.
Be a passionate, visible and informed advocate for MMAM and serve as one of its key spokespersons, actively seeking opportunities to engage with the broader community (regional and statewide) and to participate in events that position the Museum for improved fundraising or visibility.

POSITION SPECIFICS: 

Full-time (2080 hours a year), Salaried (Exempt Status)
Flexibility to work a varied schedule including evenings and weekends.
Work location: Hybrid, with travel
Benefits: Eligible for full benefits package including medical, dental, life insurance and short term disability, simple IRA plan with employer match, retail store and program discount, PTO, paid holidays

You’ll likely demonstrate:

•  A bachelor’s degree required; advanced degree desirable.
• At least three years successfully driving a significant development program in a nonprofit organization, cultural or educational institution, or equivalent, with a working knowledge of all areas within development, including major gifts, annual giving, membership, corporate and foundation giving, planned giving, campaigns and research. Experience with arts-related organizations is a plus.
• A proven record of personal achievement exceeding progressive revenue targets including: securing gifts of six figures or more, securing gifts in a campaign environment, and creating new and/or reinvigorating existing programs.
• Ability to work successfully in a setting that prioritizes membership, development of new audiences, and effective donor discovery and engagement.
• Proficiency in setting goals and evaluating and communicating success.
• Experience raising funds throughout a large geographic region and/or nationwide. Specific knowledge of Minnesota and Wisconsin’s philanthropic landscape is a plus.
• Ability to understand, extract and analyze data for effective prospect strategy and programmatic reporting and tracking.
• Strong skills with CRM or prospect databases, Google suite, project management software, and similar apps and programs.
• Exceptional planning and organizational skills. Results and detail-oriented with the ability to set and meet deadlines. Able to construct, articulate, implement and evaluate written development plans and budgets.
• The ability to be a successful, collaborative supervisor who encourages new ideas and creativity. Along with the ability to build a strong team with a creative, healthy work environment, yet willing to make tough decisions when necessary.
• Excellent written and oral communication skills; attentive listener; and engaging storyteller able to plan and execute strategic communications to advance philanthropic initiatives and achieve goals.
• Ability to engage diplomatically with and engender the trust of donors, colleagues, board members and other stakeholders at all times.
• Able to attract, influence, engage, and build long-term relationships with all types of donors and key stakeholders.
• Energetic and skilled networker who enjoys community engagement, attending events and participating in activities to position the Museum for success.
• Focus on diversity and a history of working effectively with all people irrespective of their economic status, ethnicity, gender, educational level or sexual orientation.
• Flexible and adaptable work style with the ability to work nights and weekends, manage competing demands, and work independently.
• In-state and out-of-state travel is required.
• Motivated self-starter.
• Demonstrated focus on MMAM’s mission, shared set of values and vision for the future.

Values – This person is a champion of:

Centering their work in Relationships and Collaboration.
Stewarding Sustainability, Equity and Hospitality.
Operating with Honesty, Transparency and Trust.
Being Bold and Brave.
Always Enterprising, Always Outstanding.

ABOUT MMAM:

The Minnesota Marine Art Museum is committed to being an inclusive workplace. Our goal is to be a diverse workforce that is representative, at all job levels, of the communities and audiences we serve. We are dedicated to fair and inclusive employment practices for all individuals.  The Minnesota Marine Art Museum is an equal opportunity employer and will consider requests for reasonable accommodations based on disability or sincerely-held religious beliefs possible without undue hardship.

Mission

We create meaningful art experiences that explore our relationship with water.

Vision 

Boldly leveraging the generative capacities of great art inspired by water, to spark wonder and create a more compassionate and connected world for all.

About

Before there ever was a Minnesota Marine Art Museum, there was a Maritime Heritage Society, a community group dedicated to preserving and sharing stories about life on the river. Their commitment set in motion the creation of a museum to showcase art inspired by water. MMAM opened in 2006 with the vision of creating a nationally recognized center for arts and culture in Southeast Minnesota. The initial collections consisted of traditional marine paintings and regional folk art. After expanding the quality and diversity of its collections, evolving the exhibition program, adding an annual roster of educational programs and temporary exhibitions, and enlarging its facility, today’s MMAM is a dynamic and surprising experience for tens of thousands of visitors a year.

MMAM operates from Mni Sota Makoce (Land Where the Waters Reflect The Clouds), the traditional homeland of the Dakota people. Residing here since time immemorial, Dakota still call Mni Sota Makoce home, with four federally recognized Dakota nations and many more Dakota people residing in what is now the state of Minnesota. Due to continued legacies of colonization, genocide and forced removal, generations of Dakota peopleremain disenfranchised from their traditional homeland.  Presently, Mni Sota Makoce has become a refuge and home for many Indigenous nations and peoples, including seven federally recognized Ojibwe nations.  We humbly encourage our audiences to reflect upon the historical legacies held in the lands they occupy.

MMAM is committed to ecological stewardship. We strive to make our communities—social, cultural, and natural— better off than we found them. Built on a former industrial site, the museum’s five-acre gardens—our 7th Gallery—are not only a source of natural beauty, they are the base of MMAM’s sustainability goals. The land has transformed to become a biodiverse ecosystem that sequesters carbon and improves climate sustainability. From the roots of the plants to the roof of the museum, MMAM is working to achieve Net Zero by 2030.

To apply (open until filled – applications accepted through: March 17):

This position is open until filled.  Please submit your resume, two professional references, and a cover letter outlining why you’re interested in this position and how your specific skills and experiences align with the responsibilities outlined in the position description to MMAM by email at hello@mmam.org.

Applications will be accepted through 8am. Monday,  March 17, 2025.

Hiring manager(s):  Scott Pollock, MMAM Executive Director and Caitlin Crouchet, MMAM Director of Communications