Director of Development

Northern Stage’s Director of Development leads Northern Stage’s fundraising efforts as part of an energetic and forward-thinking team. Northern Stage, in its 27th year of programming, is a dynamic LORT-D professional theater with a budget of $4 million in White River Junction, VT. The Theater is located near Dartmouth College at the crossroads of Vermont and New Hampshire and serves a passionate theater-going community with a mission “to change lives, one story at a time.”

The Director of Development will supervise two full-time development staff and will work closely with the Managing Director and Producing Artistic Director to raise $1.1+ million annually. Northern Stage is at an exciting juncture, having announced the public phase of an $8.5 million capital campaign in June 2024, with a total of $8.3 million raised to date.

The Director of Development reports to the Managing Director. Direct reports include the Assistant Director of Development and the Development Assistant. The Director of Development is a key member of the 7-member Leadership Team.

ABOUT NORTHERN STAGE:

Northern Stage was founded in 1997, and for more than 15 years, performances took place at the historic Briggs Opera House. Quickly, Northern Stage became the preeminent year-round theater company in the Upper Valley, offering professional productions of world premieres, classics, and musicals. In 2013, the Board of Directors engaged Producing Artistic Director Carol Dunne, under whose leadership the organization continued to grow; in 2015, the company opened the doors of the state-of-the-art Barrette Center for the Arts in the historic district of downtown White River Junction.

In 2014, the company launched a New Works Now series, with a commitment to the creation of new plays and musicals for the American theater. The program has been extraordinarily successful, and works that began as developmental readings in our NWN program have continued to our mainstage, Off-Broadway in New York, and beyond.

Northern Stage’s robust educational program focuses on professional training in a nurturing and supportive environment for students of all ages. Offerings include student acting ensembles, a summer musical theater intensive, and an expansive theater-in-the-schools residency program.

In 2017, Dunne earned a Genius Grant from the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation and became the inaugural leader of the BOLD Theater Women’s Leadership Circle, a visionary initiative created to bridge the career gaps for women+ in the American theater.

The theater has just embarked on a project to build new housing for artists, artisans, and staff, and to expand an endowment to ensure that the company can provide world class art, education and community connection for generations to come. Northern Stage is committed to finding the depth and breadth of the impact theater can have on the world and believes that it is through the work of becoming an anti-racist organization, committed to equity, justice, access, and inclusion that we can best achieve our goals.

JOB DESCRIPTION

Northern Stage’s next Director of Development will be a creative problem solver, leading the fundraising efforts of our organization with professionalism and excitement. They will have a good sense of humor, a strong belief in the power of theater to change lives, and an attitude of flexibility in supporting a company that aspires to do great things. They will be resilient and able to overcome obstacles with the knowledge that Northern Stage can and must continue to thrive at a time when the theater industry has been deeply challenged.

The Director of Development’s primary responsibilities will be in the following areas:

Donor Relations and Development Communications

● Establish strategy and implementation plans for major donor qualification cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.

● Maintain a portfolio of 70+ major donors and prospects with the capacity to make annual gifts of $5k+.

● Cultivate relationships with major donors, business leaders, foundations, and government agencies.

● Oversee annual Director’s Circle membership program ($550,000) and Producer’s Circle corporate membership program ($60,000).

● Draft major development communications, including annual fund letters, proposals, and other major solicitations.

● With Managing Director, spearhead all grant writing efforts, including NEA and state-level grants, as well as private foundations. Manage reporting to foundation and government funders.

● With external consultant, continue to build planned giving initiative through newsletters, postcards, and email.

Board Relations

● Manage and inspire Board fundraising efforts. Serve as a staff lead for the Development Committee.

● With Managing Director and Board leadership, ensure effective recruitment and onboarding of new Board members.

● Report on development initiatives and progress at quarterly board meetings. Departmental Leadership

● Lead and guide the development team, including conducting annual evaluations of the team members and regular departmental reviews of progress toward monthly and annual financial and engagement goals.

● Inspire staff to do great work, personally modeling behaviors that promote excellence, responsibility, and innovation. Solve problems and resolve issues with the Leadership Team.

● Oversee efficient internal department operations, including timely acknowledgment and processing of gifts, regular tracking of progress against budget (both income and expense), organization of internal systems and records management, consistent and comprehensive communications with donors (in coordination with the marketing department), and creating pledge agreements and other documents to secure gifts as needed.

● Endeavor to build a culture of philanthropy throughout the company. Empower staff to speak about fundraising goals and make the case for Northern Stage.

Events

● With Leadership Team, design and execute donor-focused engagement events surrounding public performances. Oversee planning and implementation of all donor and sponsor events.

● Organize close-out events for Act II Campaign, including public gatherings in Fall 2024 and ribbon-cutting in Summer 2025.

● With Managing Director, oversee Northern Stage travel programs (New York, Washington, DC, London).

QUALIFICATIONS

● Minimum 8 years experience and proven track record of securing 5 figure gifts.

● Expert knowledge in principles, practices, and procedures of charitable giving, with an interest in the areas of capital campaigns, endowments, planned giving, and evolving trends in fundraising.

● Demonstrated ability for strategic thinking in the setting of goals and accompanying action plans

● Strong planning, strategy, financial, budgeting, analytical, and communication skills -- both written and verbal.

● Desire and ability to establish and maintain meaningful relationships with a wide range of donors.

● High degree of initiative, excellent attention to detail, ability to work as a team and also lead.

● A passion for the cultural arts and Northern Stage’s mission, programs, and future plans.

● An ability to work on multiple projects simultaneously while setting priorities.

● Familiarity with the greater Upper Valley of VT/NH area is a plus.

● The ability to work some evenings/weekends to attend NS performances and represent NS at events.

● Computer proficiency and ability to master fundraising CRM software, Google Suite, and Excel.