Director of Advancement

Monument Lab

Director of Advancement

Philadelphia, PA

Background

Monument Lab is a nonprofit public art and history studio based in Philadelphia. Monument Lab works with artists, students, educators, activists, municipal agencies, and cultural institutions on participatory approaches to public engagement and collective memory. Founded by Paul Farber and Ken Lum in 2012, Monument Lab cultivates and facilitates critical conversations around the past, present, and future of monuments. Monument Lab defines monument as “a statement of power and presence in public.”

As a studio and curatorial team, we collaborate to make generational change in the ways art and history live in public. Our approaches include producing citywide art exhibitions, site-specific commissions, and participatory research initiatives. We aim to inform the processes of public art, as well as the permanent collections of cities, museums, libraries, and open data repositories. Through exhibitions, research programs, editorial platforms, and fellowships, we have connected with hundreds of thousands of people in person and millions online. Monument Lab critically engages our inherited symbols to unearth the next generation of monuments that elevate stories of artists, educators, and grassroots coalitions. While we try to move efficiently towards our organizational goals, our vision, we know our individual shortcomings will cause detours along the way.

In 2018, Monument Lab evolved into a studio composed of our team of artists, curators, researchers, educators, and students. We have since launched a fellows program; completed research residencies with the High Line Network and Pulitzer Foundation; and piloted an online commons for public scholarship on monuments, memory, and belonging through our bulletin and podcast. In 2020, Monument Lab was awarded a transformative grant of $4 million by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, to support the production of a definitive audit of the nation’s monuments; the opening of ten Monument Lab field research offices through $1 million of subgrants; and capacity to hire its first full-time staff. Our grant was the first project funded by Mellon Foundation’s $250 million Monuments Project. 

Our studio is based in Philadelphia, and we currently collaborate with partners in over a dozen cities, including Chicago, New York, Newark, Richmond, San Francisco, St. Louis, and Washington D.C., among others. 

Position

Monument Lab is seeking a passionate, entrepreneurial individual to serve as the Director of Advancement (DoA). This individual will be responsible for strengthening the mission of the organization by creating, leading, planning, and managing a comprehensive development and fundraising strategy to deepen and sustain our organizational growth. In collaboration with a wide network of partners and stakeholders, internally and externally, the DoA will play a key role in supporting existing organizational relationships and cultivating new opportunities with institutional, corporate, and individual donors.

Reporting to the Director of Monument Lab, the DoA will be a member of the senior leadership team and work in close coordination with the Chief Operating Officer and Board of Directors. The DoA will collaborate across all departments to organize and execute development initiatives. This individual will develop systems and implement best practices to shape an expanding advancement team. This position will supervise one full-time staff member and a select amount of contracted high-performing, mission-driven individuals.

Responsibilities

Strategy and Implementation

• The Director of Advancement will serve as an entrepreneurial leader who will develop and implement the organization’s comprehensive fundraising strategy and program inclusive of institutional, corporate, and individual giving. This position will oversee donor relationships to include stewardship and recognition.
• Work in collaboration with the Director and Chief Operating Officer on annual and long-term strategic financial planning to ensure organizational growth and sustainability.
• Liaise with the Board of Directors to communicate and promote transparency around fundraising goals; support the Board’s efforts in reaching goals through a variety of engagements and activities.
• Participate in quarterly board meetings, present strategic plans, provide detailed status updates and analysis, and robust donor reports.
• Outline concrete fundraising metrics and benchmarks, track ongoing goals to accurately measure growth and determine areas of opportunity. Report on progress on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis.
• Collaborate with the Communications team to create and maintain a suite of fundraising materials to include, but are not limited to, organization guides, case-making materials, promotional decks, and annual reports.
• Leverage and integrate development strategies using Monument Lab’s media and digital platforms to include the website, newsletters, online store, and social media.
• Lead, plan, and manage development events to include cultivation events and annual fundraisers. Ensure Monument Lab events align to strategic development and cultivation goals.
• Identify an organizational CRM to centralize and streamline advancement initiatives and activities; Oversee the management of the advancement CRM for fundraising and prospect management.
• Participate in R&D activities to ensure alignment between fundraising best-practices and the organization's mission and values.

Leadership

• Create and implement a culture of responsible philanthropy in partnership with Monument Lab staff.
• Serve as a member of the organization’s Director’s Group. Maintain an understanding of the organization’s financial model, fundraising priorities, and financial position. Participate in crisis management and mitigation efforts; and support the organization’s strategic planning initiatives.
• Provide the Director’s Group and staff at-large with regular updates and insights regarding the day-to-day, short-term, and long-term activities and goals of the Advancement team.
• Represent Monument Lab at selected public events and speaking engagements on a local, regional, and national level, as needed.
• Manage one direct report, to include establishing performance annual performance goals, and providing leadership and direction on short-term and long-term responsibilities.

Institutional Giving

• Develop and implement annual and long-term strategic plans toward receiving both unrestricted and restricted funds from foundations.
• Research, identify and cultivate foundation opportunities. Conduct outreach and participate in inquiry meetings with foundation personnel, follow-up, and track next steps.
• Maintain an annual planning calendar of grant opportunities to outline application requirements and deadlines.
• Coordinate grant proposal development processes across the organization to research, ideate, write, and fully execute proposals.
• Work in coordination with the Chief Operating Officer on grant compliance and reporting.

Corporate Giving

• Research, identify, and cultivate corporate giving opportunities. Conduct outreach and participate in inquiry meetings with new contacts, follow-up and track next steps.
• Solicit sponsorship opportunities for Monument Lab fundraising events and programmatic partners/in-kind support for Monument’s project-based initiatives.
• Maintain ongoing communications and relationship cultivation with corporate sponsors.

Individual Giving

• Manage, retain, and grow a portfolio of existing and new donors, oversee stewardship and recognition.
• Manage the organization's donation management system and other aspects of donor stewardship and communication.
• Report monthly on metrics relating to individual donor acquisition, retention, and engagement.

Qualifications

• Candidates must have five years of development experience and a proven track record of raising at least $3/5M annually from a diverse stream of contributed revenues.
• Excellent understanding of principles and techniques of development activities, including annual giving, major giving, planned giving, event planning, capital campaigns, marketing, and communications.
• Demonstrated leadership experience, and experience managing multiple direct reports.
• Extensive experience in grant writing and skills in proposal development.
• Excellent financial literacy and experience managing budgets.
• Deft ability to take initiative, prioritize, ideate, and implement multiple projects effectively in a collaborative and fast-paced environment.
• Strong written and oral communication skills and effective networking.
• Experience in building organization systems and familiarity with nonprofit governance, compliance, and accounting is a plus.
• This position will require some work in the evenings and weekends as well as some travel.
• This position is open to candidates with a variety of educational and professional backgrounds. Ideal candidates will have experience in the fields of nonprofit art, business management & administration, culture and/or social justice.

Salary and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $105,000 - $110,000 (commensurate with experience). Medical, vision, and dental benefits included. This position will require in-office hours in the Philadelphia headquarters two to three days a week with flexible work schedule options.

This position description is based upon material provided by Monument Lab, an equal opportunity employer.

To apply for this position, please click HERE.

Nina Cogan, Talent Consultant

ncogan@drgtalent.com

Dave Yi, Research and Outreach Associate

dyi@drgtalent.com