Director of Planned Giving

Director Of Planned Giving

With 15,000+ current donors and an already established group of planned giving donors through the Walter Piston Society, the Director of Planned Giving has an exciting opportunity to build on the foundation of engagement and grow the planned giving program. Established in 1987 and named for Pulitzer Prize-winning composer and noted musician Walter Piston, who endowed the BSO's Principal Flute Chair with a bequest, the Walter Piston Society recognizes and honors those who have provided for the future of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Pops, or Tanglewood through one of a variety of irrevocable deferred gifts, or by including the BSO in their long-term plans. Reporting to the Senior Director of Individual Giving and a key member of the development team at the BSO, the Director of Planned Giving will be responsible for designing, directing, and implementing a comprehensive program to promote and secure planned gifts for the organization. The successful candidate will be highly collaborative and adept at networking and forming relationships with demonstrated experience in closing planned gifts at the six-figure level and higher. This person will partner with colleagues to assist in strategizing and preparing solicitations to help ensure that the orchestra's endowment, capital, and special project funding priorities are met. They will also work closely with trustees, advisors, colleagues, and other key leaders to identify and qualify new prospects and will serve as a key relationship manager as part of the front-line fundraising team.

The Director of Planned Giving will join an organization that has an extraordinarily loyal, committed, and generous donor base. Planned Giving plays a central part of the development strategy and offers incredible opportunities for growth at a key moment of wealth transfer. We welcome entrepreneurial candidates who are excited in building a best-in-class program, and participating in creating a foothold for the BSO's next century.

Responsibilities :

• Manage a portfolio of 250-300 planned gift donors and respond to all planned giving inquiries from prospects. Lead estate administration processes for realized planned gifts and serve as the BSO's contact for wealth managers, tax advisors and estate attorneys acting on behalf of their clients.
• Collaborate with other members of the Individual Giving team to strategize planned giving and blended gift solicitations by developing cultivation, stewardship and planned giving approaches on how to identify prospects and initiate conversations. Work with senior organization officers and fiduciary and legal representatives of the organization to secure deferred or complex gifts (e.g., real estate, other property) to the organization.
• Serve as the subject matter expert for the front-line fundraising team on gift planning options, creating proposal materials and other written materials and provide oversight of the administration and reporting requirements for all deferred / planned gifts including bequests, trusts, life insurance, and real estate. Serve as liaison with the gift processing and finance offices on matters pertaining to past, present, and future planned gifts, including their administration and accounting
• Collaborate with the Donor Relations and Events team to execute stewardship strategies for the Walter Piston Society. Create and manage annual benefits packages for Walter Piston Society members.
• Identify prospective new Walter Piston Society members through prospect research of BSO subscribers, ticket buyers and donors.
• Create and implement a comprehensive planned giving marketing plan across all three brands and various communication channels.
• Collaborate with the Development Operations team to ensure that planned gift documentation is up to date in CRM and donor files. Maintain accurate records of planned gifts and provide regular reports to management and stakeholders.
• Evaluate proposed planned gifts to ensure they comply with BSO policies and procedures.
• Remain up to date on giving strategies and best practices as well as changing tax law and regulations that impact the field.
• Attend donor events and concerts as needed.
• Other duties as assigned.

Qualifications :

Job Requirements :

The Boston Symphony Orchestra engages millions of people each year in the remarkable diversity and wonder of orchestral music and maintains homes at its iconic venues, Boston's Symphony Hall and Tanglewood in Western Massachusetts. From the Boston Pops Fireworks Spectacular on the Charles River Esplanade to free community concerts throughout Greater Boston, an annual BSO Youth and Family series at Symphony Hall, humanities programs at the Tanglewood Learning Institute, and tour performances in concert halls around the world, the BSO remains committed to innovation, creativity, artistry, cultural relevance, education, civic engagement, and making orchestral music accessible to audiences of all ages, backgrounds, and levels of familiarity. At home, abroad, and through recordings, television, and radio broadcasts, a deep and inclusive commissioning legacy, and a history of cultivating emerging artists, the BSO reinforces its status as one of the world's most accomplished and versatile ensembles, attracting world-renowned guest artists, composers, and conductors.

On the eve of its 150th anniversary, the BSO is ready for change, and to open the next chapter in its history. The development department will be essential to fueling and supporting this transformation.

Since its founding in 1881, the BSO has centered innovation in its practices. One of the great orchestras of the world, devoted to advancing the classical music artform, it was also the first to integrate popular entertainments into its program offerings, with the creation of the Pops. Long a home for many of the most progressive musicians of our times, it has helped launch countless artists' careers and commissioned an unparalleled body of music. With the establishment of Tanglewood, its iconic summer home, it has embedded musical training, mentorship, and humanistic explorations into its programming with artists representing the full breadth of genres. It is, quite simply, an organization which has pointed the way forward since its very first days. Today, the BSO is rededicating itself to that foundational notion that excellence in its work can and will continue to inspire, comfort, and challenge audiences in meaningful ways.

I joined the BSO as Chief Development Officer as of September 1, 2024, after having a long-standing relationship with the Symphony as a consultant and a patron. I am most excited about the potential for how the BSO can better serve the communities of Boston and the Berkshires through impactful, accessible, and high-quality programming; better serve the artform through imaginative generative work; and better serve musicians locally, nationally, and globally, by amplifying their voices. As we lead up to the BSO's 150th anniversary in 2031, the institution must meet this moment. The transformative ideas and investments that will support this arc of ambition will require transformational fundraising and the highest quality cultural of philanthropy to engage our constituencies.