The Griffith Observatory Foundation is in the search for a proven fundraising relationship builder to serve as Executive Director to drive donor solicitations and to engage the separate Observatory and Foundation teams in collaborative outreach to individual, business and foundation donors.

Griffith Observatory was founded to make astronomy accessible to the public by the namesake benefactor Griffith J. Griffith, and is the world’s most visited public observatory with over 1.6 million visitors annually. The City of Los Angeles owns, operates and largely funds the Observatory and staff through the Department of Recreation and Parks. Most Griffith Observatory programs are free to the general public, and dedication to free public access means Griffith Observatory has limited ability to fund needed facility and infrastructure upgrades, extra staff, and new programs not explicitly authorized through the annual City of Los Angeles budgeting process.

Griffith Observatory Foundation works closely with Observatory staff, but as a separately chartered nonprofit it raises funds for various purposes and programs. Observatory and Foundation staff work in unison to advance Griffith Observatory interests and have a strong culture of collaboration. The Foundation has three objectives:

• Secure financial support to Griffith Observatory programs and operations, and for upgrades to facilities, technology & infrastructure;
• Expand global access to Griffith Observatory science education and public astronomy programs & assets through on-line and in-person experiences;
• Increase the Foundation’s operating resilience and ability to sustainably fund Observatory priorities through endowment and partnership initiatives.

The Executive Director is the Foundation’s chief fundraiser and senior staff leader and has a hands-on, direct solicitation role that targets, qualifies, approaches, solicits, orchestrates higher levels of donor commitment and celebrates donors. The Executive Director will continue to build the Foundation’s brand, help to recruit board members able to support its fundraising efforts, and work with the Observatory Director and staff to shape fundraising initiatives, priorities and events that maximize contributed income. The Executive Director’s success will be measured in terms of dollars raised from individual, foundation and business donors to support Griffith Observatory. The complete position description can be found here.

For additional information or to apply, please contact Mark Oppenheim, Lisa Grossman & Kevin Redick at info[at]moppenheim[dot]com.