Director of Development

The ideal candidate for the Director of Development will demonstrate a commitment to the mission of the organization and partner with the CEO, professional team, board, leadership and community to elevate the organization’s priorities. The individual will create and lead the coordinated efforts of fundraising and donor engagement by implementing plans, tracking efforts, and actively fundraising to secure major gifts, capital gifts and legacy gifts.

As a leader for the museum and library, the Director of Development will collaborate and partner with others to achieve personal goals while performing in a professional manner, following the Donor Bill of Rights, and aiming to follow the standards of the American Alliance of Museums and the Smithsonian Affiliation. Overall, the leader must have a positive attitude and confident ability to meet the challenges presented by an organization aiming to achieve growth.

The Development Director will be responsible for planning and executing the overall fundraising efforts for the museum by managing the plans to meet contributed income goals.

• Manage Grants Calendar – write and submit grant applications, identify new sources to grow financial support, collaborate with other program staff to develop grant opportunities, manage grants and track reporting requirements.
• Manage Major Gifts Tracking Program – identify targeted major gift prospects and collaborate with the CEO, board and other development staff to build relationships with donors and to gain support.
• Track donors and manage annual campaigns – develop and execute an annual fundraising plan to achieve the contributed income goals of the organization.
• Capital Campaign – collaborate with the CEO, Development Team, Consultants and Board on a multi-year capital campaign to raise funds to expand the exhibits, digitization and facilities.
• Legacy Giving – lead the efforts with the Development Team in recruiting new legacy donors and planned gifts while also maintaining relationships with existing legacy donors.
• Lead Annual Giving Campaigns – collaborate with communications team and data manager to implement individual giving through proposal writing, mailings and digital campaigns to support annual giving, special fund drives and fundraising events.
• Lead Membership Campaigns – guide the membership coordinator in the management of the membership program; identify a path for growth, especially for expanding the national audience.
• Lead Audience Development – develop a strategy to work with national fraternal organizations to further engage their members in the museum’s membership and activities.
• Lead Community Engagement – collaborate with other staff and board to actively participate in community engagement efforts including the national community with key leaders and organizations to advance the mission of the museum and library.

Additional Responsibilities & Oversight

Liaison to Board Development Committee; organize meetings with development volunteers.
Manage the staff including the development and membership team. Guide the Board and their fundraising activities. Manage volunteer and donor meetings with strategic moves to increase contributions. Motivate the team by providing consistent leadership and mentorship; hold others accountable through goal-setting and clear communications.

Organize the CEO’s and Development Team’s fundraising activities in seeking major gifts. Manage the team who manages various campaigns including direct mail, social media, membership and annual giving, development event sponsorships and fraternal organizations.

The candidate must have the ability to manage multiple priorities and team members. The leader will be expected to attend public events, speak for the organization at events and with media, and be diplomatic with the organization’s VIP partners.

Financial acumen is necessary to prepare and manage budgets, discuss project budgeting, and prepare budgets for grant applications.

Collaborate with Development Team and Finance to develop dashboard reports to track goals and communicate progress.

Data management is an essential component for this position and the leader must have an in-depth understanding of how to lead the team’s utilization and management of the donor and member database systems. Guiding the team in this area will be essential to developing reports, donor tracking, list building and membership renewals.

Collaboration with external partners and consultants will be expected while working on the capital campaign. Collaborate with the Communications & Marketing Team to execute external relations.

Collaborate with the NCSML Leadership Team to produce the Annual Impact Report; coordinate efforts in gathering ongoing information to tell the stories of the museum along with the financial impacts and community impacts.

Recognize donors in a consistent manner in publications, donor signage and through personal correspondence.

Lead the Development Team in coordinating regional meetings across the U.S. to further engage donors, members and supporters of the museum, library and greater Czech & Slovak communities.

The ideal candidate will have the following skills:

• Be organized and able to bring structure to planning efforts.
• Be accountable for creating and executing plans to achieve fundraising goals.
• Be personable and demonstrate professionalism while upholding donor ethics.
• Be an excellent communicator. Strong communication skills are needed to develop positive relationships with donors and convey priorities of the organization.
• Be able to write plans, proposals and grants along with emails, fundraising letters and marketing messages.
• Be able to demonstrate a successful record of fundraising experience which is essential to meet the expectations for this position.
• Be able to communicate and understand financial matters, develop budgets and reports.
• Be able to successfully lead a team of professionals and volunteers to achieve challenging goals.
• Be able to interact with a variety of people, community leaders, international constituents and stakeholders.
• Be able to engage in effective and respectful working relationships in a fast-paced working environment.
• Be able to demonstrate a high level of fundraising experience and have the ability to maintain a high degree of confidentiality with regard to prospect, donor and organizational information.
• Be a trusted colleague and be present as a team leader.

Please send resume, examples of successful fundraising experience, and writing samples for the Director of Development position to the attention of the Office of the President & CEO.

Written questions can be submitted to Michelle Simoneau via email at msimoneau@ncsml.org.

No phone calls please.

Office of the President & CEO
National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library
1400 Inspiration Place SW
Cedar Rapids, IA 52404

Established in 1974, the National Czech & Slovak Museum & Library (NCSML) preserves the historic and cultural heritage of the Czech and Slovak peoples in North America. The NCSML also provides a bridge of understanding to all cultures, exploring learning topics such as immigration and achieving the American Dream. In 1992, the United States Congress recognized the NCSML as the official national Czech and Slovak museum and library. Building upon this sole distinction, in 1993, ground was broken for the 16,000 sq. ft. learning center which opened in 1995. At the opening, three presidents – President Clinton of the United States, President Havel of the Czech Republic, and President Kovac of Slovakia stood together to dedicate the new center symbolizing freedom and democracy.

After the 2008 historical floods in Cedar Rapids, the building was moved 480 feet to higher ground and reopened in 2012 within the expanded current 60,000 sq. ft. exhibition center and library. The NCSML anchors the historic Czech Village and New Bohemia District along the Cedar River. Historically, the Cedar Rapids, Iowa area was an attractive destination with available and inexpensive farmland for Czechoslovak immigrants who in turn wrote to friends and family urging them to come to Iowa. More than 100 years ago, some 28% of the population of Cedar Rapids was of Czech ancestry.

In 2008, the NCSML earned accreditation by the American Alliance of Museums and became a Smithsonian Affiliate in 2019. Today, the NCSML hosts and curates unique exhibits and educational programs for more than 70,000 participants and 5,000 school-aged visitors annually. The NCSML is driving economic impact to Eastern Iowa and is now the top tourist attraction in the City of Cedar Rapids. International leaders travel to Cedar Rapids to participate in global discussions on international relations, innovation, culture and history. The library and museum have earned the esteemed reputation as the place to donate important Czech- and Slovak- related artifacts and a unique collection of archives.

In 2024, NCSML celebrates its 50th Anniversary, now as one of Iowa’s premier destinations. The NCSML has become the national leader and the  epicenter for Czech and Slovak culture and heritage with virtual programming and digitization of catalogued print and archival resources. In 2024, the team is innovatively curating content through NSCML-TV, further connecting audiences to creative virtual programming, educational programs, international business and economic development summits, culinary and performing arts.