Internal / External

Job Title: Assistant Manager, Circles

Department: Development

Job Type: Full-Time, Regular

Duties:

This position manages and implements the acquisition, retention and upgrade initiatives of the Kennedy Center’s Annual Giving Campaign (The Circles Program) for individual donors making contributions of $1,200 - $30,000. The incumbent participates in the oversight and generation of work for one Development Assistant and an intern.

Responsibilities Include:

Write persuasive copy for all solicitation letters, brochures, board newsletters, and gift acknowledgments; provide creative direction for the Circles brochure and other solicitation materials; respond to current and prospective donors’ requests regarding Circles information and benefits; Oversee the production of annual cultivation and benefit events.

Monitor daily the Circles program administrative duties, including data entry, adding and updating of donor records, making address changes, etc.; utilize existing database to code and track the success of all campaign initiatives, including but not limited to: total responses, average gift, dollars raised/dollars spent, and pledge rate; oversee the processing, recording and acknowledging of all Circles gifts, and revision of the Circles donor listings in Playbill in coordination with the Circles Assistant.

Track the annual Circles expense and income budgets. Develop long-term strategic goals for the Circles program which tie directly to the budget, as well as specific goals and objectives. Create marketing strategies for all acquisition, retention and upgrade campaigns. Manage the implementation and administration of these campaigns, including, but not limited to, direct mail, telefundraising and cultivation and donor recognition events. Prepare comprehensive monthly and quarterly reports for all Circles campaigns (as well as additional reports on an as-needed basis), and provide thorough commentary reflecting quantitative and qualitative analysis.

Research new and potential donors for future prospecting. Seek out continually new means of enhancing the retention and acquisition of new Circles donors.

Act as the main development contact for the Circles Board, which acquires new Circles donors. Develop effective systems for tracking Board member activity and motivate peer-to-peer fundraising. Manage all relevant logistics, e.g. schedule meetings, create the Board handbook, draft Board newsletters and solicitation correspondence, etc. Assist the Board co-chairs as necessary.

Education/Experience/Skills

Bachelor’s degree and at least two years of full-time fundraising experience is required. A working knowledge of the performing arts is essential. The incumbent must proactively prioritize and delegate time-sensitive assignments in a pressure-filled environment with minimal supervision. S/he should be able to plan and manage multiple projects from inception to completion, and effectively direct and evaluate the performance of a staff assistant, as well as revise current systems, as needed. Excellent interpersonal skills are essential, as this position involves heavy contact with donors and Kennedy Center management.The ability to write with ease persuasive, effective solicitation copy for a variety of letters, phone scripts and brochures is required. S/he must be proficient in Word, Excel, mail merges, and other Windows applications. In addition, the incumbent must grasp the basics of direct response fundraising and database development, as well as possess a general ease and aptitude for working with data processing and financial/campaign reporting. Solid experience in customer service and producing special events are desired, in addition to exemplary phone skills.