BAY STREET THEATER
SAG HARBOR, NY
US

CONTACT NAME

CHRIS SIEFERT

DESCRIPTION

Senior Director of Advancement & Major Gifts

Bay Street Theater, December 2024

Bay Street Theater is excited to be launching a search for a Senior Director of Advancement & Major Gifts, a new senior leader dedicated to relationship building, revenue strategies, and sustainability of the organization. In this role, the Senior Director of Advancement & Major Gifts, will join an established organization poised for its next chapter and impact.

Organization & Mission

Bay Street Theater & the Sag Harbor Center for the Arts is a year-round, not-for-profit professional theater (LORT C) and community cultural center that endeavors to innovate, educate, motivate, and entertain a diverse community through the practice of the performing arts. We serve as a social beacon and cultural gathering place, an educational resource, a center for innovation and new work development, and a home for a community of artists. The theater configuration is a 3/4 thrust stage with 299-seats in a 14,000 square feet facility that includes a lobby with a bar, a box office, rehearsal room, production and administrative offices, a costume shop, dressing rooms, and storage.

Bay Street Theater was founded in 1991 by Sybil Christopher, Emma Walton Hamilton and Stephen Hamilton. Many of the productions that premiered or were developed at Bay Street have moved to Broadway, Off-Broadway, regionally and abroad, including Nobody Don’t Like Yogi, Hedda Gabler, Love Janis, and Grey Gardens to name a few. Bay Street is considered " ...one of the Country's pre-eminent regional theatres" (CBS Sunday Morning) and "...in the same league with the best major regional and Off-Broadway theatres." (Newsday).

Main Stage

The Mainstage Series is carefully designed with attention to a commitment to quality programming in agreement with Actors Equity. The cornerstone of Bay Street’s programming is its Mainstage Series typically consisting of three to four fully staged Equity productions that run May to September. A season consisting normally of one new work, one classic recreation and a musical round out the summer. The Mainstage drives the largest earned income through ticket sales. Bay Street is proud to have produced over two-dozen World Premieres and many more American Premieres since 1992. Bay Street offers Free Student Sunday Matinees, offering students the chance to enjoy live theater. Bay Street also offers Pay What You Can night on the first Tuesday of preview week for each Mainstage Production, plus other ongoing offers such as $20 Under 20 to make sure that our productions are accessible to all. The Mainstage drives the largest earned income and works in conjunction with gaining higher level donors.

New Works

With a commitment to new work as a part of its mission, the annual TITLE WAVE: NEW WORKS FESTIVAL features readings of new plays in development, providing playwrights a chance to hear their works in progress in front of a live audience, and learn from the response. The New Works series of plays and musicals is an opportunity for playwrights to work on their play in-person with directors and professional actors. Selected plays are provided with dramaturgical notes from our artistic leadership, rehearsal time, and a public staged reading on the Bay Street Theater stage in Sag Harbor, New York, followed by an audience talkback. Selected pieces may have had re-writes and may now be in their third or fourth draft, at a stage where the addition of in-person creatives can be used to their full value. Title Wave: New Works Festival is curated by Hope Villanueva, Literary Manager at Bay Street Theater who says, “... In these tumultuous times, it’s our responsibility to support artists creating new works and speaking to the issues and concerns we are presently experiencing.”

Education Programming

Literature Live! was successfully launched in 2009 with the production of The Diary of Anne Frank. Now in its eleventh year, the program brings classic works of literature to life on stage for school groups, families, and the general public. Using curriculum-based literature, Bay Street creates a unique learning experience by inviting students, teachers, and administrators to see professional productions supported with teacher-developed lesson plans and reference materials. Each production is followed by a “Q&A” session with the cast and special guests. Running the month of November, Literature Live! productions have included many of the classics including The Miracle Worker, To Kill A Mockingbird, Of Mice and Men, and Raisin in the Sun, just to name a few. Bay Street is proud to offer free tickets to all students that attend a Literature Live! production. Members of the cast and crew are also made available after the production to talk with students about themes relating to the play.

Introduced in 2023, the Writing the Wave Creative Writing Competition for teens enables youth to explore their passions as authors, poets, artists, songwriters, and playwrights. Submissions include plays, rap, creative writing, and poetry. Winning work is selected on originality, creativity, and innovative use of language by judges included playwrights, actors, children’s authors, and other industry professionals. Students of winning work read or perform their work by themselves, or with the aid of professional actors, on the Bay Street stage in front of a live audience.

Bay Street has been offering youth Theater Camps since 2009 addressing major areas of theater, including acting, singing, dance, improvisation, performance and more. The sessions are offered during school vacation breaks and in the summer with professional instructors who have performed on Broadway and at other venues. Bay Street’s Adult Educational Programming focuses on topics such as Stage Acting, Playwriting, Storytelling, Improvisation Techniques, Comedy, Basics of Singing, and Ballroom Dancing.

Partnerships

Community Engagement programs are integral to the mission of Bay Street Theater as it endeavors to innovate, educate, and entertain a diverse community through the practice of the performing arts. Bay Street proudly serves as a social and cultural gathering place, an educational resource, and a home for a community of artists. Programs with broad appeal beyond theater productions include comedy shows, musical performances, and concerts.

Through strong partnerships across the East End of Long Island, Bay Street provides its stage and facility to community organizations that do not have bricks and mortar space including the Hamptons Doc Fest, an Eastern Long Island organization founded to champion and celebrate the rich, diverse and challenging world of documentary film; the Shinnecock Nation; the Black Film Festival; the Butterfly Effect Project, a nonprofit organization designed to empower young girls; Organización Latino-Americana (OLA) who works to create a more equitable East End for Latino immigrants; and the East End Special Players, to name a few.

Position Summary

Bay Street Theater is excited to be launching a search for the Senior Director of Advancement & Major Gifts, a new senior leader dedicated to relationship building, revenue strategies, and sustainability of the organization. In this role, the Senior Director of Advancement & Major Gifts, will join an established organization poised for its next chapter and impact. Charged with overseeing the advancement efforts of Bay Street Theater, this strategic leader will report to the Executive Director and work together with Development team, the Artistic Director, Deputy Director, and Trustees as a pivotal member of the Bay Street team. The Director will foster connections between individuals and the Bay Street mission, cultivate donors around the impact of Bay Street’s vision, and build avenues of support for the organization. Supervised by and working directly with the ED, the Director will bring a track record demonstrating strong major gift and cultivation skills coupled with adroit management experience. The Director will help to create fundraising opportunities for current programs and new fundraising opportunities to support major growth.

With an annual budget between $5 and $6 million, the Director will be an experienced manager who can lead, mentor, and inspire the development team at Bay Street, currently led by the Executive Director, which includes a Development Director, Director of Sponsorships, and a Development Associate. The Director will work directly with Trustees and community members who anchor an expanding donor base. This position requires living in the East End during the summer months (with visits to NYC as needed) and offers the flexibility to live in NYC during fall and winter/spring. Day trips to the theater or NYC will be necessary for meetings or cultivation activities.

I. RESPONSIBILITIES

Overview

The Senior Director of Advancement plays a pivotal role in creating a new path forward with additional necessary funds required from major donors and developing new donors. The candidate will help to mentor others in cultivation, care, and relationship-building of all funders, donors, granting organizations, and VIPs, and assist others who encounter these constituencies.

Identify among the company’s donor database which donors have current giving history and which donors require reactivation

Meet with donors to either increase giving among current donors or reinitiate giving among lapsed donors

Identify for the Executive Director major givers and then secure meetings and strategy to address major gifts

Create and execute year-round giving campaigns which currently include membership, events (Gala, travel, theater, parties, etc.), Literature live, silent auction, and year-end campaign.

TESSITURA (CRM) MANAGEMENT
Oversee Devo team on All aspects of gift processing, data entry, and maintenance of CRM, to be sure all donor information, pledges, gifts and payments, and qualifying all contacts is happening as efficiently and with few errors

Evaluate all reports needed for trends and changes needed for membership renewals, appeals, special events, financials, grants, etc.

Track and upgrade processes as needed to drive more and higher giving

Oversight of specific Development offerings on the website and in print

INDIVIDUAL GIVING

Create a Strategy and program to address major gift giving

Oversee Devo team doing renewal letters, thank-you letters, and appeal letters

Create a month-to-month calendar of projected donation receipts

Ensure proper crediting of donors/funders on Donor Wall and in Playbill and other areas of the building.

INSTITUTIONAL GIVING

Suggest additional potential corporate, government, and foundation funders

Oversee Dir of Dev. and contract grant writer on major applications

Review grant calendar, as needed with Dir of Dev.

Ensure the proper collection of statistical data needed for reporting purposes

SPECIAL EVENTS

Assist with the planning and implementation of special events, especially for highest level donors

II. OTHER

Experience with endowment and/or capital campaign fundraising is a plus. Tessitura CRM experience preferred, or ability to learn program quickly is required, as well as a proficiency in the Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel. A minimum of 10 years’ experience required. As this is a new position, the Director may perform other duties as needed. Bay Street Theater is a growing organization with a small staff who are often called upon to jump in to accomplish goals and meet important deadlines together. Salary $110,000-130,000 depending upon experience.

The successful candidate will bring 7+ years’ managerial experience in a similar role, with a proven track record of success. In addition, an understanding of how to balance storytelling with analytics when creating and executing development strategies is required. Established relationships with individuals or foundations is a plus. A higher education degree is also a plus. The successful candidate will possess a genuine interest in contributing to a culture of teamwork and excellence by collaborating and solving problems across departments, and a passion for engaging with donors, trustees, visitors and guests to ensure they feel welcome and have the information they need for a memorable experience.

Bay Street Theater & the Sag Harbor Center for the Arts is a year-round, not-for-profit professional theater and community cultural center which endeavors to innovate, educate, and entertain a diverse community through the practice of the performing arts. We serve as a social and cultural gathering place, an educational resource, and a home for a community of artists. Bay Street Theater is an EEO.

Submit your cover letter and resume (as one PDF) to [email protected] with the subject line: Senior Director of Advancement & Major Gifts

DURATION

Jan 6, 2025 -

SALARY

$110,000.00 – $130,000.00 per year

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