fbpx
  • Stanford Jazz Workshop is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that produces after-school and summer music camps focused on jazz, as well as the Stanford Jazz Festival, on the campus of Stanford University.
  • Stanford Jazz Workshop is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that produces after-school and summer music camps focused on jazz, as well as the Stanford Jazz Festival, on the campus of Stanford University.
  • Stanford Jazz Workshop is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that produces after-school and summer music camps focused on jazz, as well as the Stanford Jazz Festival, on the campus of Stanford University.
  • Stanford Jazz Workshop is a 501(c)3 nonprofit that produces after-school and summer music camps focused on jazz, as well as the Stanford Jazz Festival, on the campus of Stanford University.
1234

Job Opportunities

Development Director

Job title: Development Director

Reports to:  Executive Director

Status:  Exempt, Full Time

Date Prepared: May 20, 2019

Stanford Jazz Workshop, a leading music education and performing arts organization, seeks a new Development Director. Reporting to the Executive Director, and collaborating with SJW’s Founder/Artistic Director and Board of Directors, the Development Director creates and implements the organization’s fundraising strategy. As the principal contact for members of the organization’s donor community, the Director must be adept at stewarding relationships with existing donors, and be able to cultivate support from prospects, including individuals, foundation and corporate partners, and government sources. Approximately half of annual contributed revenue comes from individual contributions, half from institutional sources.

Our core programs include four weeks of summer jazz education camps, held on the Stanford University campus. Year-around programs are also conducted around the Bay Area for middle and high school students. For approximately 11 months of the year, the SJW office is located in San Francisco, in the Inner Sunset neighborhood. From roughly early July through early August, the office location is moved and all work is performed on the Stanford University campus in Palo Alto.

RESPONSIBILITIES

The Development Director is responsible for forecasting and achieving SJW’s defined contributed revenue objectives by developing and implementing a fundraising strategy that achieves near-term goals while also establishing and pursuing strategic goals.

Individual Donors
  • Annually create and implement a fundraising plan, with a goal of developing effective methods and strategies to increase SJW’s overall fundraising effectivenessover time.
  • Support the involvement of SJW’s Board as active partners in the fundraising process, and provide leadership for the Board’s Development Committee.
  • Create effective donor and prospect communication strategy, calendar, and content.
  • Manage VIP ticket purchases and seating at Stanford Jazz Festival performances.
  • Cultivate relationships with, solicit, and steward Inner Circle donors ($1,200+).
  • Secure and manage annual concert sponsorships by individual donors.
  • Coordinate and host donor visits at concerts and education programs.
  • Plan and execute donor events, including in-home salons and Festival receptions.
  • Plan and executive major fundraising events as determined in collaboration with other senior staff and Board members to ensure that event goals are clearly defined and achieved.
  • Ensure that contributions and donor data are properly maintained in the organization’s donor database, including monthly reconciliation of contributions with the Controller.
  • Ensure that gifts are acknowledged and documented in a prompt and appropriate manner, and regularly report to the Executive Director on progress toward fundraising goals.
  • Research and identify new prospects in coordination with the Executive Director, SJW Board members, and friends of SJW.
Institutional Funders (Foundation, Corporate, and Government)
  • Research, write, submit, and document effective letters of inquiry, grant proposals, and corresponding grant reports.
  • Maintain and manage a detailed calendar of preparation and deadline submission dates for foundation grants and reports, government agency grants, and other gift prospects.
  • As may be required or appropriate, serve in liaison capacity to SJW’s foundation and corporate partners, and to government agencies with which SJW has or wishes to develop productive relationships; and, host visits of representatives from partners to introduce and reinforce SJW’s approach to jazz education and performance.
Administration
  • Ensure that SJW’s donor database is promptly updated, effectively maintained, and archived with accurate and detailed donor records and histories.
  • Oversee monthly reconciliation of contributions and donor records with SJW’s Controller to ensure that grants and gifts are properly coded and in agreement with the general ledger.
  • Collaborate with SJW’s Marketing Director to ensure accurate and donor recognition and acknowledgment in print and online.
  • Ensure that high quality supplemental grant materials, such as thank you letters from scholarship recipients, letters of support, Guidestar and Data Arts Project profiles are current and coordinated within the department.
  • Ensure that development-related areas of SJW’s websites and social media platforms are current, accurate, and well written.
  • Participate as may be requested or required when “all hands on deck” are needed to support SJW events, including summer registration, performances, and other all- organization events.
  • Other duties as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS

  • Five-plus years of experience in development with deep knowledge of and experience in increasing organizational capacity.
  • Direct experience with member-based individual giving programs, grant writing, and corporate sponsorship required.
  • Experience with performing arts production and/or music education desirable.
  • Excellent verbal, written, and public presentation skills.
  • Experience in working effectively with donor software and using database applications to support donor management and related functions (SJW utilizes Bloomerang plus proprietary FileMaker-based databases).
  • Experience in planning and producing effective donor-related events, such as house parties and post-concert receptions.
  • Facility in developing, managing, and interpreting budgets and development-related financial, analytical, and other data-driven reports.
  • Deep knowledge of best practices of fundraising, including handling of restricted gifts, conditions for temporarily restricting and releasing from restriction gifts per donor terms, standards and guidelines for related to tax-deductibility, procedures for receiving and processing gifts of stock, and additional knowledge of fundraising practices with which senior fundraising professionals are generally familiar.
  • Experience in serving as a key external representative, and ability to communicate effectively and comfortably with a variety of groups and individuals, including individual donors, foundation officers, artists, parents, and program participants.
  • Ability to lift 35 pounds.
  • Current, valid CA driver’s license, and ability to drive a car if needed.

We offer a competitive salary based on qualifications, excellent benefits, and a casual and dynamic office workplace. 

About Stanford Jazz Workshop

Stanford Jazz Workshop is a 48-year-old independent nonprofit organization dedicated to the perpetuation of jazz music through educational programs and concerts of the highest artistic quality. SJW’s mission is to create an environment that is conducive to learning, experiencing, and appreciating jazz — a community created by bringing the best performers and teachers of jazz together with listeners and students of all ages, abilities and backgrounds. For more information, please see https://stanfordjazz.org.

To Apply

Please email a cover letter and current résumé to [email protected]. Include “Development – (Your Full Name)” on the subject line of your email. Please no phone calls or faxes. We will carefully review every application, but we may only respond to those that seem to be a good match. Thanks for your understanding and for your interest.

Stanford Jazz Workshop is an equal opportunity employer, and seeks to create a diverse and harmonious workplace.

In their own words

SJW an excellent atmosphere where the kids could interact with the professionals.

We were the very fortunate recipients of generous financial aid, without which our son could not have attended. This was the first time he went to a music camp, and we are all so happy he did. Thank you!

Best experience imaginable. It far exceeded our expectations. Our daughter can’t wait for next year.

Thank you for offering this program, and helping my daughter grow in her confidence and her music abilities.

First thing he said when he got home was he wants to go back next summer and he wish he could go for two weeks next year.

SJW is an amazing and one-of-a-kind program.

SJW has inspired our girls to pursue their music through jazz bands, orchestra, pep bands, chamber groups, and musical theater. Thank you so much.

After the second day of camp, my daughter said ‘It’s getting easier.’ She described how jazz is different from classical music and how much she enjoys playing jazz with a group. And, of course, the concert on the final day was amazing!

My daughter said all the teachers are amazing, super supportive of students learning jazz for the first time.

She said it was awesome that the teachers appreciated how courageous the students were to try jazz for the first time.

The entire experience was wonderful! She had a great time learning music and making new friends. Thank you!

I wish it was longer than one week. I’d have my son in for the whole summer if possible!

Every time my son finished his rehearsal, he would tell me all about it with excitement.

I was impressed with everything from the communication, the level of professionalism, the enthusiasm, the ratio of coaches to students, the quality of the instruction, and that the students had fun and grew as musicians.

My daughter said she would never forget the performance. (Nor will I.)

I also loved the performance — the kids sounded terrific and they all looked intensely excited to be part of it.

At the end of each class, he was always upbeat and excited about all that he learned. And he said that the teachers were so nice and supportive, and that everyone just wanted to him to succeed.

The staff made all that hard work exciting and fun for the kids. I saw the last ten minutes of a couple of sessions and loved the energy, passion, and enthusiasm.

The staff had high standards for the kids, but did not make it grim. It was obvious that everyone was having fun. And, they sounded amazing!

Giant Steps had a profound impact on my daughter. It changed the way she saw herself.

She went in as a trumpet player in her middle school band and came out thinking of herself as a nascent jazz musician. Her playing and musicianship improved tremendously. Her love of playing jazz trumpet also grew.

Those 10 weeks stretched him as a musician and gave him a huge boost in confidence. He is now a freshman at Menlo-Atherton High, and he and a bunch of his friends in Intermediate Jazz Band have set up their own quintet and are working together on music selection, arrangement, rehearsals etc.

It surpassed our expectations in all respects. Thank you!

Giant Steps was a life-changing experience for my daughter. It empowered her and showed her what was possible if she challenged herself and continued to play jazz trumpet.

My favorite thing? Direct one-on-one teaching, exactly where I need to be taught and challenged in my artistic endeavors.

It’s an amazing opportunity to study from the greats, in a place where inspiration and electricity abound.

The total-immersion program of playing, listening, and learning has inspired me to continue making my own music until I can return to SJW next year.

I had no idea about the level of inspiration I would get, or the number of things it is now clear I need to work on.

This week has been an incredible learning opportunity for me as a student, and I can’t wait to apply all that I’ve learned here in my outside musical career. The level of skill and growth I attained this week is priceless. I love the Stanford Jazz Workshop.

My highlight was seeing my shy daughter perform her first public jazz solo and do an amazing job.

While here, my knowledge of theory, technique and musicianship improved immensely. I never thought I could learn what I did or do what I have achieved.

What makes the SJW community so special is that it creates an environment in which artists can readily share music and educational ideas with each other, with students, and with concert audiences. This interaction between people of different generations and backgrounds is so much of what jazz has always been about.

I wish the SJW Jazz Camp was longer than one week. I’d have my son in for the whole summer if possible!

All week I was able to interact with some of my greatest musical heroes and learn from their expertise. The master classes with Jason Moran, Joshua Redman, Mark Turner and Jeff Ballard changed the way I think about the music.

Simply put, Stanford Jazz Workshop changed my life that first summer.

When we picked our son up, he said ‘I was among giants’ and was very excited by the professional level of the musicians he met during the week.

You’ve got 200 eager kids there, and you’ve got your friends there who are also musicians. Every single year the Stanford Jazz Festival date is my favorite gig.