Chief Development Officer

Chautauqua Institution•Town of Chautauqua, NY

9h•Hybrid

About The Position

The Chief Development Officer (CDO) is responsible for conceptualizing, organizing, and implementing a comprehensive and strategic fundraising program in support of Chautauqua’s mission and strategic priorities. The CDO will serve as a thought partner to President Mark Johnson, to whom the position reports. The CDO will work closely with the Senior Vice President/Chief Program Officer, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, and fellow members of the Executive Team. Other close partners include the Board of Trustees, the Executive Director and the Board of Directors of the Chautauqua Foundation, and a wide circle of volunteer leaders. Together they will build a sustainable culture of philanthropy throughout the Institution, cultivate transformative gifts, and elevate and support Chautauqua’s mission. The CDO leads a team of approximately 10 professionals across the following areas: major, principal, and planned gifts; annual giving; institutional grants and sponsorships; prospect research, donor relations and events; and development services. The CDO will be tasked with sustained growth of the Chautauqua Fund, Chautauqua’s annual fund, which raised $5.9 million in FY25. The CDO will also help to build the strategy for Chautauqua’s next comprehensive campaign. Chautauqua Institution enters this search at an inflection point. Its Boundless campaign set a goal of $150 million and closed six months ahead of schedule in December 2025, raising $166 million during one of the most successful fundraising efforts in the Institution’s 152-year history. Since then, Chautauqua has undergone a period of leadership transition and financial realignment. Among other changes, Chautauqua welcomed Mark Johnson as President at the close of the 2026 Summer Assembly Season. He brings a conviction that Chautauqua, long a national platform for ideas and civil conversation across difference, can help restitch the fabric of American civic life. As President Johnson leads the development of a new strategic plan and master plan for the Chautauqua grounds, he has identified the recruitment of the CDO as a top priority. He is seeking a strategic partner who will build a modern, disciplined, data-informed development program equal to the generosity of the Chautauqua community and the scale of its ambitions.

Requirements

Twelve or more years of experience in development with progressive levels of leadership responsibility.
Experience with individual giving, major and principal gifts, annual giving, planned giving, stewardship, development operations, donor events, board relations, and leadership in a major fundraising campaign (planning, implementation, and successful conclusion).
Demonstrated success in change management.
Demonstrated success in conceptualizing fundraising program growth.
Demonstrated success in setting and meeting philanthropic goals.
Track record of personally identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding major gifts from individual and institutional donors at the level of six and seven figures and greater, including blended gifts that combine outright and planned commitments.
Demonstrated ability to open doors to high-net-worth prospects, drawing on a broad professional network for prospect discovery.
Knowledge of and adherence to the principles, ethics, and best practices of modern fundraising, including the integration of annual, major, planned, and endowment giving to diversify the funding base and cultivate greater donor commitments.
Working knowledge of endowment gift administration, gift acceptance and counting policies, and the stewardship of donor intent.
Demonstrated experience engaging, preparing, and working collaboratively with executives, program and artistic leaders, board members, and volunteers on development activities.
Experience working with governing and affiliated boards to strengthen their fundraising engagement.
Ability to lead, recruit, evaluate, mentor, and develop a team of development professionals.
Ability to build a high-functioning, results-oriented culture with clear goals and shared accountability.
Ability to extract and analyze data to make effective, efficient decisions about donor strategy, prospect identification, and process.
Working knowledge of prospect research, analytics, and modern CRM platforms.
Demonstrated success developing an impactful case for support.
Ability to be on site throughout the Summer Assembly Season and the weeks that precede and follow it.
Flexibility to travel extensively throughout the year.
Passion for Chautauqua’s mission and its four pillars of arts, religion, education, and recreation, and for its role as a place for ideas and civil conversation across difference.
Ability to authentically engage and inspire others as a senior representative of the Institution.
Eagerness to be part of the Chautauqua community and to build relationships within it.
Understanding that fundraising at Chautauqua happens among neighbors, where donors expect to know their development leaders personally.
Team player mentality: collegial, low ego, willing to roll up one’s sleeves, and generous in sharing credit and the stage.
Self-starter who is highly organized and detail oriented.
Ability to work independently, bring well-formed recommendations, and keep colleagues informed.
Decisive leader and clear communicator who makes decisions, explains them, and adjusts course when needed.
Ability to bring calm and steadiness to high-pressure moments.
Emotionally intelligent and diplomatic, with the interpersonal skills to build trust among donors, board members, staff, and community members.
Respect for the Institution’s history and traditions while bringing the confidence to ask questions and advance change.
Commitment to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and transparency.
Mature judgment in handling sensitive information.
Ability to lead by example and with humility.
Effective oral and written communication skills.
Stature, demeanor, and comfort level to serve as a highly visible and public-facing ambassador of Chautauqua.
Ability to articulate goals and progress clearly, and how fundraising strategy advances larger institutional goals.
Motivated to build for the long term, with a desire to lay a foundation that will serve Chautauqua well beyond the next campaign.
Commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Accessibility (IDEA).

Nice To Haves

Fundraising experience in a complex, multi-program environment, such as higher education, performing arts and culture, or another institution serving many distinct constituencies.
Experience working with an affiliated foundation or other multi-entity structure.
Ability to evaluate organizational models and recommend a structure that best serves donors.
Experience with leading a CRM transition.
Knowledge of the philanthropic landscape of Western New York, Northeast Ohio, and Western Pennsylvania.

Responsibilities

Conceptualize, organize, and implement a comprehensive and strategic fundraising program.
Serve as a thought partner to the President.
Work closely with the Senior Vice President/Chief Program Officer, Vice President of Marketing and Communications, and fellow members of the Executive Team.
Collaborate with the Board of Trustees, the Executive Director and the Board of Directors of the Chautauqua Foundation, and volunteer leaders.
Build a sustainable culture of philanthropy.
Cultivate transformative gifts.
Elevate and support Chautauqua’s mission.
Lead a team of approximately 10 professionals across major, principal, and planned gifts; annual giving; institutional grants and sponsorships; prospect research, donor relations and events; and development services.
Drive sustained growth of the Chautauqua Fund.
Help build the strategy for Chautauqua’s next comprehensive campaign.
Build a modern, disciplined, data-informed development program.
Assess development program structure and staffing.
Implement policies, systems, and metrics for the development program.
Create operational discipline for frontline fundraising.
Personally identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward major gifts.
Open doors to high-net-worth prospects.
Engage, prepare, and work collaboratively with executives, program and artistic leaders, board members, and volunteers on development activities.
Work with governing and affiliated boards to strengthen their fundraising engagement.
Lead, recruit, evaluate, mentor, and develop a team of development professionals.
Build a high-functioning, results-oriented culture with clear goals and shared accountability.
Extract and analyze data to make effective decisions about donor strategy, prospect identification, and process.
Develop an impactful case for support.
Partner with marketing and communications on donor-focused storytelling and messaging.
Be on site throughout the Summer Assembly Season and the weeks that precede and follow it.
Travel extensively throughout the year.
Authentically engage and inspire others as a senior representative of the Institution.
Build relationships within the Chautauqua community.
Be a team player, collegial, low in ego, willing to roll up one’s sleeves, and generous in sharing credit.
Work independently, bring well-formed recommendations, and keep colleagues informed.
Make decisions, explain them, and adjust course when needed.
Bring calm and steadiness to high-pressure moments.
Build trust among donors, board members, staff, and community members.
Advance change.
Serve as a highly visible and public-facing ambassador of Chautauqua.
Articulate goals and progress clearly, and how fundraising strategy advances larger institutional goals.
Lay a foundation that will serve Chautauqua well beyond the next campaign.