Position Overview

The Institutional Giving Manager plays an active role in managing CST’s portfolio of corporate, foundation, and government partners. The position is a key member of the Development department and, in addition to grant writing, is responsible for prospecting, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding current and prospective funders.  

Responsibilities

Prospect Research and Relationship Development

• Manages a portfolio of 75 to 100 prospective and current foundation, corporate, and government funders.
• Supports funder relationships through on-going communications via phone, mail, email, and site visits.
• Conducts research to identify and qualify funders and build a robust pipeline.
• Develops and implements cultivation and stewardship strategies in collaboration with the Development team.
• Participates in special fundraising events as needed, including a limited number of evening events.

Grant Writing, Reporting, and Administration

• Crafts proposals, letters of intent, budgets, presentations, and funder briefing materials.
• Tracks stewardship of funders, including proposals, conversations, meetings, communications, and next steps in Tessitura database.
• Ensures timely reporting to donors, overseeing the reporting and pledge payment schedules for active grants
• Manages a multi-year grants plan and calendar with a schedule for prospecting; deadlines for proposals, grant applications, and reports; and funder stewardship.
• Works closely with the leadership team and program staff to develop narratives for new initiatives and programs in need of support.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 3 to 5 years progressive experience as a fundraising professional, including a working knowledge of Chicago area philanthropists.

• Excellent writing skills and attention to detail, including ability to write succinctly with excellent grammar, spelling, and proof-reading.
• Understanding of trends and best practices in foundation and corporate giving.
  • Background in the cultivation and solicitation of corporate, foundation, and government funders, including major gift and special event fundraising.
  • Direct experience managing relationships with lead donors.
• Ability to build relationships and work collaboratively with a variety of audiences and diverse populations, including internal and external stakeholders.
• Proficiency in working with donor database software, preferably Tessitura, and using Microsoft Office products including Word, Excel, and Powerpoint.
• Self-starter with the capability to work independently while meeting deadlines.

  About Chicago Shakespeare Theater

Founded in 1986, the Chicago Shakespeare Theater’s onstage work includes as many as twenty productions and 650 performances annually.  A Regional Tony Award recipient, CST produces a bold and innovative year-round season—plays, musicals, world premieres, family productions, and theatrical presentations from around the globe—alongside nationally recognized education programming serving tens of thousands of students, teachers, and lifelong learners each year.

As a nonprofit organization, the Theater works to embrace diversity, prioritize inclusion, provide equitable opportunities, and offer an accessible experience for all. On the Theater’s three stages at its home on Navy Pier, in classrooms and neighborhoods across the city, and in venues around the world, Chicago Shakespeare is a multifaceted cultural hub inviting audiences, artists, and community members to share powerful stories that connect and inspire.

Commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Access

Chicago Shakespeare Theater is deeply committed to creating and sustaining an organizational culture that values diversity, inclusion, equity, and access, as well as promoting a safe and supportive work environment embodying the Theater’s core values of service, collaboration, and ingenuity.