Director of Individual Giving

The Aspen Leadership Group is proud to partner with the Kansas City Symphony in the search for a Director of Individual Giving.

Reporting to the Vice President of Development, the Director of Individual Giving will provide leadership in creating the overall strategies for building, sustaining, and growing support from individuals, exclusive of activities by the Symphony’s auxiliary groups. The Director will ensure alignment between all individual giving strategies, including communication, content development, and activity scheduling.

The Kansas City Symphony is the youngest major symphony orchestra in the United States, and one of the most secure. Since its founding in 1982 by R. Crosby Kemper, Jr., the Kansas City Symphony has grown through artistic vision, fiscal discipline, and a culture of trust and excellence in all facets of the organization.

The Kansas City Symphony serves a metropolitan population of 2.1 million people. The orchestra’s 80 full- time musicians contribute to the city’s exceptionally strong cultural community. During its 42-week season, the Symphony performs a wide variety of concerts including subscription classical, pops and family, film with orchestra, and educational programs. In addition to symphonic music of all kinds, the Symphony has deep roots in chamber music, and travels Kansas City with a mobile stage – the “Mobile Music Box” – throughout the warmer months. The Kansas City Symphony also is the designated orchestra for the Lyric Opera of Kansas City and the Kansas City Ballet.

The Kansas City Symphony has demonstrated a strong commitment to fiscal discipline, in support of artistic ambition. From a budget of $1.5 million in its first season, the Symphony’s annual operating budget has grown to more than $20 million. More than 1,000 gifts from the Board, local foundations, and members of the community have created an endowment in excess of $120 million. The Symphony’s balance sheet is pristine, with healthy operating reserves and working capital. The Kansas City Symphony is debt-free.

In the summer of 2021, the Symphony moved into its new headquarters, adjacent to the orchestra’s world-class concert hall at the Kauffman Center for the Performing Arts. Occupying a storied 19th century icon of Kansas City, this new space supports the organization’s creativity, with administrative offices, musician practice areas, and rooms for chamber music and education programming.

The vision of the Symphony’s education program is to enable people of all ages in the greater Kansas City area to learn, create, and become inspired through orchestral music. More than 60,000 people participate in Kansas City Symphony education programs annually. In 2021, the Symphony launched a new video streaming service available at MySymphonySeat.org and through the Kansas City Symphony app on AppleTV, Roku, Amazon Fire, and other SmartTV and mobile device platforms. Video storytelling will play a key role in audience development, and the Symphony has invested heavily in ramping up this capacity for the future.

A bachelor's degree is required for this position as is at least seven years of experience soliciting planned and outright major gifts. All applications must be accompanied by a cover letter and résumé. Cover letters should be responsive to the mission of the Kansas City Symphony and the responsibilities and qualifications specified in the position prospectus.