GCTYO is hiring!

Development Manager

Greater Connecticut Youth Orchestras (GCTYO) brings young musicians together to achieve the highest standard of music performance in a welcoming, inclusive, and safe environment. Our holistic approach to education fosters growth, learning, confidence, and both social and emotional awareness, which prepares students for a full  and balanced life.

GCTYO has been embedded in the Connecticut community since 1961. We have grown from 2 orchestras to 15 ensembles, serving 325+ young musicians and their families from 45 different towns in the region. Formerly known as Greater Bridgeport Youth Orchestras, we changed to Greater Connecticut Youth Orchestras in 2019 to acknowledge the breadth and depth of our membership and our mission to open our arms to young musicians from all over the region. Our team includes a full time Executive Director, a Music Director and Operations Manager, 20 teaching artists, and 14 Board members, all with the shared goal of creating a positive, transformative social and musical experience to as many young people as possible. We are excited to hire our first Development Manager who will help make our vision a reality, raising awareness of the benefits of music education and funds to sustain GCTYO well into the future. 

We are seeking a Development Manager who will identify and manage a diverse portfolio of donors and pursue the acquisition of personal and foundation gifts at all levels. The Development Manager will be responsible for implementing all fundraising strategies that sustain and amplify the organization’s impact. They will work closely with the Executive and Music Directors and the Board of Directors to cultivate stronger relationships with stakeholders who financially support GCTYO and create an organizational culture in which everyone understands that they have a role in supporting the fundraising needs of the organization.

Responsibilities:

• Manage an organizational development plan that includes individual contributions, institutional support, fundraising events, and earned income.
• Document all fundraising activities using donor data management software and provide day-to-day management of the donor CRM, including generating reports and tracking donor activities.
• Evaluate all development strategies on a regular basis including working with program staff and Board to monitor progress against funded grant benchmarks and budgets.
• Document and leverage organizational impact through grant reports, an annual report, email communications, website, and social media.
• Actively engage board members and all staff in organizational fundraising activities as relevant and appropriate.
• Work with the Executive Director, Music Director, and the Board of Directors to secure, grow, and diversify revenue from individuals, foundations, corporations, and institutions.
• Conduct prospect research and create donor profiles to help steward them towards initiating or increasing donations.
• Implement donor engagement events in collaboration with the Board of Directors and senior leadership.

Qualifications:

• Qualified candidates should have approximately 2+ years of relevant fundraising experience
• Demonstrated track record of success in nonprofit organizations
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Proficiency in database/CRM software
• Strong organizational skills; ability to set priorities and manage deadlines
• Great interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships with a wide range of community members
• Experience with arts and culture organizations a plus
• Understanding of unique operational and fundraising challenges of organizations focused on equity, inclusion, and belonging

Application Process:

• Please send a resume and cover letter that tells us more about you and why you are interested in the Development position.
• Email to Beth Ulman, Executive Director, at executivedirector@gctyo.org
• Apply by August 15, 2024 

This position is part time, with compensation of $50,000 the first year. References will be requested during the hiring process. Start date September 3, 2024, which coincides with the start of the 2024-25 season. The Development Manager will be expected to work at least 25 hours per week, including some evenings and weekends. Candidates from backgrounds historically under-represented in arts communities are strongly encouraged to apply.

GREATER CONNECTICUT YOUTH ORCHESTRAS

STATEMENT OF DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION

Greater Connecticut Youth Orchestras (GCTYO) is grounded in the conviction that music education is a vital part of the education and development of young people and of communities as a whole. Accordingly, our music programs develop and support young musicians with an understanding that they are also part of a much larger world that is both diverse and historically complex. With this larger global context in mind, GCTYO recognizes that delivery of a robust and meaningful music education must begin with an acknowledgement of the historical inequity, exclusion and disparity of access to resources that shape the landscape in which we live. Euro-centricity, hetero-normative gender expectations, colonial conquest, and anti-Black racism have shaped the history of classical and symphonic music and continue to determine access to and success in the field. Given the systemic racism,  anti-LGBTQ bias, gender bias, and white privilege that dominates the orchestral world, our organization commits to creating opportunities for the meaningful inclusion of historically under-represented voices, particularly those from Black and Brown communities. These efforts will include (but are not limited to) equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist pedagogical and performance practices, diversifying our musical repertoire to include musicians and composers of color, and hiring staff that is diverse and reflective of our student community and the global community in which we live. In an effort toward accountability for these goals, we pledge to regularly engage our student musicians, parents, and GCTYO community by conducting annual assessments and inviting comments and suggestions about our progress. Our hope is that students emerge from the GCTYO music program as strong musicians with a deep commitment to social justice and an understanding of how music can play a part in achieving unity and equity for all.

AAPI Statement of Support

Spring 2021

GCTYO stands with the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community who have been targeted, harassed and endured violent discrimination during the coronavirus pandemic. We recognize the valuable contributions of the AAPI community to our orchestras and to society as a whole. Racism against AAPIs has a long history in our nation that has been unaddressed and GCTYO takes an actively anti-racist stance against this bias.