Director of Institutional Giving

Position Summary

As the only museum in the country devoted exclusively to contemporary Jewish art and culture, The CJM welcomes all to explore what it means to be Jewish today and the ways in which Jewish life is evolving towards the future. We believe that this work is essential to Jewish life flourishing in all its beautiful diversity—and to building a civic space in which people of all identities find understanding, joy, and respect.

The Director of Institutional Giving leads the institutional giving program at The CJM, managing all government, foundation, and corporate funding and bringing in about $1,000,000 annually in revenue, with the goal of substantially growing the program in the next two-three years.  This position designs, plans, and executes the institutional funder pipeline; develops strategies, goals, and proactive timelines for substantive growth; and strategically collaborates with the Board of Directors, Executive Team, and program staff to develop fundable programs, construct successful proposals, and carry out evaluations to assess their impact. 

Key responsibilities include identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding government, foundation, and corporate funders; full grants lifecycle management, including prospecting and research, grant writing, reporting, and budgeting, grants contracts and acknowledgement, evaluation and reporting. This position oversees a part-time grant writer consultant.

Externally, the individual in this position is the primary liaison with staff and principals at private foundations, government agencies, and corporate philanthropy and marketing departments representing The CJM, the Executive Director (ED) and Director of Development (DoD) in various capacities. Internally, this role works closely with departments across the museum prioritizing projects for funding, conceptualizing new projects, and developing compelling cases for grant support and sponsorships. This position liaises frequently with the Controller on budget and financial requirements and on data and reporting generated by the Development Operations team. 

For all positions, The Museum expects prospective employees to have an interest in and commitment to the mission and core values of The CJM, including its beliefs in anti-racism, diversity, equity, access, and inclusion.

Essential Job Responsibilities

Fundraising

• Initiate, cultivate, and steward new and existing relationships with institutional donors and sponsors, engaging the DoD, the ED, and senior program staff in the meetings with prospects and funders as needed
• Expand and improve the institutional funder pipeline
• Build up the department’s fundraising capacity and ROI 
• Prioritize high-impact projects and proposals while diversifying funder brackets to mitigate rejection risk and aim for higher funder retention, multi-year engagement, and renewals
• In partnership with the DoD, develop and implement an ambitious institutional fundraising strategy, and translate it into annual and multi-year revenue goals and project calendar

Grants Management

• Direct all aspects of The CJM’s grants administration; serve as primary contact for foundations, government agencies, and corporations
• Oversee full grants lifecycle, from prospecting through evaluation and reporting
• Lead the research and identification of new institutional funding sources, locally and nationally
• Run a highly organized grant-writing operation; produce compelling, persuasive, and effective proposals, letters of inquiry, funding renewal requests, reports, etc.
• Oversee a part-time grant writing consultant; provide consultant with timely feedback, goals, and information
• Identify and plan powerful and fundable programmatic projects and initiatives through proposal and budget development; keep programs staff and other stakeholders informed of pending and submitted proposals and reports; communicate regularly with The CJM staff to ensure grant objectives are monitored and met, and initiatives comply with grant agreements
• Develop complex project budgets and budget narratives in close collaboration with the Executive Team, senior programs staff, and Controller
• Maintain an up-to-date calendar of all institutional funding opportunities, deliverables, expected decisions, deadlines, and renewal windows; ensure timely and accurate submission of grant and sponsorship proposals and reports
• Organize and track all proposal and grant activity in The CJM’s CRM database
• Manage and ensure accuracy of donor and sponsor recognition in CJM credit lines, wall texts, website, and reports
• Work closely with The CJM’s Finance team and Development Operations staff on budget planning and financial reporting
• Plan and oversee site visits and stewardship events for institutional donors; attend other CJM donor and sponsor events as needed 

Leadership and Strategic Planning

• Work with the Executive Team and senior program staff on developing and prioritizing major new programs and initiatives with an eye on their fundability; ensure there are funding opportunities to support them
• Serve as a member of The CJM Senior Management team; participate directly in the development and management of the Museum’s financial, programmatic, and strategic goals/objectives to ensure that they are met, in part, through institutional donor and sponsor support
• Lead the development and implementation of organization-wide and program impact evaluations, oversee external evaluation and survey specialists, and collaborate with visitor experience, programs, exhibitions, communications and marketing teams on designing surveys and disseminating the results.

Minimum Qualifications

• Minimum five years of experience in non-profit fundraising, grant writing, and grants management, preferably in arts, culture, or education. Advanced or Bachelor degree preferred
• Demonstrated success in institutional writing, communications, or related field
• Experience producing – and demonstrated success in – highly complex government and foundation grant applications

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Deep knowledge, understanding, and compliance with fundraising principles and ethics
• Familiarity with Bay Area Jewish philanthropic community and institutional funders a plus
• Excellent project management skills: ability to set goals, determine action steps and timelines, and communicate effectively
• Exceptionally organized, with strong attention to detail and data-forward mindset
• Ability to prioritize effectively and work simultaneously on multiple projects in a fast-paced environment
• A knack for strategy, planning, and problem-solving
• Professional writing, editing, and communication and content-creation skills
• Outstanding oral communication and presentation skills with poise
• Discretion, confidentiality, and diplomacy
• Collaborative and positive attitude, a consummate team-builder able to form productive relationships across a wide range of internal and external stakeholders
• High proficiency in MS Office Suite, experience with databases, CRMs, and prospect research platforms
• Proficiency in budget preparation and management
• Commitment to the mission of The CJM and strong interest in Jewish culture and/or art
• Flexibility to work evenings and weekends for occasional events

Physical Requirements

• Prolonged periods working on a keyboard and computer

The Contemporary Jewish Museum is an equal opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, religion, color, national origin or ancestry, age, marital or domestic partner status, sex, genetic information, sexual orientation, gender identity, status as a protected veteran, status as a qualified individual with a disability, or any other characteristic protected by applicable Federal, State or Local law. 

Pursuant to the San Francisco Fair Chance Ordinance, The CJM will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest and conviction records.

Application Process

Apply within the Idealist site or email cover letter and resume to jobs@thecjm.org and indicate “Director of Institutional Giving” in the subject line