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Vice President for Principal Gifts

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Vice President for Principal Gifts

Lyric Opera of Chicago

Chicago, Illinois

Founded in 1954, Lyric Opera of Chicago (Lyric) is one of the world’s great opera companies. Its mission is to express and promote the life-changing, transformational, revelatory power of great opera. Lyric has continued to distinguish itself by presenting the finest international singers, conductors, directors, and designers in classic and less familiar operatic repertoire, as well as world-premiere productions. Lyric Opera of Chicago is dedicated to producing and performing consistently thrilling, entertaining, and thought-provoking opera with a balanced repertoire of core classics, lesser-known masterpieces, and new works.

Lyric Opera of Chicago is embarking on an ambitious 10-year plan to increase annual fundraising and raise significant endowment and capital funds to ensure the future of the company. To do this, Lyric must focus on implementing plans and metrics that will lead to increasing annual fundraising from $30 million to $37 million over the next 7-10 years.

The Opportunity

Reporting to Chief Development Officer Elizabeth Hurley, the Vice President for Principal Gifts will be charged with envisioning, establishing, and growing a principal gifts program and will lead a team of five focused on all aspects of identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship for this pool of prospects. S/He will also manage a portfolio of principal gift prospects directly and ensure the timely cultivation and solicitation of these individuals. The ideal candidate has 10+ years of progressively responsible experience and direct involvement with multiple solicitations of $1 million plus and a metrics-driven, entrepreneurial mindset that informs strategy and work.

By |2021-06-20T12:33:45-04:00June 20, 2021|Comments Off

About the Author:

Terri Rutter brings a wide array of nonprofit, advancement, and communications and marketing expertise to Lindauer, excelling in placing top leaders and executing team builds in multiple sectors.

Having served in various senior advancement and management roles, Terri is well-versed in the responsibilities of leadership. One of the firm’s most senior consultants, she is experienced in recruiting CEOs and Executive Directors, SVPs and VPs, National Directors, and high-level frontline fundraising, operations, and marketing and communications professionals for a broad range of world-class educational and medical institutions and national nonprofits. Past and current clients include AI2 (the Allen Institute for AI), JDRF, Boston Children’s Hospital, City of Hope, Massachusetts General Hospital, Dartmouth Hitchcock Geisel School of Medicine, Moffitt Cancer Center, Fenway Health, George Washington University, George Washington University Medical and Health Sciences, Lehigh Valley Health Network, North Carolina State University, The Kaiser Family Foundation, The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation, The Craig Newmark School of Journalism at CUNY, The Moth, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), The John F. Kennedy Library, Solar One, American Academy of Forensic Sciences, Climate Central, Chautauqua Institution, Conservation Law Foundation, Institute for Advanced Study, King School, Phillips Academy, Colby College, Lyric Opera of the Chicago, Rhode Island School of Design, and The Washington State University Foundation.

Early career positions at Harvard Medical School and Harvard School of Public Health honed Terri’s experience working effectively with leading researchers, physicians, and academic medical administrators. She built and led creative integrated advancement communications and donor relations teams within major academic medical centers including Harvard Medical School, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund, New York-Presbyterian Hospital, and NYU Langone Medical Center. Each of these roles included developing and managing complex charity brands and models. Terri has also served as Editor of the Harvard Medical Alumni Magazine; Senior Editor at The Dana Foundation in Washington, DC; and Managing Editor at the consumer website Scientific Learning in Oakland, CA.

As a consultant, Terri has directed multi-faceted, integrated marketing, communications, donor cultivation, and stewardship strategies for various Institutes and units at MIT, Alzheimer’s Association, UMass Medical School Department of Psychiatry, Children’s Hospital Boston, Tufts Medical Center, Montefiore Medical Center, Massachusetts General Hospital Cancer Center, and the Betsy Lehman Center. She has a broad freelance writing portfolio for numerous publications, including Associated Press, Boston Herald, New Physician Magazine, and the British Medical Journal, as well as for digital channels.

Terri holds a BA from The Ohio State University and a master’s degree from Northeastern University.

Libby Roberts has earned the trust and admiration of executives across sectors and industries for her bold leadership, incisive judgment, and refreshing candor. A paragon of relationship-building, Libby forges strong client partnerships by deriving clear, actionable insights from open and honest dialogue. Libby’s expert guidance, rooted in a deep understanding of nonprofits, makes her an essential partner for organizations navigating the complexities of succession planning and executive recruitment.

Expertise

Libby’s proven recruiting and talent management strategies are designed to achieve the unique goals of her clients. She excels at guiding boards and leaders through the many stages of a search, collaborating with stakeholders while surfacing the core goals, priorities, and aspirations that unite an organization. For Libby, the end goal isn’t simply placing top talent in leadership roles but preparing organizations and teams to maximize the new leader’s potential long after the search has concluded.

Libby’s client list and broader community involvement reflect her extraordinary global network as well as her commitment to service. Her work has ranged across arts and culture, healthcare, higher education, and advocacy, as well as faith-based hospitals, universities, and other organizations.

Experience

With years of experience in the leadership roles for which she now recruits, Libby brings with her a deep and nuanced understanding of how organizations can engage their communities, develop teams, and recruit talented individuals who will succeed and drive missions forward.

Prior to joining Lindauer, Libby held leadership roles at many influential institutions, including Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston Symphony Orchestra, Dartmouth, and Harvard Law School.

Her experience in annual giving, major gifts, and fundraising campaigns allowed Libby to form a holistic picture of the interconnected components of modern advancement programs. Meanwhile, her time spent managing teams and engaging boards honed her ability to navigate complex organizational structures effectively.

Through her extensive volunteer work, Libby gives back to her community and contributes to the development of the field of philanthropy. She has served on many boards, including the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Boston Trinity Episcopal Church, the Nelson Rockefeller Center, and The Boston House. She brings a wealth of global experience through her travel, international education, and work with Habitat for Humanity. She maintains her connection with her alma mater, Dartmouth, where she has been deeply involved since matriculation.

Libby’s passion for effecting change, her wealth of experience, and her commitment to forging successful client partnerships make her a valued leader and an essential resource for any search, leadership, or talent management project.

Education

Libby holds a BA from Dartmouth College with a Religion major.