CelloBello Seeks to Hire a Director of Development and Communications

Job Title: Director of Development and Communications

Background
Launched in March of 2010, CelloBello.org (a website), has been led by its Founder and Artistic Director, cellist Paul Katz, and Director of Operations Jussi Reijonen, who serves as webmaster and efficiently supervises a small part-time paid staff, volunteers, and 3 work-study students from New England Conservatory. CelloBello seeks a Director of Development and Communications, a dynamic, creative, and highly organized professional to work as a strategic and creative partner with the CelloBello Artistic Director with the goal of short-term growth and long-term financial sustainability. The Director of Development and Communications reports to the Artistic Director with regular written reports to the Board of Directors (e.g. monthly). Our board of Directors is an active and committed group of experts from the fields of law, development, finance, web expertise and prominent professional cellists. 100% of the CB board have given to CelloBello.

This is a unique opportunity for an early to mid-level career professional with growth potential to have a major impact on the continued expansion of an idealistic, socially conscious arts organization. CelloBello is unique among the world’s educational websites for string players, utilizing the cutting edge of today’s technology to advance the very highest musical, artistic and educational standards. CelloBello fosters a global community of the world’s finest artists and pedagogues, offering their expertise to all, regardless of location, level, or economic status. CelloBello is viewed in over 170 countries and had over 110,000 users with 250,000 page views this past year.

CelloBello Vision and Mission
Vision: All cellists, regardless of location, level, or economic status, will have access to the highest level of musical instruction, inspiration, and interaction.

Mission: Nurture and strengthen a global cello community through free online instruction and advice from renowned cellists and teachers.

Job Description

• Fundraising is the #1 priority of this position. Sustainability of the website is the long-term goal.
• Report to and work closely with the Artistic Director in policy decisions, fundraising and in the development of a long-term strategic plan, within the context of the current $130,000 operating budget.
• Develop and manage online fund-drives; build an annual fund program and relationships with leadership donors.
• Create and manage 2-3 donor cultivation events and one major event a year.
• Oversee marketing and public relations efforts to increase CelloBello’s internet visibility.
• Reach out to musicians, luthiers, instrument dealers, and relevant businesses to solicit advertising and corporate sponsorship.
• Research and write grants and complete all grant reporting requirements.
• Cultivate potential individual donors and partners.
• Work with the Director of Operations in the management of staff time allocated to development activities. Communicate fundraising goals throughout the organization and equip team members to reach them.
• Maintain the donor database; take charge of donor stewardship and acknowledgement; supervise staff in mailing thank you cards and gifts.
• Strategize with the Artistic Director and Board to devise ways to monetize the website.
• Boston area residency. Work from home with flexible hours.

Qualifications

• Experience with fundraising; proven ability to develop positive relationships with constituents and supporters.
• Some musical training with an understanding of musical terms. Some knowledge of the cello and cellists is desirable, though not required.
• Bachelor’s degree required; Master’s degree preferred.
• 3+ years of nonprofit development experience or equivalent experience in sales, marketing or relationship management.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills, both written and verbal, and a high comfort level meeting/speaking with individuals face-to-face or at social functions and events. Ability to communicate excellently and compel audiences through writing and speaking.
• Ability to set priorities, manage schedules, meet deadlines, and track the progress of multiple projects simultaneously while maintaining a high-quality of work and strong attention to detail.
• Knowledge of Excel, Google docs, and Asana (for staff planning/communication)
• A basic comfort level with computers and the internet. No special skill set required.
• Commitment to all aspects of CelloBello’s philosophy as expressed in the Mission and Vision statement

Job Summary
This job might be for you if you have an entrepreneurial spirit, dream of transforming a growing, successful, but financially struggling organization into a financially sustainable one, and you know how to actualize your aspirations. The Director of Development and Communications leads, supervises, and oversees all fundraising and marketing functions of the organization. These include, but are not limited to event planning, grant writing, marketing, solicitation of website advertising and corporate sponsorship. The Director of Development and Communication works in collaboration with the Artistic Director, Director of Operations, reports to the Artistic Director and makes timely written reports to the board.

Application
Job Post Date: 5/15/2019
Expiration Date: 7/15/2019
Start date: 8/01/2019
Salary: Commensurate with experience
If interested, send a cover letter and résumé to paul@cellobello.org

Looking to the Future
CelloBello is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization intent on expanding its online offerings, pool of contributors, and global reach, always remaining true to our roots in education and our mission.

What We Provide
CelloBello provides free online resources related to playing the cello and musical interpretation, including lessons, master classes, interviews, and interactive chats with artist-teachers from the solo, chamber music, orchestral, and teaching professions. It also provides articles, information on jobs and competitions, repertoire and book listings, and additional educational, career, and professional resources.

CelloBello History
The Founder and Artistic Director of CelloBello is Paul Katz, former cellist with the Cleveland Quartet and current Professor of Cello at the New England Conservatory in Boston. The development of the website began in 2009, (now www.cellobello.org)with fundraising support from the New England Conservatory and then-President Tony Woodcock. In 2010, the CelloBello website was launched in consultation with the Educational Media Foundation of the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) affiliate WGBH Boston, and Rafael deStella of destella.creative. A major redesign was completed in 2017 in collaboration with Blink;Tech, who currently host the site. A small but dedicated team of part-time and volunteer web staff maintain the site. NEC continues to support the site with work-study students, and live streaming of cello master classes, CelloBello.org is an entirely separate organization with no direct business affiliation with NEC.

CelloBello was born out of a passionate desire to maximize the educational potential of the world wide web and offer the highest level of online musical instruction to cellists without access to teachers, to stimulate discussion and exchange, and to foster a global cello community. Site content and instruction are provided by a long list of internationally renowned cellists and professional teachers who donate their time and expertise. We are funded entirely by private donations.