Vice President of Development

Levine Music

Status: Full-time, exempt employee

Salary: $170,000 - $180,000

Location: Washington, DC

Reports to: President & CEO

Deadline: Best consideration by late January. Resume reviews begin immediately.

About Levine Music 

Levine Music is a community music school dedicated to providing everyone in the National Capital Region with opportunities for musical discovery. At Levine, children and adults find lifelong inspiration and joy through learning, performing, listening to, and participating with others in music.

Levine was founded in 1976 in memory of Selma M. Levine, a prominent Washington attorney and an amateur pianist who took particular delight in encouraging young musicians. Levine has grown into one of the country’s leading community music schools and is recognized as an All-Steinway School. Levine is also accredited by the Accrediting Commission for Community and Precollegiate Arts Schools, an affiliate of the National Association of Schools of Music, underscoring the school’s commitment to the highest standards of excellence and access in community arts education.

Levine provides weekly music instruction to students at campuses across the region, as well as a permanent virtual campus. Students participate in a diverse range of musical activities in a supportive environment, guided by dedicated teachers to challenge their creative limits. In addition to traditional one-on-one and group music instruction, programs including Levine’s award-winning summer Camp Levine, early childhood and elementary First Music program, and adult enrichment learning foster musical discovery in inviting group settings. 

Levine’s distinguished faculty offers a broad and well-rounded curriculum that provides a strong musical foundation for students of different ages, abilities, and interests. Guided by core values of excellence and opportunity, Levine strives to make music education available to everyone. Hundreds of students receive substantial scholarship assistance; many hundreds more receive free instruction through subsidized or fully funded in-school programs. Learn more at www.levinemusic.org. 

Leadership Opportunity

Levine is seeking a dynamic fundraising professional to serve as Vice President of Development (Vice President), a critical leadership role and a driving force in shaping the future of Levine Music. The Vice President will collaborate closely with the President & CEO, the Board of Trustees, executive leadership, and a dedicated development team to realize a bold vision for Levine’s future. Driven by a recent strategic planning process, Levine has laid out an ambitious plan for growth and impact that includes major fundraising initiatives, including the opening of a new Northern Virginia campus in 2024 and its 50th Anniversary in 2026. The Vice President will be pivotal to developing successful campaigns for these special initiatives, and others as 

plans develop.  

The Vice President will join a well-resourced organization, supported by a loyal group of donors, at a time of significant growth. The ideal candidate is a senior development professional with a strong track record of cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major gifts. With a balanced approach towards strategy and donor engagement, the Vice President will be responsible for setting the department’s strategic direction, as well as managing a portfolio of high-net-worth individuals and historic donor relationships. A natural connector, the Vice President will build compelling opportunities and partnerships, write and communicate clearly and persuasively, and have excellent people management skills.

The Vice President reports to the President & CEO and manages a development team including a Development & Institutional Giving Manager, Individual Gifts and Events Manager, and a senior-level fundraising consultant.

Specific areas of responsibilities include:

Development Strategy & Operations

• Lead the design and implementation of a comprehensive fundraising program that aligns with strategic initiatives and campaigns, including the 50th anniversary in 2026.
• Design strategic approaches to cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship for existing and new donors, with an eye toward expanding the pool of major gifts.  
• Standardize department-wide policies, procedures, operations, and communications protocols across donor qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Develop and implement multi-year and annual development plans that include measurable financial goals and feasible timelines. 
• Collaborate with the CEO and CFO to create detailed annual and multi-year revenue forecasts, including quarterly financial goals for the development team. 

Fundraising Responsibilities

• Oversee cultivation and stewardship of current and prospective donors. Maintain a portfolio of 100-150 donors and prospects at leadership ($1,250+) and major gift ($10,000+) levels.
• Initiate, coordinate, and implement annual and multi-year solicitation strategies, including in-person meetings, phone calls, written proposals, online outreach, and event attendance.
• Expand the donor pipeline by leading the development team's prospect research processes to identify new funding opportunities and major donor prospects.
• Oversee the development team to ensure accurate and timely recording and acknowledgment of gifts. Oversee record maintenance in Raiser's Edge and generate regular reports to track progress toward fundraising goals.
• Oversee fundraising events including ownership of the Gala, the largest annual fundraiser. 
• Build and maintain relationships with corporate, foundation, and community partners and prospects; identify funding opportunities for special projects and capital campaigns.
• Guide the development team on matters related to donor prospecting, appeals, proposals, and stewardship; evaluate areas requiring focus and investment.   
• Manage the Board of Trustees’ development committee and work with members to cultivate and steward donors within their networks. 

Departmental Leadership & Collaboration

• Ensure the creation of compelling development materials, including a case for support. Collaborate with the Vice President of Marketing and Communications to ensure alignment between departments’ strategic goals and objectives.
• Recruit, train, motivate, and manage Trustees and volunteer leadership to achieve annual giving, campaign, and event fundraising goals. Identify, cultivate, recruit, and develop fundraising volunteers on an ongoing basis.
• Provide direction to the President & CEO’s efforts with major donors. Manage opportunities to connect with prospective and current funders.
• Draft donor correspondence and talking points for the President & CEO.
• Brief the President & CEO and other stakeholders with key information about current and prospective donors by preparing reports and other materials, and identifying Levine events to attend to build relationships with high-net individuals.
• Build a high-performing team of development professionals while steering departmental culture-building efforts. Set clear priorities and annual financial goals, promote professional growth through continuing education and coaching, and encourage strategic thinking and creative approaches amongst team members. 

Requirements and Qualifications

This position is a challenging and rewarding opportunity that requires a diverse set of skills and experiences. While we understand that no single applicant can possess every skill listed below, qualified candidates will likely possess many of the following:

• A minimum of 10 years of progressive experience in nonprofit fundraising, including a proven track record of soliciting and stewarding major gifts, and comfort in organizations raising contributed revenue budgets of multi-million dollars. 
• A strategic thinker with experience executing ambitious fundraising goals by creating long- term strategies to diversify funding with a strong focus on major gifts. 
• Demonstrated supervisory experience and ability to build capacity among direct reports and other team members. 
• Ability to work effectively both independently and collaboratively, fostering teamwork within the development team and across the organization.
• High emotional intelligence with the ability to navigate a large and complex Board of Trustees and experience managing development committees. 
• Change management experience with the ability to demonstrate effectiveness communicating and implementing new processes and plans. 
• Excellent written, verbal, and electronic communication skills. Ability to craft compelling cases for support for a wide variety of audiences and coach spokespeople to support fundraising-related activities.
• Proficiency in MS Office applications, especially MS Word, Excel, and Outlook. Experience with Raiser's Edge or similar CRM database software is essential.
• High degree of self-motivation, personal discipline, and integrity. 
• Experience operationalizing equity and organizational DEIA goals in fundraising strategies to diversify donor pools.

Preferred but not required 

• Knowledge of the local philanthropy landscape and major donors. 
• Experience fundraising in the arts.
• Experience with capital campaign planning and execution. 

Location 

Levine is located in northwest Washington, DC. The Vice President will work a hybrid schedule of approximately 3 days a week in the office. Nights and weekends may be required for fundraising events and donor stewardship. Candidates must be located in the Washington, DC region to facilitate on-site work, with reliable transportation to attend events and meetings 

as needed.

Compensation & Benefits

The budgeted salary for this role is between $170,000-$180,000, with a benefits package that includes health, dental, and vision insurance, ample paid time off, retirement plan, and more.

Application Process

Levine has retained Good Insight, a national executive search firm serving nonprofits, to conduct this search. Interested applicants should submit a resume and detailed cover letter to www.good-insight.org/careers. Send confidential inquiries to Levine@good-insight.org.

Resume reviews begin immediately. For best consideration, please apply by late January 2025. Early applications are encouraged due to the pace of the search.

Equal Employment Opportunity

Levine is an equal opportunity employer. In order to provide equal employment and advancement opportunities to all individuals, employment decisions at Levine are based on job-related qualifications and skills, including prior experience and, where appropriate, performance and length of service at Levine. Levine does not discriminate based on race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, disability, ethnicity, family status, or any other category protected by law.