Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra

Los Angeles, CA

Position Title: Institutional Giving and Advancement Communications Associate
Department: Advancement
Reports to: Director of Advancement and Leadership Giving

Full-time position/non-exempt

Position purpose

The institutional giving and advancement communications associate is an institutional fundraiser who will play a key role in planning and managing the institutional giving calendar. This person must possess excellent time management and calendar management skills, oversee the timely submission of every grant and report, and manage the benefits for all institutional giving funders.

scope & responsibilities

The institutional giving and advancement communications associate, along with the director of advancement and leadership giving, implements and evaluates a comprehensive foundation and government agency fundraising strategy in support of the Orchestra’s key programs, including writing proposals, creating fundraising plans, drafting budgets and evaluating programs. The institutional giving and advancement communications associate writes copy to be included in proposals to raise contributed income for the Orchestra from foundations, corporations and government agencies. S/he also serves as a writer for donor communications. This position works regularly with advancement, marketing, finance and production departments to ensure effective communications with donors at all stages of the giving cycle. The advancement assistant is responsible for helping the advancement team over $900,000 from foundations and government agencies, and contributes to other fundraising projects as a writer. Specific responsibilities are as follows:

institutional fundraising

• Prepare and submit requests to institutional donors, including writing and editing proposals and letters of inquiry, creating project budgets and compiling other collateral;
• Ensure compliance with grant agreements and arrange for appropriate funder recognition;
• Maintain orderly institutional donor files and records in database;
• Maintain an orderly patron file system including updating/cleaning of data in the ticketing/donor database system;
• Work with all departments to evaluate program outcomes and prepare narrative and financial reports for grantors; design, administer and analyze results from participant surveys;
• Support director of advancement and leadership giving in establishing and executing a strategic plan for increasing support from institutions, particularly corporations; research new potential corporate sponsorships, coordinate relationships with key decision-makers and help create sponsorship pitches aligned with the values and strategic needs of corporate funders;
• Help to maintain relationships with contacts at institutional partners; communicate organizational and program updates with key stakeholders regularly; 
• Report on income from institutional sources related to annual budget;
• Oversee collection, entry and maintenance for DataArts’ Cultural Data Project.
• Serve as editor, brand police and proofreader to ensure highest level of donor communications in projects such as annual fund and special event solicitations, donation acknowledgement letters and donor newsletters.
• Provide support at evening and weekend concerts and events as assigned;

administration

• Oversee and expand LACO’s volunteer program in the areas of concert, fundraising event and office support;
• Open and track all LACO mail; monitor daily donation logs; enter gifts into patron database; make bank deposits and generate daily reports for director of finance; 
• Help maintain administrative office, including answering phones, filing and coordinating calendars and communicating across departments for smooth office operation;
• Complete other development and general office tasks as needed and assigned.

requirements

The entry level position requires someone who possesses exceptional communication, analytical and interpersonal skills, and an eagerness to know and understand the challenges inherent to the non-profit fundraising field. Specifically, the advancement assistant must have:

• A bachelor’s degree or higher;
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to produce proposals to foundations, business correspondence, solicitation materials, acknowledgment letters and grant reports;
• The ability to synthesize complex programs, concepts and perspectives into a unified narrative with creativity, clarity and ease of language; flexibility in writing a persuasive piece tailored to a specific audience; 
• The desire to manage multiple projects on deadline in a fast-paced work environment;
• 1-2 years experience writing institutional and govnerment grants, experience in an arts organization preferred;
• The drive to take initiative and work independently;
• Excellent customer-service skills and experience working closely with board members, volunteers, donors, consultants, institutional partners and beneficiaries; 
• The ability to maintain confidentiality with sensitive donor information;
• Proficiency with Microsoft Excel, Word and Outlook;
• Familiarity with a CRM such as Patron Manager or SalesForce preferred;
• Scheduling flexibility required; some evening and weekend hours with required overtime.
• Preferred: experience developing and tracking budgets, as well as the ability to analyze data related to program evaluation;

to apply

Please email resume, comprehensive cover letter and 2-3 page writing sample to [email protected]. No phone calls, please. EOE.

About Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra (LACO), proclaimed “America’s finest chamber orchestra” by Public Radio International, "one of the world's great chamber orchestras" by KUSC Classical FM and “resplendent” by the Los Angeles Times, has established itself among the world’s top musical ensembles. Entering the Orchestra’s 50th anniversary, LACO maintains its status as a preeminent interpreter of historical masterworks and a champion of contemporary composers. Acclaimed American composer Andrew Norman, whose works have been commissioned and performed worldwide, expands his work at the Orchestra as Creative Advisor & Composer-in-Residence and Mahan Esfahani continues his three-year residency as Baroque Conversations Artistic Partner, each one bringing excellence in programming as well as through community and education presentations each year. Since its founding, the Orchestra has made 31 recordings, toured Europe, South America and Japan, performed across North America, earning adulation from audiences and critics alike, and garnered eight ASCAP Awards for Adventurous Programming.

LACO celebrates its 50th anniversary season in 2017-18 through the presentation of eight Orchestral Series concerts in collaboration with Glendale Arts and CAP UCLA; five Baroque Conversations concerts in collaboration with The Colburn School; and three In Focus chamber music concerts in partnership with The Huntington Library at Rothenberg Hall and Moss Theatre at New Roads School. LACO values its partnerships with the Inner City Youth Orchestra of Los Angeles and Renaissance Arts Academy and proudly presents education and community programs such as Meet the Music, Community Partners, Campus to Concert Hall and the LACO/USC Thornton Strings Mentorship Program, that reach thousands of young people annually, nurturing future musicians and composers as well as inspiring a love of classical music.

Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, headquartered in downtown LA, was founded in 1968 as an artistic outlet for the recording industry’s most gifted musicians. The Orchestra’s artistic founder, cellist James Arkatov, envisioned an ensemble that would allow these conservatory-trained players to balance studio work and teaching with pure artistic collaboration at the highest level. With the financial backing of philanthropist Richard Colburn and managerial expertise from attorney Joseph Troy, who also became the Orchestra’s first president, LACO presented its first performances. Kahane continues the standard of excellence set by the Orchestra’s first four music directors, Sir Neville Marriner, Gerard Schwarz, Iona Brown and Christof Perick.