Director of Development - Cranbrook Art Museum

Director of Development - Cranbrook Art Museum

Cranbrook Art Museum seeks an experienced and dynamic Director of Development. Working closely with the Director of the Art Museum and others on the senior leadership team, the Director of Development will play an important role in realizing the mission of the museum. The successful candidate will help steward and grow the museum's successful track record in fundraising from individual gifts, foundation grants, and corporate sponsorships. Entering an exciting new chapter in the museum's history, the Director of Development will help realize the expansion of the museum's mission in serving the vibrant arts and culture community of Detroit and beyond. Joined and supported by development colleagues in areas such as membership, annual fund, major gifts, planned giving, and special events at Cranbrook Educational Community, the Director of Development will act as an important liaison for the Art Museum.

Founded in 1930, Cranbrook Art Museum (CAM), is one of the earliest museums of modern and contemporary art in the United States. Situated at the heart of Cranbrook Educational Community's lush, architecturally significant campus in the northern suburbs of Detroit, the Art Museum has grown its operational scale and impact steadily over the past decade. The museum's robust and vibrant activities include organizing internationally acclaimed exhibitions, publishing scholarly catalogs, and presenting a series of impactful public and educational programs. Today, it is Michigan's largest museum dedicated to the art of our time. The museum employs a dual community model of engagement that focuses on collaborations with other on-campus entities and has, over the past decade, engaged with various community partners in the city of Detroit to present major public art projects as well as exhibitions about Detroit-based artists. This commitment to the flourishing local arts ecology is bolstered by the creation of the museum's Detroit Collection to acquire, interpret, and preserve the city's long legacy of cultural innovation. The museum's other collections number nearly 8,000 objects and are housed in one of the first open-storage facilities in the United States that debuted in 2011.

Cranbrook Art Museum is one of seven programmatic units of Cranbrook Educational Community (CEC), which also includes Cranbrook Academy of Art, Cranbrook Institute of Science, Cranbrook Schools, Cranbrook Center for Collections and Research, Cranbrook Horizons-Upward Bound, and Cranbrook House & Gardens. Founded by Detroit philanthropists George and Ellen Booth in 1904, Cranbrook Educational Community is located in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, twenty miles north of downtown Detroit. Cranbrook's 319-acre campus is a national Historic Landmark District that welcomes thousands of visitors each year to the Art Museum, Institute of Science, and three historic houses. Cranbrook is also home to more than 150 graduate students at the Art Academy and 1,600 students in grades pre-K through 12 attending Cranbrook Schools. For more information, please visit our website: www.cranbrook.edu.

The Director of Development for Cranbrook Art Museum is responsible for successfully leading, developing and implementing a comprehensive fundraising program for CAM, including annual giving; membership; corporate, foundation, and government support; major and planned giving; and special events. These fundraising activities are executed in close coordination with all other fundraising throughout Cranbrook Educational Community and are designed to leverage other programs and enhance the Community's overall fundraising success.

The Director reports to the Chief Advancement officer of Cranbrook Educational Community (CEC) and works directly with the Director of CAM and its staff. This position has a critical role in the successful operation of CAM and in its ability to meet financial and program goals and objectives and those of CEC.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Develop and implement a comprehensive fundraising program for CAM, including short- and long-term goals and strategies for all areas of fundraising.
• Utilizing CAM and CEC staff, and in close coordination with the CEC's Director of Annual Giving and Membership, successfully direct the planning, execution, and evaluation of the annual giving program for CAM, including donor solicitations and acknowledgements and statistical reports and analyses.
• Utilizing CAM and CEC staff, and in close coordination with the CEC's Director of Annual Giving and Membership, successfully direct the planning, execution, and evaluation of the membership program for CAM, including its individual and any corporate components, new membership acquisition and renewals, retention, and stewardship, statistical reports and analyses.
• Working with CEC Director of Grant Development and Administration and CAM staff, initiate, prepare, and submit all proposals to foundations, corporations, and government entities for grant or sponsorship support for CAM's priority needs, including outreach, exhibits, and other programming, and to meet its financial goals.
• Collaborating with the Director of CAM, and other CEC Advancement colleagues, successfully lead the individual major gifts component for CAM, including high-level annual gift prospects and donors, by identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding these prospects and donors for CAM's priority needs, capital projects, endowment, and planned giving.
• Collaborating with the Director of Gift Planning and other CEC Advancement colleagues, to implement a planned giving program for CAM.
• Serve as an articulate and effective spokesperson for CAM and for CEC more broadly.
• Successfully oversee the planning, design, and launch of all events associated with the Development activities of CAM, working with the Donor and Volunteer Relations Manager.
• Serve as Development liaison for the CAA - CAM Board of Governors, the CAM Museum Committee, the CAA - CAM Development Committee, and any relevant subcommittees.
• Work closely and effectively with CEC and CAM leadership and volunteers in their solicitation efforts on behalf of CAM. Engage and provide staff training and oversight for volunteers assisting in Development Office activities.
• Collaborate with the CAM Director and other CAM leadership to develop and define program priorities and initiate all fundraising activities necessary to support those priorities. Support implementation of the CAM Strategic Plan through fundraising activities.
• Ensure the regular use of CEC's prospect-tracking system and other shared information resources to ensure transparency, collaboration, and accurate data on fundraising activity.
• Ensure fiscal responsibility for oversight of the CAM Development budget.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

Supervises the Development staff of CAM, including the Development Coordinator in the CAM Development Office. (Additional positions are anticipated in the near future to prepare for a campaign.)

Requirements:

• A Bachelor's degree is required; a Master's degree and/or development certification is preferred (CFRE).
• A minimum of 7 years of progressively responsible development experience, preferably with an art museum or other cultural institution.
• Fundraising campaign experience is a plus.
• Excellent interpersonal skills and high-level organizational skills.
• Capability of working with principal and major donors, high level volunteers and senior administrators.
• Computer proficiency is necessary.
• Experience with foundation and governmental grants preferred.
• Ability to work successfully with diverse constituencies and high-level volunteers and donors, including corporate and foundation officers at all levels.
• Requires a valid Michigan driver's license with satisfactory driving record.
• Must be able to travel to cultivate and steward donors, members, prospects, and constituent groups.

Cranbrook offers competitive compensation and benefits that include medical, dental, life insurance, long-term and short-term disability, and retirement programs with employer contribution. We also offer generous paid time off, 11 paid holidays and 3 floating holidays, employee discounts, and a unique environment in an educational setting that values collaboration.

Interested candidates should submit a curriculum vitae or resume and a cover letter detailing interest in the position and relevant experience.

For more information about the Cranbrook Art Museum, please visit the website: Contemporary Art in Metro Detroit | Cranbrook Art Museum