Job Description

Job Description

Job Description

The Conservatory Lab Foundation seeks an Institutional Giving Manager.

About the Conservatory Lab Foundation
The Conservatory Lab Foundation (the Foundation) is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that provides philanthropic support, and holds assets on behalf of the Conservatory Lab Charter School (Conservatory Lab), where every student receives daily orchestral musical instruction. The Foundation supports the national dissemination of Conservatory Lab’s educational model, and provides public relations, event logistics, and marketing support to the School.

About Conservatory Lab Charter School
Founded in 1999, Conservatory Lab currently enrolls approximately 450 K-8 students. Its mission is to empower a diverse range of children as scholars, artists, and leaders through a unique and rigorous academic and music education. Conservatory Lab enriches the larger community through performance, service, and collaboration. As a laboratory school, Conservatory Lab disseminates innovative educational approaches that will positively impact children in other schools and programs.

With a flagship Upper Campus opened on Dorchester Columbia Road in 2021 and a Lower Campus in the process of a comprehensive renovation and expansion, this is an exciting time for Conservatory Lab. Where total enrollment in Boston Public Schools is declining, Conservatory Lab maintains a lengthy waitlist, with strong senior leadership and enviable teacher retention.

In 2023, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) recognized Conservatory Lab’s strong academic results through the 2023 designation as a “School of Recognition.” In 2024, DESE awarded Conservatory Lab a four-year $ 1 million grant to expand its after-school program. Last year, donations to the annual fund increased by 34%, and we are well on our way toward our goal to grow the annual fund by 20% this year.

In addition to completing efforts underway to increase the annual fund from $1 million to $2 million and completing a $5.5 million capital campaign for the Lower Campus renovation, the Foundation seeks to deepen its ties to the adjacent Dorchester neighborhoods of Bowdoin/Geneva, Grove Hall, and Upham’s Corner, and to raise awareness of Conservatory Lab’s transformative mission with Greater Boston’s cultural, academic, business, philanthropic, and political centers of influence. The Foundation team also collaborates to maintain a consistent visual brand for the school’s online and print materials and is actively building an alumni association.

About the Institutional Giving Manager position
Reporting to the, and in partnership with, the Foundation’s Executive Director, the Institutional Giving Manager (the Manager) is responsible for approximately two-thirds of the Annual Fund. The Manager maintains contact with existing Institutional Donors, including sending regular updates and scheduling visits to the Conservatory Lab as appropriate. They manage the calendar of the proposal and report deadlines, research and prepare briefings on prospective new donors, make initial contact with new Institutional Donors and partner on school tours with Institutional donors and prospects.

The position requires someone with a keen sense of judgment, a collaborative spirit, and the ability to work under carefully driven deadlines and expectations. The Manager is part of a four-person Foundation team, which inevitably means cross-training and supporting other team members when needed.

The Institutional Giving Manager is responsible for:

Strategy:

• The Foundation maintains a Tracker of its donors and prospects. The Manager will annually collaborate with the Executive Director on establishing a customized stewardship path for each Institutional entry on the Tracker, including:

  • Identifying required deadlines for proposals and reports.

  • Establish additional school events of interest for each donor.

  • Drafting and following edits, submitting required proposals and reports.

  • Building and maintaining a relationship with each donor that ideally culminates in an annual visit to tour the School

• Attend board, school, and other meetings as needed.

• Build relationships with School administrators and teachers to identify needs, creatively packaging these to existing and emerging donors, and to best understand the texture and details of School programming.

Gift Stewardship and solicitation:

• Working in collaboration with the Development Assistant, the Manager will:

  • Ensure that all donors in the Institutional portfolio receive appropriate acknowledgment letters and correspondence.

  • Distribute gift reports and donor thank you call sheets to the Executive Director and appropriate Board members.

  • Process gifts in accordance with gift policies and procedures.

  • Support other donor recognition and stewardship efforts, including capital campaign acknowledgments.

  • Ensure that gifts of all types are processed and receipts are issued which includes direct processing of checks, and coordination with finance on other kinds of gift processing.

  • File gift agreements, correspondence, and other information for major donors and funders.

Communications & Marketing:

• The Manager will support the Development Assistant in marketing and social media by providing content based on interactions with donors and School staff by:

  • Writing social media and blog posts, when asked,

  • Ghost-writing content on behalf of School staff

  • Collaborating with the Foundation team on press releases, as needed

Required Skills & Experience:

• Strong written, research, and verbal communications skills.

• Strong understanding of social media.

• Excellent planning and coordination ability.

• Comfort reporting and working with senior leadership.

• Familiarity with social justice, music and the arts, and K-12 education.

• High energy, positive, can-do attitude, flexibility and teamwork.

• The ability to appropriately deal with competing deadlines and expectations.

• Facilitation of emerging technologies, donor databases, and online giving platforms.

Salary and Benefits:

The Institutional Giving Manager shall receive a salary of $58,000. Benefits of working at Conservatory Lab Foundation include three weeks paid vacation, plus school holidays, an employer-sponsored health and dental plan, and retirement plan. The Foundation has a strong commitment to work / life balance and while there is a required Saturday attendance at the School’s Winter and Spring festivals, and occasional other events throughout the year, working evenings or weekends is rare.

Although on-site work is critical to the success of the Foundation’s goals, occasional off-site work is encouraged with prior approval. The Foundation’s hours of operation are typically 7am - 3pm, mirroring the School day but are flexible with approval of the Executive Director, so long as there is consistency.

To Apply:
If you believe that you would like to join the Conservatory Lab Foundation and make a lasting positive impact on Conservatory Lab Charter School, its students and faculty, and its community, please send a resume and cover letter to the Foundation's Executive Director Matt Chapuran at MChapuran@ConservatoryLab.org.

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