Associate Director, Major Gifts & Legacy Giving

American Ballet Theatre (ABT) is one of the greatest dance companies in the world. Since its founding season in 1940, ABT’s mission has been to create, present, preserve, and extend the incredible repertoire of classical dancing for the widest possible audience. Headquartered in New York City, ABT is the only cultural institution of its size and stature to extensively tour, enchanting audiences for eight decades in 50 U.S. states, 45 countries, and over 480 cities worldwide. ABT’s repertoire includes full-length classics from the nineteenth century, the finest works from the early twentieth century, and acclaimed contemporary masterpieces.  In 2006, by an act of Congress, ABT was designated “America’s National Ballet Company®.”

Reporting to the Director of Major Gifts, the Associate Director, Major Gifts & Legacy Giving is responsible for the identification, cultivation, and solicitation of gifts $10,000 and above. He/She/They will actively work with a defined donor portfolio to create meaningful and strategic interactions including gift solicitation and stewardship. The Associate Director, Major Gifts will also take on additional fundraising-related responsibilities that include managing existing or new fundraising programs and initiatives. 

Working within the highly collaborative environment of ABT’s Advancement team, the Associate Director, Major Gifts will play an integral role in achieving annual fundraising objectives. He/She/They will collaborate with ABT colleagues across artistic and administrative departments to understand funding priorities and engage them as needed to build strong donor relationships. This role will engage experienced and creative fundraising professionals with an interest in prospecting and cultivating new funding relationships and encouraging higher levels of commitment from existing contributors. 

This highly motivated individual will also steer The Lucia Chase Society, ABT’s legacy giving program. This entails incorporating legacy giving vehicles into conversations with donors, identifying prospects, and solidifying and strengthening annual cultivation and stewardship opportunities to attract new planned gifts. 

• Oversee and grow a portfolio of Major Gift donors and prospects (roughly 100+) through all phases of the giving cycle, from discovery and engagement through cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. 
• Act as primary Advancement liaison for ABT’s Chairman’s Council, a dedicated affiliate group whose members enjoy connecting with fellow supporters and deepening their relationships with ABT artists.  
• Direct and serve as point of contact for The Lucia Chase Society, acknowledging donors who have made or intend to make legacy gifts to American Ballet Theatre and fielding inquiries from prospective donors.
• Identify new planned giving prospects; speak articulately to planned giving vehicles in conversations with donors; and orchestrate benefits and ongoing recognition during the donor’s lifetime.  
• In collaboration with the Chief Advancement Officer, Advancement and Major Gifts colleagues, identify, cultivate, and solicit current and prospective donors to ABT’s Partners Program, Education & Training programs; Production and New Works initiative, ABT Dancer Fund and other critical facets of operations. 
• Be responsible for managing communications and follow-up, including maintaining detailed contact reports and phase changes on all prospect and donor records. Actively track moves and interactions in ABT’s CRM software. 
• Along with the other Associate Director, Major Gifts, co-manage the ABT major donor prospecting pipeline and bring expertise to ABT’s prospecting and fundraising strategic plan through research and identification of new prospective donors. 
• In advance of performance seasons, utilize iWave and other research tools to segment, screen and rate prospects from robust ticket buyer lists.  
• Prepare written communications, stewardship reports, correspondence, proposals, and presentations for major donors. 
• Collaborate with and support ABT’s executive leadership with respect to cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship efforts. This work includes authoring donor briefings and correspondence, event scripts, talking points, etc. 
• Produce and partner with ABT’s Special Events team to plan a regular schedule of events that maximize major donor and prospect cultivation opportunities. 
• Actively attend performances and events during New York performance seasons, establishing meaningful touch points with donors and prospects, including meetings, dinners and back-stage tours. This will require attendance in the evenings and weekends as required. 
• Perform other Advancement-related duties and undertake projects as needed. 

• Bachelor’s degree preferred, with a minimum of 5-7 years of front-line fundraising experience, preferably in the performing arts. 
• Ability to use current desktop office technologies proficiently (Microsoft Office suite, Raiser’s Edge, Microsoft Outlook, SalesForce) and to adapt to and use future technologies. 
• Familiarity with research tools such as iWave preferred. 
• Knowledge of commonly used planned giving vehicles and legacy giving programs. 
• Proven track record of securing planned gifts and stewarding legacy donors. 
• Demonstrated accomplishments in managing donor portfolios, strategic planning, making solicitations and achieving or exceeding personal and departmental fundraising goals required. 
• Demonstrated ability to successfully work independently and with leadership of donor affiliate groups and other staff as part of a team.  
• Ability to work successfully in a complex, fast-paced organization handling multiple tasks while meeting deadlines and serving multiple stakeholders. 
• Sound judgment, tactful and ability to handle highly confidential information. 
• Excellent written and oral communication skills. 
• Enthusiastic, creative, and enterprising, with passion for and interest in ABT’s mission and vision. 

• 10 days’ vacation, 2 personal days, 1 floating holiday; 20 sick days
• ABT also takes a “Hiatus Week” in August, and we close between Christmas and New Year; we also observe the standard annual Company Holidays including Juneteenth.
• 403(b) with no company match; eligible to participate after 6 months.
• Group health insurance where company pays 100% of the single premium rate for all plans; $1,500 annually if you chose not to participate in the plan (Medical, Dental, Vision)
• Short-Term Disability Insurance, etc. provided by the company.

American Ballet Theatre is an equal opportunity employer and is committed to providing a workplace free from harassment and discrimination. We are committed to recruiting, hiring, training, and promoting qualified people of all backgrounds, and make all employment decisions without regard to any protected status.