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Director of Development
The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk
Norwalk, Connecticut
Background and History
In the mid-1970s, the City of Norwalk, under the direction of then-Mayor William Collins, undertook the South Norwalk Revitalization Project. The goal of this program was to preserve the historic architecture of South Norwalk (affectionately dubbed "SoNo") and revitalize the neighborhood. The Washington Street National Historic District was established, and 32 buildings were placed on the National Register of Historic Places.
However, it would take more than old buildings to turn SoNo around. Plans were drawn for a major attraction that would bring people – and tourism dollars – into SoNo. The City of Norwalk and its Redevelopment Agency, along with the Junior League of Stamford-Norwalk, The Oceanic Society and the Norwalk Seaport Association, made a major commitment to developing this new maritime center, complete with an aquarium featuring live animals from Long Island Sound, an IMAX movie theater and a boat collection.
In 1986, ground breaking ceremonies took place on the site of a former 1860s iron works factory, an abandoned brick building on the SoNo waterfront. What was then called The Maritime Center at Norwalk opened on July 16, 1988. In July 1996, The Maritime Center at Norwalk changed its name to The Maritime Aquarium at Norwalk to better identify itself to the public and underscore the increasing importance of the live animal exhibits.
The Maritime Aquarium offers visitors of all ages the opportunity to have fun while learning about the vital natural resources just off the Connecticut shore. Located at the mouth of the Norwalk River, the Aquarium building and its location reflect the region’s industrial past and human uses of Long Island Sound for recreation and commerce. The natural ecosystem is literally in the Aquarium’s backyard, and visitors can enjoy a walk along the river while learning about the local animals, plants and history from interpretive signs along the path. Inside the Aquarium, visitors explore at their own pace, observing 55 exhibits featuring more than 1,200 marine animals of 259 species. The IMAX Theater offers an immersing, larger-than-life experience that transports visitors to new and exciting places, from the wreck of the Titanic at the bottom of the sea, to the African plains to the top of Mt. Everest. IMAX recently began showing Hollywood films in the evening. Other features of the Aquarium include the Ocean Playspace, which introduces young children to concepts essential for their development; a toy boat-building area; and a changing exhibit space. The Research Vessel Oceanic is a 40-foot trawler that takes patrons out onto Long Island Sound to examine marine life brought up from various depths.
According to a February 2008 Economic Impact Study, the Aquarium's annual economic impact on Norwalk is $25.4 million. Statewide, the Aquarium's economic impact is $41.8 million, through visitor spending and the execution of its $10 million budget. And as the Aquarium grows, so does our positive impact on the community. The operating budget for FY 09 is $11.5 million.
The Maritime Aquarium has been at the center of a major turnaround in South Norwalk. SoNo now bustles by day with unique shops, boutiques, cafes and coffee bars, and by night with nightclubs, acclaimed restaurants and cinemas. It is becoming more residential with the opening of several new condominium and rental apartments in the immediate vicinity of the Aquarium. A major mixed use retail/residential/office development is underway about a quarter mile from the Aquarium’s front door.
Annual attendance now averages about 475,000 visitors, making it one of the largest attractions in Connecticut (and the largest in Connecticut within 100 miles of New York City).
Last year, 130,000 children and teachers experienced The Maritime Aquarium’s informal and formal education programs. Nearly half of those schoolchildren – 60,000 a year – participated in formal programs either in the Aquarium and its science labs, aboard the Aquarium’s research vessel or at their schools. The hands-on, experience-based learning reinforces national science standards and the Connecticut Science Framework. More than 40 programs provide students with exciting access to live animals, inquiry-based approaches and real-life experiences, including field research. Of particular note is the Aquarium’s Long Island Sound Biodiversity Project, which takes students out on the Sound and to local beaches to census wildlife, identify species and record their findings in a web-accessible database as part of a long-term record of biological change. The Aquarium’s in-depth school partnerships are expanding – it now works intensively with four schools in underserved areas of Stamford, Norwalk and Bridgeport. About 2,000 students in these schools are having weekly experiences with the Aquarium and its instructors, which results from the science achievement tests show are effective in closing the achievement gap.
To support the growing number of visitors and educational programs, The Maritime Aquarium completed its first major expansion project seven years ago. Opened in April 2001, the new $11.5 million Environmental Education Center (funded through corporate, private, and state contributions) boasts new classrooms and high-tech educational equipment, plus a new main entrance, larger gift shop and 180-seat food-service area. The move from the old gift shop also allowed for the addition of loggerhead sea turtles to the Aquarium's growing animal collection.
The Maritime Aquarium is governed by a 42 member Board of Trustees, has 50 full time and 75 part time staff members, and an active volunteer group of more than 200. To learn more about the Maritime Aquarium please visit www.maritimeaquarium.org
New Opportunities
Under the leadership of President Jennifer Herring, who arrived in 2004, The Maritime Aquarium is entering a new era of growth. The institution is repositioning itself as a significant contributor to the conservation of Long Island Sound and a partner in closing the science achievement gap and inspiring student interest in science. The Board is expanding, with younger leaders from the surrounding communities joining the challenge of raising the institutional profile. Under active volunteer leadership, the annual gala has attracted major corporate honorees and doubled net revenue in the past two years.
In 2006 a new strategic plan was adopted. Based on that plan, one of New York City ’s leading design firms worked for a year with Board and senior staff to create a master plan for the transformation of The Maritime Aquarium into an institution that will become the place the public turns to learn about Long Island Sound. The $50 million, three-phase Master Plan was adopted by the Board in October of 2007. Its ultimate goal is to connect visitors with Long Island Sound’s natural wonders with such emotional power that visitors become better stewards of the Sound and help sustain it as a healthy ecosystem.
During the winter and spring of 2008, a feasibility and campaign planning study was conducted by an outside firm. It recommended a comprehensive $34 million campaign to be conducted over the next four to five years, including $24 million for the first phase of the Master Plan, and goals for annual giving, endowment and campaign costs. The Board voted to adopt these recommendations at the June 2008 meeting. A public-private partnership is envisioned to fulfill this ambitious plan, under the leadership of a Campaign Steering Committee that has been providing leadership since late 2007. A Board challenge is currently in place as part of the quiet phase fundraising, and active solicitation of Board members has begun.
Key Responsibilities of the Position
The Director of Development is responsible for all fundraising activities in support of the mission of The Maritime Aquarium. This includes capital, endowment, program, and unrestricted annual support, all of which are included in the comprehensive $34 million campaign goal.
With a lead gift of $5 million in hand and an additional $2 million challenge from the Board, this is an exciting time for a consummate development professional to help bring a much loved and valuable institution to an entirely new level and launch it into its second generation of life. The position offers a seasoned development professional the opportunity to build this campaign from its planning phase, in partnership with a highly experienced fundraising President.
The Director reports to the President and works closely with the Board of Trustees, campaign committees and the campaign consultant, and is part of the institution’s senior management team. The Director manages a current staff of four, with a need to recruit three additional budgeted positions to staff the capital campaign.
The Director of Development will:
1. Work closely with the President and Board of Trustees to aggressively plan, lead and direct the organization and implementation of a comprehensive campaign to meet the capital, operating, exhibition, education and endowment needs of the Maritime Aquarium for the present and the long term.
2. Play a key leadership role in all aspects of the upcoming campaign that will fund the organization’s expansion plans and support its operations. This role will include:
- In partnership with the President, campaign counsel and volunteer leadership, build, manage and implement an effective campaign structure;
- Conceptualize, recruit members to and staff the volunteer campaign committees needed to wage a successful campaign;
- Create and manage a large-scale cultivation effort to develop new donors for the fulfillment of campaign goals;
- Actively solicit major gifts from all sources for campaign and operating needs.
3. Work with the President to motivate and strengthen the Board in its role in development; expand, manage and coordinate the Board and other volunteers’ involvement in fundraising activities; and take an active role in serving and supporting the Board and several Board committees.
4. Work closely with staff, trustees, and other volunteers to maximize the effectiveness of the organizations’ special events and other activities to help develop, attract, and retain donors.
5. Supervise and oversee the research and preparation of foundation, corporate and government grant proposals, and oversee grant administration and reporting.
6. Work to foster ongoing, collegial relations among the development department and other departments of the organization. Serve as a member of the senior staff team that guides strategic decision-making.
7. Build, train, and supervise an effective, professional development team and support staff, and recruit and replace as necessary, in consultation with the institution’s senior leadership.
8. Team with the President and other senior staff to enhance the Maritime Aquarium’s public image and positioning, foster positive external relations, build long-term strategic alliances, and play an active, public role as a spokesperson and representative of the organization.
9. In conjunction with the CFO, prepare and manage the department’s financial reports and budget; monitor the development budget and control expenses, and oversee the administration of the development department, its procedures and policies .
10. Serve as weekend/holiday Duty Manager (the person in charge who checks to see the operation is running smoothly, deals with guest emergencies, etc.) on a scheduled basis.
Qualifications
The ideal candidate will:
1. Have played a key role in a successful campaign and have a proven track record in the management of successful development programs, and a solid background in the cultivation and solicitation of individual, corporate, foundation, and government donors.
2. Understand and support the Maritime Aquarium’s mission, appreciate the important role institutions like the Aquarium play in conservation, education and the life of a vibrant community, and have the ability to articulate this mission and role to others .
3. Be someone with initiative, self-confidence, creativity, and entrepreneurial skills, who enjoys working as a team player but also has the capability to work independently and as a self-starter.
4. Be very well-organized, able to plan and manage strategically and set priorities that serve the chosen strategies, yet have sufficient focus on details to assure effective implementation and follow through.
5. Be a personable, positive and diplomatic individual with integrity and a sense of humor, who works effectively with trustees, donors, volunteers and inside staff, and relishes taking an active, public role in the cultivation and solicitation of donors, and as a representative of and spokesperson for the Maritime Aquarium.
6. Be a strong manager with experience in leading and developing a staff, possess excellent verbal and written communication skills, good business sense and computer literacy, and the ability to inspire those working with him/her toward accomplishing common objectives.
7. Be willing to work diligently and hands-on to get the job done, possess the flexibility to welcome and embrace change, and the ability and to balance the many challenges inherent in a growing, changing organization.
8. Have familiarity with planned giving and experience working in a membership-based organization.
9. Be able to work weekends and holidays on a scheduled basis.
10. Have at least 10 years of successful fundraising experience and at minimum, a Baccalaureate degree.
Salary
Salary will be commensurate with the level of experience required for this position.
Start
Date
This position will be filled as soon as possible.
Procedure for Application
Interested and qualified candidates, and recommendations of same, are encouraged to apply to the consulting firm retained for the search:
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