Lindauer Seeking Chief Development Officer for the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg
January 3, 2020 – Boston-based recruitment firm Lindauer has been selected to find a chief development officer for the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg in Florida Senior consultant Zena Lum is leading the assignment.
As the chief fundraiser, the chief development officer will be expected to devise, implement and manage a comprehensive program, including the creation of a development plan that maximizes contributed income from individuals, foundations, corporations and government sources. This individual will be the museum's lead for patron cultivation and revenue enhancement strategy and execution, partnering with the executive director and board to develop and implement long- and short-term fundraising strategies to meet and/or exceed annual fundraising goals.
The museum wants an accomplished metrics-driven leader with experience in the arts and culture sector, said Lindauer. This individual should be a builder with a demonstrated ability to bring organizations to new levels of philanthropic success. The winning candidate will be a collaborator who works successfully with colleagues, volunteers, and high-level board members.
Margaret Acheson Stuart founded the Museum of Fine Arts, St. Petersburg in 1965 as the first art museum in St. Petersburg. Today, it hosts the largest encyclopedic collection of art in Florida. The museum strives to "engage, educate, and excite the community by collecting, exhibiting, and preserving works of art for the enjoyment of all," according to its mission statement.
Lindauer serves higher and secondary education, hospitals and academic research centers, think tanks, research facilities and foundations, as well as advocacy, public service, social justice and other mission-driven non-profits. It has led searches for the Boston YMCA, Center for Applied Special Technology, Healthy Minds Innovations/Center for Healthy Minds, the University of Texas at Austin and the Cockrell School of Engineering, among others.
Ms. Lum's placements include top development leaders at Cincinnati Symphony and Pops Orchestra, Jacob's Pillow Dance, Brevard Music Center, the League of American Orchestras, the National YoungArts Foundation, Manhattan School of Music, Nativity Preparatory School and Saint Mary's School. She has also closed multiple searches with the University of Chicago and University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, and has completed a combined 10 searches for Harvard Business School, Harvard Law School and Harvard Medical School.
Chief Development Officers
Virtually every industry needs top-drawer chief development officers. CDOs play a key role in planning, coordinating and administering capital campaigns, corporate giving and galvanizing new donors while keeping previous funders content. Implementing funding strategies that "keep the lights on," according to recruiters specializing in the function, is job one.
Recruiters continue to report that CDOs are in high demand. Fundraising prowess and having an ability to drive growth are essential parts of the job in nearly every competitive organization today.
Recruiters generally say that the best training for these positions is experience, noting that there are many industry conferences and summits that are beneficial for benchmarking and sharing of best practices.
Here is a sampling of recent searches for chief development officers from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives:
Executive search firm crawfordconnect has been retained to find a new chief development officer for The Scott Mission. Senior search consultant Janice Wooster is leading the assignment. crawfordconnect is seeking a proactive, results oriented and solutions focused, with evidence of having worked as a true business partner to the CEO, C-level leadership team and board.
Aspen Leadership Group, an executive search firm that specializes in recruiting top talent for philanthropic organizations, placed fundraising veteran Noelle DeLage as the new chief development officer for the Denver Zoological Foundation (Denver Zoo). As CDO, Ms. DeLage will be charged with providing strategic and tactical leadership on all Denver Zoo fundraising.
Executive search and non-profit consulting firm KEES (Kistner Eddy Executive Services) has been selected to find a new vice president/ chief development officer for JCFS (Jewish Child and Family Services) Chicago. Heather Eddy, CEO, and Laura Weinman, assistant vice president, are leading the assignment for the search firm. The successful candidate will collaborate with staff and leadership, peers in development and other departments, volunteers, funders and stakeholders, said KEES.
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