In the late 1800’s, Isabella Stewart Gardner dedicated her life to establishing a museum. The result of this dream, the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum (ISGM), is an institution unlike any other in the world. When Ms. Gardner bequeathed the Museum to the city of Boston as a public institution, she said that it was to be “for the education and enjoyment of the public forever.”
Inspired by her travels in Europe and Asia, the Museum’s collection represents Ms. Gardner’s eclectic tastes and features paintings, sculptures, tapestries, rare books, private letters, historical memorabilia, and more from close friends and famous artists, such as Rembrandt and Vermeer. The collection is housed in a custom-built, four-story Venetian palazzo-style building with a lush, seasonally curated courtyard garden as its show-stopping centerpiece
In addition to continually expanding her art collection, Ms. Gardner invited singers, dancers, and other performing artists to present their work at the Museum. This tradition has continued, and the Museum regularly hosts renowned musicians and emerging artists alike in the Calderwood Pavilion, housed in the modern, Renzo Piano-designed New Wing of the Museum that opened in 2015. The Museum also supports visual artists, local schools and the community at large through various programs designed to encourage participation in the arts at all ages.
The Opportunity
The Chief Development Officer (CDO) is a key member of the Museum’s senior management team. As head of the development department, the CDO will set the fundraising strategy, goals, and budgets for each of the revenue sources for contributed income, including strategies for donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship. S/He will lead and mentor a staff of 15 to raise approximately $10 million annually, overseeing the areas of prospect research and management, individual and institutional giving, special and private events, and planned giving, in addition to membership and board relations. The CDO is expected to work in a highly collaborative manner across all departments, to reinforce and model the Museum’s cultural values and expectations, and to actively oversee the professional development and staff engagement requirements of the development department.
