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Arena Stage is seeking a talented fundraising leader driven by ambition and creativity to serve as its Chief Development Officer. As the main architect of Arena Stage’s approach to inspiring support from individual donors, foundations, governmental sources, corporate partners, and other yet-to-be-discovered sources of contributed revenue, the Chief Development Officer will be strategic in crafting innovative plans that elevate the entire Arena Stage team to participate in the full development life of the organization. With understanding and experience building annual and special capital and capacity building campaigns, the Chief Development Officer will work in close collaboration with Arena Stage’s Executive Producer and Artistic Director to ensure that operational needs are being met through the generation of transformational development efforts. Success for Arena Stage’s Chief Development Officer will be measured by quantitative fundraising goals and the qualitative experiences of donors, patrons, and the Arena Stage community writ large.

BACKGROUND

Arena Stage was founded in 1950 by trailblazers Zelda Fichandler, Tom Fichandler, and Edward Magnum as one of the nation’s first significant regional theaters based in and for its community (the official corporate name of Arena Stage is Washington Drama Society, Inc.). Over seven decades, Arena Stage has evolved into a multifaceted cultural organism, a national center for theater, arts, and culture that has focused on a dedication to American voices and artists.

Arena Stage has had four artistic leaders since its founding–co-founder Zelda Fichandler, Doug Wager, Molly Smith, and now Hana Sharif. Arena Stage welcomed Sharif in 2023 to serve in co-leadership with Edgar Dobie, the company’s long-serving Executive Producer. Each artistic leader has brought their own approach to defining Arena’s artistic voice and viewpoint, always informed by the history of serving an institution that can proudly say it was the first:

Theater with a racially integrated audience in Washington, DC

Theater with a racially integrated acting company

Theater to establish a training program for individuals of color through the Allen Lee Hughes BIPOC Fellowship Program

Theater to receive the coveted Regional Theatre Tony Award

Regional theater to have a production go to Broadway with THE GREAT WHITE HOPE

American resident theater company to tour behind the Iron Curtain and at the Hong Kong Arts Festival

American theater to create audio-described performances for visually impaired patrons

In January 2008, Arena Stage broke ground on its 48-year-old DC theater campus, and in October 2010, opened its new home, Arena Stage at the Mead Center for American Theater, named for the late visionary benefactors and Life Trustees Dr. Jaylee Montague Mead and Dr. Gilbert Mead, who pledged $35 million toward the project's $125 million campaign goal. Designed by Bing Thom Architects, the Mead Center covers 200,000 square feet and features a dramatic and sweeping cantilevered roof that is an architectural landmark for Southwest DC's revitalized waterfront, a civic renewal effort that began with the creation of this extraordinary project. The Mead Center is a breathtaking expansion of the former campus, allowing Arena Stage to focus on the strengths of its two originally existing theater spaces: the in-the-round Fichandler Stage (680 seats) and the proscenium Kreeger Theater (510 seats). These two theaters are joined by the Arlene and Robert Kogod Cradle, a versatile 200-seat theater. The Mead Center also houses state-of-the-art scene shops, costume shops, rehearsal halls and education spaces and allows Arena Stage to house all artistic and administrative departments united under one roof.

After years of carrying a significant debt load related to the creation of the Mead Center for American Theater, Arena recently relieved themselves of that lingering financial liability through steady long-term financial management. With forward-focused energy from that impressive financial achievement, this will be a critical time for the Chief Development Officer to bring new, creative, and ambitious insights into building more contributed revenue to increase Arena Stage’s capacity to boldly execute on its Mission, Vision, and Values, which are:

Mission

Arena Stage is the voice of American theater resident in our nation’s capital. Focused on American artists, our productions are innovative and representative of stories from across the country. We nurture new plays and reimagine classics. We celebrate our democracy and diversity through a multitude of voices in our productions and community engagement programs to inspire people to action. We produce all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, entertaining, deep and dangerous in the American spirit.

Vision

Arena Stage’s vision is to galvanize the transformative power of theater to understand who we are as Americans.

Values

Create a work culture that reflects and borrows from the culture of the rehearsal hall which values experimentation and collaboration

Pursue excellence in all aspects of our endeavor

Commit to and champion being an anti-racist organization

Champion and welcome diversity, equity, accessibility, and inclusion throughout the organization and within our audience and the community at large

Flourish by building a healthy, dynamic, and powerful artistic community

Create and steward financial resources to enable a vital Arena Stage

Strive to instill in the public life-long love and participation in the theater arts

Serve artists and arts professionals; the national, regional, and local communities; and theater through effective partnerships and collaboration at the most sophisticated and professional levels

Pursue programs of education and other activities that engage and give back to the local community

Arena Stage has nurtured and produced 22 productions that have had a life on Broadway, including DEAR EVAN HANSEN (winner of the 2017 Tony Award for Best Musical); SWEAT (winner of the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama); NEXT TO NORMAL (winner of the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama); THE ORIGANALIST; THE VELOCITY OF AUTUMN (directed by Molly Smith); A NIGHT WITH JANIS JOPLIN; A TIME TO KILL; Steppenwolf Theatre Company's WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (a co-production with Arena Stage); THE GREAT WHITE HOPE (the first Broadway transfer by a regional theater), and many more.

In addition to its own productions of plays and musicals, Arena has developed important relationships with Step Afrika! and DC Jazz Festival, independent institutions that are forming resident partnerships with Arena that add to the performance output on the three stages that define the Mead Center. Supplementing all those theatrical experiences is a growing series of relationships with corporate and private entities that rent Arena’s facility for conferences, meetings, celebrations, and community events. Arena Stage has also hosted Job Fairs and served as a mass vaccination site in the District of Columbia, deepening our connections to the community. The Allen Lee Hughes BIPOC Fellowship Program has enhanced the careers of over 700 BIPOC theater professionals to date, with 75% of those individuals still maintaining a career in the performing arts.

Arena Stage also operates educational programs throughout the Washington metropolitan region that reach over 10,000 students each year, with much of the programming targeted specifically to the D.C. Public and Charter school system. These educational experiences increase competencies in a variety of subjects, build basic skills of written and verbal communication, build sense of self and meet the rising demand for social and emotional learning (SEL) in K-12 schools, improve problem-solving and critical thinking abilities and encourage teamwork. Arena Stage's community engagement department has also participated in five partnerships abroad, using the Voices of Now devised theater model to work with communities in Zagreb, Croatia; Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai, New Delhi and Patna, India; Lima, Peru; and Ljubljana, Slovenia.

Arena is a LORT theater operating under B+, B, and D contracts. Its nearly 120 person staff members execute all production and administrative functions for a season of fully produced and presented plays, musicals, and special events. Local and jobbed-in artists make up Arena’s talent pool. The current annual budget is approximately $20 Million. The 44-member Board provides financial support and governance oversight and includes important civic leaders deeply connected to the Washington, DC area. Like other theater companies around the country, Arena Stage continues to build back from business interruptions brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, strategizing on new means of engaging with audiences in the theater and out in the community.

The Chief Development Officer will lead all of Arena Stage’s development efforts and oversee a team of fundraising professionals focused on ambitious contributed revenue goals. The Chief Development Officer reports directly to Arena Stage’s Executive Producer and key responsibilities for the role include:

Create, manage, and implement a comprehensive annual institutional development plan that successfully achieves the organization’s contributed income goals and effectively builds capacity for bold explorations of Arena’s Mission, Vision, and Values.

Generate a multi-year strategic fundraising vision for the Arena Stage, working closely with Arena Stage’s Executive Producer, Artistic Director, senior staff leadership, and Board of Directors that prioritizes growth and ways for Arena’s full team to participate in a strong culture of philanthropy.

Develop campaigns for capital needs, capacity building, and endowment growth, working in partnership with outside consultants and specialists.

Build and inspire a highly effective development team while cultivating an environment where professional growth opportunities translate into high retention of talented fundraising professionals.

Enthusiastically serve as an engaging ambassador for Arena Stage in public settings, fundraising events, and community gatherings that allow for high-touch and authentic donor interactions.

Serve as a primary liaison to Arena Stage’s Board of Directors, including directing the agenda and focus of Board development committees and strategically activating board members in fundraising activities.

Take a proactive approach to being an ally and partner to all Arena Stage departments and stakeholders on fundraising and other activities that benefit the company in positive ways.

Take ownership of monitoring and tracking an annual contributed revenue and expense budget including general department operations and special events, working closely with Arena Stage’s Chief Financial Officer and finance team.

Develop data-based strategies for patron development to ensure that Arena Stage has the structure and discipline to track and evaluate patron data.

In a senior leadership role, support and lift up Arena Stage’s commitments to being a deeply inclusive cultural leader.

Qualifications and Traits

While no one candidate may possess all of the following qualifications and traits, Arena Stage is highly interested in:

A background in the cultivation and solicitation of all contributed revenue streams (individual, corporate, foundation, government, special events) with proven ability to develop, solicit, and steward major gifts.

Experience with capital campaigns and legacy giving cultivation.

A successful history managing teams, mentoring and inspiring staff in achieving collective goals, while maintaining a collaborative culture and appropriate work/life balance.

Very strong experience developing fundraising strategy/vision and championing that vision with funders, board members, staff, individual donors, and other stakeholders.

An understanding of the greater Washington, DC philanthropic community.

A highly collaborative manner of working with others to quickly build trust.

Deep understanding of data management, evaluation, and systems.

Real personal commitment to the values of inclusion and equity that shows up in all personal and professional interactions.

A background in fundraising for the performing arts, although development professionals from other disciplines will be seriously considered, especially those from organizations of scale.

Excellent verbal and written communication skills and the ability to be a strong and effective ambassador.

Experience in Tessitura is a plus.

Understanding that cultural arts organizations serve their patrons on schedules beyond a traditional 9-to-5 schedule and that this means the need to sometimes work nights and weekends.

COMPENSATION AND START DATE

The annual salary range for the Chief Development Officer role at Arena Stage begins at $175,000 and includes a full benefit package commensurate with other organizations of its size. The company intends to make a hiring decision in early fall of 2025, with the selected candidate transitioning into the position shortly after that time. Arena Stage is an equal opportunity employer that celebrates diversity and is committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Candidates from communities that have historically been underrepresented in top-tier artistic leadership positions are strongly encouraged to apply.

Jonathan West is the consultant from Management Consultants for the Arts leading this important search. To be considered for this position, you must submit pertinent information including name, contact information, and salary requirement and attach a current résumé, a cover letter (no more than 1½ pages describing why this post and organization is attractive to you and what about you and your work makes you a potentially strong contributor to Arena Stage), and four professional references (name, work relationship, email, phone) using the online application system. Once all materials have been submitted online, the applicant will receive a confirmation of their submission via the email address provided in the application. For clarification on any of this information, please contact Christy Wall at .