Tafelmusik, “one of the top baroque orchestras in the world, exemplary in every way” (Gramophone), seeks an experienced, collaborative and determined Director of Philanthropy to grow philanthropic support and donor engagement. The Director of Philanthropy will be joining an outstanding team of professionals who work together to fuel Tafelmusik’s vision and success. Tafelmusik’s distinct identity includes the virtuosity in performance of its musicians, its approach to a wide range of historical styles, its creativity in programming, its success on the world stage through extensive touring and recording, and its comprehensive training the next generation of excellent period performance musicians.
About Tafelmusik
Tafelmusik Baroque Orchestra, founded in 1979 is recognized as a leading ensemble on the national and world stage. The Tafelmusik Chamber Choir, under the direction of Ivars Taurins, was formed in 1981 and is recognized for its choral excellence. Tafelmusik is recognized for its high standard of excellent board governance, sound and entrepreneurial management, and financial accomplishment with top ratings in the Canada Council for the Arts and Ontario Arts Council grant competitions for both artistic and management excellence. Tafelmusik has doubled its revenues since 2000, and has a $5+ MM annual budget, a $5 MM endowment and has recently completed a $3MM capital campaign. Tafelmusik is deficit free, and is celebrating its 14th successive surplus. This is an exciting time in Tafelmusik’s history with the success of its multi-disciplinary presentations, the launch of its own record label, the ongoing attraction of prestigious international engagements as one of Canada’s most active cultural ambassadors, and the successful renovation of its home venue. The orchestra performs more than 50 concerts each year at home in Toronto to a large and loving audience, and is the orchestra for Opera Atelier productions. The orchestra has performed in over 350 cities in the world, undertakes about five tours annually performing in venues from Vienna’s Musikverein, Carnegie Hall to Beijing’s Forbidden City Concert Hall. As one of Canada’s leading recording ensembles, Tafelmusik’s multi-platform recording label Tafelmusik Media and its digital concert hall. Tafelmusik has a rich discography of more than 80 CDs recorded on the Sony Classical, CBC Records, Analekta and Tafelmusik Media labels. Tafelmusik is the Baroque Orchestra-in-Residence at the Faculty of Music, University of Toronto and operates its annual artist training programmes, Tafelmusik Baroque Summer Institute and Tafelmusik Winter Institute.
Tafelmusik is now developing its major gift, sponsorship and planned giving programmes to support the tremendous artistic energy and accomplishments of its musicians and the ambitious plans of the organization as a whole.
The Opportunity
Building on the recent success of Tafelmusik’s $3 million capital campaign, the Director of Philanthropy will partner with the Managing Director, Music Director and senior volunteers to provide leadership for Tafelmusik’s growing fundraising activities and resources. The Director of Philanthropy will lead, inspire, and mentor a small team and will actively participate in the senior management team that nurtures and develops the current culture of philanthropy. The Director of Philanthropy serves as the principal fundraising officer for Tafelmusik. He or she is responsible for the oversight, planning and implementation of a comprehensive fundraising program that secures the significant financial resources from individuals, foundations, corporations and others to support Tafelmusik’s local, national and international artistic activities. S/he manages all major gifts functions ($10,000 +), which include principal gifts, planned giving, donor pipeline management, tracking and research, the gala, and fundraising campaigns. S/he works with fundraising staff to establish fundraising goals and is accountable for these goals. S/he hires, manages and establishes fundraising goals for the Associate Director of Philanthropy and other fundraising staff. S/he motivates and coordinates the efforts of the fundraising staff, Managing Director and Board of Directors in the identification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of donors. The Director of Philanthropy also manages a personal portfolio of 30 prospects and guides and supports the Tafelmusik Managing Director in her fundraising work. S/he focuses on long-range strategic priorities, seeking to raise multi-year commitments when possible and communicates a broad vision to others. This position requires some evening and weekend work at performances, offset by a good holiday and lieu time policy. The Director of Philanthropy reports to the Managing Director and supervises the fundraising staff.
The Ideal Candidate
• At least seven (7) years’ fundraising experience.
• CFRE is an asset.
• Knowledge of classical music and the arts, and warmth in genuinely communicating love of the arts.
• Team player – ability to work collaboratively with staff, musicians and senior volunteers.
• Ability to warmly nurture and sustain relationships.
• Management experience, including the ability to motivate, lead, set objectives and manage the performance of a fundraising team. Ability to foster an environment of creativity and professional growth.
• Expert knowledge of fundraising (individuals, foundations, sponsorship, special events, planned giving).
• Experience with donor prospect pipelines
• Proven success in asking for and closing major gifts and building and maintaining long-term relationships with major individual donors, foundations and corporations.
• Experience and track record in setting and meeting fundraising objectives and budgets, evaluating results and developing corrective strategies as needed.
• Superb communications and presentation skills, ability to persuasively convey Tafelmusik’s mission to diverse groups, including major donors, corporate and foundation executives, board members and others critical to Tafelmusik’s overall artistic and fiscal health.
• Ability to be a senior ambassador and advocate for Tafelmusik, and communicate effectively with influential people.
• Well organized, with demonstrated ability to multitask in a high volume environment. Willingness to work some evenings and weekends at performances and donor events.
To Apply
Please send Cover letter, CV/Resume, and references to Tricia Baldwin, Managing Director (tbaldwin@tafelmusik.org).
