The Town Hall’s (Town Hall) mission is to provide affordable world-class entertainment by new and established artists to a diverse audience; to inspire our community to appreciate and participate in the arts; and to preserve and enhance Town Hall as a National Historic Landmark for the enrichment of generations to come. Founded in 1921 by the League of Political Education, Town Hall began as a meeting place for public learning and civic engagement.

Today, Town Hall addresses the ongoing challenge of equitable access to high‑quality arts and civic programming in New York City. We serve a broad cross‑section of New Yorkers including audiences from all five boroughs, preK–12 students, and older adults through partnerships with senior centers.

The Town Hall Foundation seeks an experienced, collaborative, and highly organized Development & Stewardship Manager to play a central role in advancing one of New York City’s most historic and influential cultural institutions.

Reporting to the Director of Development, the Development & Stewardship Manager will help plan, implement, and manage all aspects of the organization’s fundraising program, including annual giving, major gifts, corporate sponsorships, foundation support, stewardship, donor communications, special events, and donor database management. The successful candidate will be an exceptional writer, an organized project manager, and an enthusiastic relationship builder who is comfortable working with donors, trustees, volunteers, and colleagues across the organization.

 

Major Gifts & Individual Giving

• Assist in identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual donors at all giving levels, with particular emphasis on major gifts.
• Support the Director of Development, Executive Director and Board of Trustees in donor cultivation and solicitation activities.
• Prepare donor research, briefing materials, proposals, gift agreements, stewardship reports, and personalized correspondence.
• Help manage donor portfolios and ensure timely follow-up on cultivation opportunities.

Corporate Giving & Sponsorship

• Participate in the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of corporate sponsors and partners.
• Prepare sponsorship proposals and customized benefits packages.
• Maintain relationships with existing corporate supporters while helping identify new prospects.

Annual Giving

• Manage and oversee The Town Hall’s annual fundraising campaigns, including direct mail, digital appeals, year-end giving, membership initiatives, and special fundraising campaigns.
• Develop compelling donor communications that inspire philanthropic support.
• Track campaign performance and recommend strategies to maximize donor participation and revenue.

Foundation & Government Support

• Assist with the preparation of grant proposals, reports, and supporting documentation.
• Coordinate deadlines and maintain grant calendars.

Donor Stewardship & Database Management

• Maintain accurate donor records and gift documentation.
• Produce reports, donor lists, prospect analyses, and fundraising dashboards.
• Ensure timely gift acknowledgments and stewardship communications.
• Help establish best practices for data integrity and donor tracking.

Events

• Assist in planning and executing donor cultivation events, receptions, benefit gatherings, and fundraising activities.
• Coordinate logistics with internal staff, trustees, vendors, and volunteers.
  Support event sponsorship fulfillment and donor stewardship activities.

Qualifications

• The successful candidate will possess:
  • Minimum five (5) years of progressively responsible fundraising experience within a performing arts organization, cultural institution, museum, or other nonprofit arts organization.
  • Demonstrated success participating in the cultivation and solicitation of major individual gifts and corporate sponsorships.
    Experience managing robust annual giving campaigns with measurable fundraising success.
  • Outstanding written and verbal communication skills, including proposal writing, donor correspondence, and persuasive fundraising communications.
  • Experience working with donor databases and CRM systems; PatronManager experience is strongly preferred.
  • Strong analytical skills and the ability to prepare fundraising reports and donor analyses.
  • Excellent organizational skills with exceptional attention to detail and the ability to manage multiple priorities simultaneously.
  • Experience coordinating fundraising events and donor engagement activities.
  • Proficiency in Microsoft Office, particularly Excel, Word, and PowerPoint.
  • Ability to work collaboratively with trustees, volunteers, donors, artists, and colleagues across departments.

Preferred Characteristics

• The ideal candidate will be:
  • Passionate about the performing arts and civic engagement.
  • A proactive self-starter who enjoys working in a fast-paced environment.
  • Professional, diplomatic, and highly collaborative.
  • Comfortable interacting with high-net-worth individuals, corporate executives, foundation leaders, and elected officials.
  • Equally capable of strategic planning and hands-on execution.
  • Committed to exceptional donor service and relationship building.

Please send your cover letter and email to Donna Banks – dbanks@thetownhall.org