Colorado Nonprofit Association

Senior Manager of Institutional Giving

Title: Senior Manager of Institutional Giving 

Department: Development 

Reports to: Director of Development (formerly Director of Institutional Giving)

Oversees: Current N/A (Future (1-2 Years) Grant Writer/Corporate Giving Coordinator)

Classification: Full Time, Exempt 

About the Colorado Symphony

The Colorado Symphony Association (CSA) is committed to artistic excellence and ensuring the future of live, symphonic music. Performing over 150 concerts annually at Boettcher Concert Hall in downtown Denver and across 28 counties in Colorado, the CSA is home to 80+ full-time musicians, representing more than a dozen nations, and regularly welcomes the most celebrated artists from all genres of music. Recognized as an incubator of innovation, creativity, and excellence, the CSA continually expands its impact through education programs that will reach 30,000 children, community outreach in collaboration with 75+ organizations a year, and diverse programming. We partner with the state’s leading musical artists, cultural organizations, corporations, foundations, sports teams, and individuals to expose diverse audiences to the power of symphonic orchestral music.

Our Core Values reflects the staff, musicians, and the communities we serve: EXCELLENCE – We are committed to musical and artistic excellence and ensuring a solid future for live symphonic music in Colorado; SUSTAINABILITY – We are dedicated to maintaining an orchestra of the highest performance standards, modeling best practices and balanced fiscal stewardship; INNOVATION – We will embrace and maintain our culture of success, calculated risk-taking, fostering imagination, and invention in an ever-changing world of the performing arts; COMMUNITY – We are committed to growing a culture for modern, relevant, creative music to uplift, unite, and celebrate all people; DIVERSITY & INCLUSION – We are committed to providing symphonic and educational experiences that celebrate our humanity, reflect and value the diversity of our community, and seek out meaningful collaborations.

Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Statement

Music brings people together to inspire and unite the human spirit. The Colorado Symphony Association (CSA) believes that symphonic music must be available to everyone and that communities thrive when music is accessible to all. The CSA is committed to being an inclusive organization where diverse perspectives are sought out and valued; and to create experiences for our audiences where all people and communities feel welcome, represented, and connected. The CSA will continuously strive to achieve greater inclusivity and equity by leading in a way that represents our art form, one of collectivism and harmony. The CSA believes in the dignity of all and respects a diversity of cultures, identities, orientations, heritages, beliefs, and experiences. As a cultural institution and only full-time professional symphony orchestra in the state, we recognize the power of symphonic music and believe we can bring our community together to create greater social understanding through live symphonic music.

Position Profile

The Senior Manager of Institutional Giving will work alongside the Director of Development (formerly Director of Institutional Giving) to lead the institutional giving program at the CSA, managing all government, foundation, and corporate funding. Collectively these areas bring in $2,000,000+ annually, of which the Senior Manager of Institutional Giving will be directly responsible for 60- 80 relationships. The Senior Manager will work closely with the Director of Development to grow the CSA Institutional Giving Program substantially over the next two+ years in alignment with a 7-year contributed revenue growth model. This position will help plan and execute the institutional funder pipeline; develop strategies, goals, and proactive timelines for substantive growth; and strategically collaborate with CSA leadership and program staff to develop fundable programs, construct successful proposals, and carry out evaluations to assess their impact.

Key responsibilities include identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding government, foundation, and corporate funders; managing the corporate membership program; full grants lifecycle management, including prospecting and research, grant writing, reporting, and budgeting, grants contracts; and acknowledgement, evaluation and reporting.

Externally, the individual in this role will serve as liaison alongside the Director of Development with staff and principals at private foundations, government agencies, and corporate philanthropy and marketing departments. Internally, this role works closely with departments across the CSA prioritizing projects for funding, conceptualizing new projects, and developing compelling cases for grant support and sponsorships. This position liaises frequently with the CFO on budget and financial requirements, Marketing to develop press and communications plans for institutional projects and on data and reporting generated by the Development Operations team.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

This position will work closely with the Director of Development (DoD) to execute the following roles and responsibilities:

Fundraising

• Grow the institutional funder pipeline across grants, government funding, and corporate sponsorships.
• Initiate, cultivate, and steward new and existing relationships with institutional donors and sponsors, engaging musicians, the Board of Trustees, and senior program staff in meetings with prospects and funders as needed.
• Prioritize high-impact projects and proposals while diversifying funder projects to mitigate rejection risk and aim for higher funder retention, multi-year engagement, and renewals.
• In partnership with the DoD, implement an ambitious institutional fundraising strategy, and translate it into annual and multi-year revenue goals and project calendar.

Grants & Corporate Sponsorship Management

• Manage the CSA’s grants and corporate sponsor administration; serve as primary contact for your portfolio of 75+ foundations, government agencies, and corporations.
• Oversee full grants and corporate membership lifecycle, from prospecting through, proposal or contract submissions to evaluation and reporting.
• Oversee the stewardship, communications, and distribution of corporate partner benefits alongside the Manager of Events & Memberships.
• Research and identify new institutional funding sources, locally and nationally.
• Run a highly organized grant-writing operation; alongside the DoD produce compelling, persuasive, and effective proposals, letters of inquiry, funding renewal requests, reports, contracts etc.
• Support the DoD in grant execution according to their portfolio and grant timelines.
• Develop compelling Corporate Partnership contracts in alignment with donor philanthropic objectives.
• Identify and plan powerful and fundable programmatic projects and initiatives through proposal and budget development; keep programs staff and other stakeholders informed of pending and submitted proposals and reports; communicate regularly with CSA staff to ensure grant objectives are monitored and met, and initiatives comply with grant agreements.
• Develop complex project budgets and budget narratives in close collaboration with the DoD.
• Maintain up-to-date calendars of institutional funding opportunities, deliverables, expected decisions, deadlines, and renewal windows; ensure timely and accurate submission of grant and sponsorship proposals and reports.
• Organize and track all proposal and grant activity in the CSA’s CRM database.
• Manage and ensure accuracy of donor recognition in CSA collateral, donor walls, website pages, and reports.
• Plan and oversee donor visits at Boettcher Concert Hall, off-site and on-site partner concerts and stewardship events for institutional donors; attend other CSA donor and sponsor events as needed.
• Regularly collaborate with musicians and departments including Sales & Patron Services (box office), Artistic, Marketing and Community Education to collect organizational information, plan institutional giving project scopes, execute institutional donor related events.
• Participate directly in the development and management of the CSA’s financial, programmatic, and strategic goals/objectives to ensure that they are met, in part, through institutional donor and sponsor support.

Development Event Production

• Help develop and oversee the management of the institutional donor engagement and event budgets in partnership with the Manager of Events & Memberships, including preparation and maintenance of budget reconciliation and reporting.
• Work with Development Staff, Orchestra Personnel, Musicians, and Artistic leadership to develop production plans that align with event structure and goals.
• Take part in strategic planning & development of institutional donor cultivation events and programs alongside the DoD, and Director and Assoc. Director of Individual Giving.

Qualifications and Capabilities

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum 2 years of experience in non-profit fundraising, grant writing, or grants management, preferably in arts, culture, or education.
• Exceptional communication, interpersonal, and negotiation skills.
• The ability to independently develop compelling written and verbal case statements, proposals, reports, etc.
• High proficiency in MS Office Suite, experience with databases, CRMs (Tessitura a plus), and prospect research platforms.
• Ability to work in a Denver based office 3 – 5 days a week.
• Demonstrated success in institutional writing, communications, or related field.
• Bachelor’s Degree and/or Equivalent Experience in fundraising roles. Supervisory experience is a plus. Performing arts experience is a plus.
• Ability to understand complex organizations and systems and work in harmony with peers.
• Demonstrated natural ease and effectiveness when working with high level donors and sponsors. Has the credibility, maturity, and sound judgment necessary to inspire trust and respect from stakeholders.
• Flexibility to work evenings and weekends for events and donor meetings and flex in-office time during the week.

Skills and Abilities

• Knowledge, understanding, and compliance with fundraising principles and ethics.
• Familiarity with Denver & Colorado philanthropic community and institutional funders a plus
• Excellent project management skills: ability to set goals, determine action steps and timelines, and communicate effectively.
• Exceptionally organized, with strong attention to detail, knack for strategy and solution driven problem-solving.
• Professional writing, editing, and communication skills.
• Discretion, confidentiality, and diplomacy
• Collaborative and positive attitude, a consummate team-builder able to form productive relationships across a wide range of internal and external stakeholders.
• Proficiency in budget preparation and management
• Commitment to the mission and vision of the Colorado Symphony and strong interest in the symphonic form, music, performing arts and/or arts and culture a plus.