Open Positions at the Gilder Lehrman Institute

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Development Manager

The Organization

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (GLI) is the nation’s leading American history organization dedicated to K–12 education. The Institute’s mission is to promote the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources. Since its founding in 1994, the Gilder Lehrman Institute has created powerful and meaningful ways to teach and learn history. Focusing on primary sources, the Institute offers teacher seminars, online courses, exhibitions, digital materials, and print publications that enable students of all ages and backgrounds to study the nation’s past.

The Institute brings the work of today’s leading historians into classrooms and homes around the globe. Through public events, publications, posters, videos, exhibitions, essays, and a dedicated website rich in primary sources, the Institute brings every period of American history to life. The Institute’s diverse education programs, including the acclaimed Hamilton Education Program, provide opportunities to explore five centuries of American history. The Gilder Lehrman Affiliate School network comprises twelve million students and more than 90,500 teachers from more than 34,000 schools worldwide.

The Role

Are you passionate about the field of education? Excited by the idea of helping to inspire rising generations to be civically engaged at this critical moment for American democracy? Looking for an entrepreneurial fundraising role that allows you to be creative, hands-on, and part of recruiting the next generation of engaged supporters? The Gilder Lehrman Institute’s Development team is looking for you!

The Institute’s annual operating budget is approximately $10M, more than $4M of which comes from philanthropy. We are currently seeking a Development Manager, reporting to the Director of Development. The successful candidate will truly love to write and be excited about being a leader in rethinking how the Institute pairs words, images, and video to articulate the urgency of our mission and the impact of our programs on educators, students, and society as a whole. While writing will be an important component of this job, the Development Manager will also have the opportunity to engage directly with donors. This is an ideal position for someone who is interested in the donor relationship-building aspects of fundraising, while relishing the idea of spending a significant portion of your time immersed in creating the materials that are so essential to effective fundraising. The writing that the Development Manager oversees will range from shorter to longer formats depending on the donor-related need, but with an overall emphasis on distilling our work into highly concise pieces that use graphic design and visual elements as useful to our storytelling.

The Development Manager will play a key role in

  • Creating compelling marketing materials that help staff, Trustees, and other stakeholders fundraise for priority programs and our annual fund
  • Strengthening our donor stewardship by regularly producing compelling communications pieces
  • Helping to sustain and grow our portfolio of donors by writing impact reports, proposals, and other materials to secure funds
  • Cultivating donors in meetings, with opportunities to engage directly with donors aligned to the candidate’s level of experience

The Development Manager will be joining the Institute at a dynamic time, as we celebrate our 30th anniversary in 2024 and continue to enhance and expand our nonpartisan K–12 and public programming at a critical time for our nation.

This role will be based in New York City, and currently requires working in person at least one day per week in GLI’s midtown office.

Position Overview

The Development Manager will play a crucial role in bringing our stories to life across donor audiences and mediums, helping us sustain our current donor base and significantly expand and diversify this base. Specific responsibilities will include

  • Creating a toolkit of essential fundraising collateral for staff, Trustees, and President’s Council members to use in reaching out to donors, developing materials in both deck and document-based formats
  • Producing donor newsletters and other key donor communications pieces that capture highlights of the Institute’s work, taking these projects from start to finish by proposing the most compelling content, writing copy, and executing all relevant graphic design elements
  • Supporting the success of donor cultivation events by writing event-related collateral including e-blasts to advertise event opportunities, written program materials distributed to event guests, and post-event publicity pieces
  • Developing and executing a plan for Trustee communications to inspire their giving and outreach by sharing impact stories
  • Managing a calendar of direct mail appeals, identifying compelling opportunities to solicit giving to our annual fund, and developing aligned appeal pieces (which could take the form of letters, videos, or any other creative approach to fundraising)
  • Managing communications with donors who give to specific initiatives and/or programs in specific states, developing a calendar of outreach opportunities, and writing compelling updates to provide regular touchpoints throughout the year
  • Writing donor reports and proposals supporting at least $1M worth of gifts, working with the Institute’s Education team to develop compelling updates on our impact and cases for support
  • Supporting or leading annual meetings with a portfolio of donors to renew critical funds

Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree
  • An excellent writer, who also enjoys writing in multiple different formats and finding the right balance between telling stories through words, images, and videos
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office and Google Suite applications
  • Basic graphic design skills strongly preferred (i.e., you feel comfortable using Canva or equivalent tools to design a 1-page marketing document or design an e-blast)
  • Prior experience in non-profit fundraising and/or communications strongly preferred, or demonstrated experience in another professional role that requires writing for external audiences. Candidates with significant professional experience may be considered at the Senior Manager level.

Other Qualifications

  • Commitment to GLI’s mission and enthusiasm about communicating the mission to external audiences
  • Exceptional project management skills, with the ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment that involves juggling multiple projects at once and being detail-oriented about each task
  • Strong relationship management skills and intuitive understanding of how to handle sensitive communications with care
  • Team-oriented with a desire to participate in creating a strong team culture

Compensation

Compensation range: $60,000–$70,000 annually; compensation will be commensurate with candidate’s experience and other qualifications, and only candidates with significant professional experience will be considered for the position as a Senior Manager with compensation up to $80,000 annually.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute offers a generous and inclusive benefits package, including employer-paid health, dental, disability, and life insurance, 401(k) and FSA plans, and paid time off in the first year of hire including a paid winter recess from December 26 to 31.

To Apply

Interested candidates must submit a cover letter and resume in a single file to hr@gilderlehrman.org.

Candidates must also submit as separate attachments two work samples that highlight relevant skills for this position. One sample should be a narrative piece of writing (a short piece of two or three pages is ideal, with the maximum submission length being five pages). The second sample should integrate graphic design and narrative elements. Pieces written for donors or other marketing purposes are ideal. Candidates applying without a background in fundraising or communications may choose samples at their discretion that demonstrate relevant skills.

Please include “Development Manager” in the subject line of your email. Please also let us know how you heard about the role.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute is an equal opportunity employer and considers all applications without regard to race, sex, gender identity, color, religion, creed, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, sexual and other reproductive health decisions, height, weight, or any other legally protected status. If you meet many but not all the criteria and feel you may be a good fit for the role, GLI encourages you to apply.

Associate Director of Development

The Organization

The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History (GLI) is the nation’s leading American history organization dedicated to K–12 education. The Institute’s mission is to promote the knowledge and understanding of American history through educational programs and resources. Since its founding in 1994, the Gilder Lehrman Institute has created powerful and meaningful ways to teach and learn history. Focusing on primary sources, the Institute offers teacher seminars, online courses, exhibitions, digital materials, and print publications that enable students of all ages and backgrounds to study the nation’s past.

The Institute brings the work of today’s leading historians into classrooms and homes around the globe. Through public events, publications, posters, videos, exhibitions, essays, and a dedicated website rich in primary sources, the Institute brings every period of American history to life. The Institute’s diverse education programs, including the acclaimed Hamilton Education Program, provide opportunities to explore five centuries of American history. The Gilder Lehrman Affiliate School network comprises 12 million students and more than 90,500 teachers from more than 34,000 schools worldwide.

The Role

Are you passionate about the field of education? Excited about inspiring rising generations to be civically engaged at this critical moment for American democracy? Looking for an entrepreneurial fundraising role that allows you to be creative, hands on, and part of recruiting the next generation of engaged supporters? The Gilder Lehrman Institute’s Development team is looking for you!

The Institute is hiring an Associate Director, reporting to the Director of Development (DoD), and joining the DoD in creating and implementing a vision for expanding philanthropic revenue at an inflection point for the Institute. In 2024, we are celebrating our 30th anniversary having reached the milestone of serving nearly one-third of schools in America. We are determined to continue to grow and enhance our programming. Emerging priorities at the Institute range from our Voting Rights Initiative to new programs connected to the African American Studies AP exam and to the Declaration of Independence’s 250th anniversary in 2026. The Institute’s annual operating budget is approximately $11M, more than $4M of which comes from philanthropy. Bolstered by this strong base of support, we are looking to expand philanthropic giving from both individuals and institutions—including both local and national funders.

The Associate Director’s work will be divided across three areas: (1) Working with the DoD and the Development team as a whole to strengthen and systematize all aspects of development operations; (2) Developing fundraising strategies related to the Institute’s major areas of opportunity; and (3) Directly cultivating prospects and securing gifts to help expand the portfolio. This is a senior-level position that is ideal for someone who is seeking an opportunity to be a co-visionary as well as to engage in the tactical aspects of development operations and donor engagement.

This role will be based in New York City, and currently requires working in person at least one day per week in GLI’s midtown office.

Position Overview

The Associate Director of Development is a leadership role with a development department of six staff members inclusive of the Director of Development. This role is being added to the team at an exciting time of growth and opportunity. The position will manage 1–2 direct reports and one long-term consultant.

Building Our Vision & Engaging Directly with Donors (approximately 50% of the role)

Working in collaboration with the DoD, the Associate Director of Development will

  • Contribute to developing annual and long-term fundraising goals and strategies with an emphasis on selecting achievable priorities within a broad range of opportunities for the Institute to increase philanthropic revenue.
  • Lead internal planning and frontline fundraising around a subset of high-potential fundraising initiatives by
    • Working with the Institute’s CEO, COO, and colleagues on the Education and Finance teams to identify the programmatic needs and costs for each initiative.
    • Overseeing and contributing to the development of targeted fundraising collateral and prospect pipelines for each initiative.
    • Conducting outreach to and meeting with prospects to secure support, aligned with performance goals set on an annual basis.
  • Strengthen tactics for recognition, engagement, and stewardship of donors aligned with giving levels to promote gift retention and increases; manage development staff in systematizing new strategies.
  • Work with select Trustees and other major donors hosting cultivation events for the Institute to design the event approach and develop invitation lists, with support from the Development events team; cultivate prospects as a lead representative at events.

Advancing Internal Operations & Creating Effective Systems (approximately 50% of the role)

Internal operational responsibilities of the Associate Director of Development will include

  • Working with the Director of Development, the Development Coordinator, the Assistant Director of Technical Services, and GLI’s long-term Salesforce Consultant to develop and support comprehensive implementation of Salesforce systems for moves management.
  • Guiding the Development events team in developing new approaches to cultivation event management to drive strong donor/prospective donor attendance and increase further engagement—and ultimately giving—subsequent to an event. Support team members in identifying and implementing the best database practices and broader systems to streamline event and donor/prospect management.
  • Supporting the success and growth of Development team members by reviewing and providing feedback on key deliverables, including proposals, reports, decks, and special event collateral based on an annual plan that clearly delineates deliverables for the Associate Director’s review.
  • Partner with the Director of Development to continue to shape internal staffing and use of consultants in ways that are strategic for achieving the Institute’s immediate and long-term goals.

Requirements

  • Bachelor’s degree
  • Passion for GLI’s mission and an appetite for working across the breadth of American history and a broad range of history and civics initiatives
  • Significant experience in a fundraising role with strong understanding of fundraising principles, strategies, and trends in the sector; supervisory experience required
  • Love for “systems-thinking” and application to global goal-setting for the department as well as day-to-day operations
  • Self-starter who demonstrates excellent judgment and discretion, a high level of independent decision making, and exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail
  • Excellent written and oral communication skills, including experience with grant-writing and other donor collateral
  • Successful record of donor cultivation and closing gifts
  • Experience in establishing and institutionalizing donor database best practices (experience with Salesforce, which is used by the Institute, is ideal but not required if the candidate has a strong grounding in a comparable database platform)
  • Desire to work in a team-first environment and participate in fostering a strong culture within a growing department that includes new members
  • Willingness to travel occasionally to meet with donors in other US states; ability to staff evening events as relevant to cultivation event scheduling.

Compensation

Compensation range: $90,000–$110,000 annually; compensation will be commensurate with candidate’s experience and other qualifications.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute offers a generous and inclusive benefits package, including employer-paid health, dental, disability, and life insurance, 401(k) and FSA plans, and paid time off in the first year of hire including a paid winter recess from December 26 to 31. The Institute also reimburses 90% of the cost of tuition for the Gettysburg College–Gilder Lehrman Master of Arts in American History.

To Apply

Interested candidates must submit a cover letter and resume in a single file to hr@gilderlehrman.org, along with a separate file with a brief writing sample that focuses on marketing and pitching either general operating or program-specific support to a funder (confidential information may be blacked out). Please include “Associate Director of Development” in the subject line of your email. Please also let us know how you heard about the role.

The Gilder Lehrman Institute is an equal opportunity employer and considers all applications without regard to race, sex, gender identity, color, religion, creed, national origin, age, disability, marital or veteran status, sexual orientation, sexual and other reproductive health decisions, height, weight, or any other legally protected status. If you meet many but not all the criteria and feel you may be a good fit for the role, GLI encourages you to apply.