NOW HIRING: DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR (Part-time, Salaried)

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The Development Director will lead The Blank’s strategy for fundraising development and implementation to ensure that we cultivate and galvanize relationships with individual donors, corporate sponsors and grant-based funding sources. In order to meet our basic operational funding growth goals in alignment with The Blank’s strategic vision, the Development Director will be responsible for creating, organizing and executing The Blank’s fundraising work plan, including foundation grants, government contracts, events, outreach and individual donors. Additionally, they will be responsible for rendering the Blank’s vision into practicable initiatives that are financially sound and supported, and which inspire the Board, staff and extended community. The Development Director will report to the Executive Producing Director and the Board President.

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A strong candidate for this position will have a proven track record of success in meeting fundraising goals. They will be a highly relational, effective communicator – adept at building trust and partnership with a broad range of groups. They will be deeply rooted in artistic excellence, community service, education, financial stability, fundraising, and audience engagement.  

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JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

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Lead The Blank’s Fundraising Strategy and Implementation:

• Develop goals, strategies, and a comprehensive fundraising plans, in partnership with the Executive Producing Director and Board President,  with a focus on foundations, contracts, and individual donors to meet the annual operating budget needs and respond to new and changing conditions.

• Ensure that all fundraising activities and plans are in alignment with overall organizational strategic direction

• Inspire, organize and coordinate the Board, staff, volunteers and program specific creatives and supporters to actively participate in The Blank's fundraising efforts, creating a culture of fundraising

• Find, pursue, and secure new funding opportunities through proactive research, outreach, and relationship building

• Serve as a public-facing point of contact alongside the  Executive Producing Director and Board President

• Maintain relationships with donors and foundation partners

• Represent The Blank at key donor and foundation meetings and events, strengthening our relationships with them, keeping them informed of our work to inform their own strategies, in an effort to increase the likelihood of funding renewal opportunities

 

Grassroots Support and Communications Strategies:

• Develop and implement strategies to expand grassroots fundraising donor cultivation

• Partner with the  Executive Producing Director and Board President to develop fundraising communications plans and materials (i.e. newsletters, annual appeals, mailings, events, thank you cards and appreciation letters, etc.)

• Ensure that The Blank’s online presence promotes our work, raises our visibility and provides a platform for supporters to stay updated and potentially become donors

 

Grants and Contracts Management:

• Development, maintenance and improvement of documentation and database systems in regards to individual & corporate donors, grants and funding contracts

• Grant writing, proposal submissions, and reporting

• Develop and maintain strong systems to track donor data, manage grant cycles, submission and reporting deadlines to ensure The Blank stays on track with all funder commitments, as well as ongoing progress on fundraising goals

• Ensure that the Executive Producing Director and Board President are aware of the commitments we make in new contract and grant agreements and ensure when funds are received that there is clarity about new responsibilities

• Develop and execute campaign and program evaluation tools to collect data on the impact of The Blank

• Work with the Executive Producing Director, Board President  and Treasurer to facilitate the collection of documents necessary for an annual audit

 

Organizational Development:

• Collaborate with the Executive Producing Director and Board President to set goals and priorities; provide regular reporting and annual performance evaluation for any supervisees and manage administrative matters of any supervised personnel (approve reimbursements, timesheets, expenses, etc.)

• Serve as a resource and guide within the organization to support daily tasks, as well as to support achievement of short term and long term financial and creative goals

• Participate in the recruitment and hiring process of new Blank team members, and support with their onboarding and orientation

• Provide values-aligned guidance and stewardship for the team, grounded in the organizational mission and vision in collaboration with Blank leadership

• Provide support to and attendance at the annual Young Playwrights Festival (mid-June to mid-August) both in advancement of our flagship program, and to build and advocate for continuing funder support

• Create campaigns and strategies specifically for funding the Young Playwrights programs

• Revive and reimagine our YPFuture donor circle

 

Required Skills and Work Experience

• 1 year or more experience in nonprofit arts administration or fundraising

• Fundraising expertise: You bring a proven track record of non-profit administration for organizations that have an annual budget of at least $75,000, with experience developing and managing organizational or fundraising strategies and plans through a combination of grantseeking and individual donor fundraising. You have the knowledge and comfort to oversee all aspects of the grantseeking process and to seek out support when needed

• Project management: You have the ability to develop goals and plans that engage multiple stakeholders 

• You are able to multi-task in a remote work, while sometimes also balancing in person program and campaign events

• Make smart judgment calls on where to prioritize and when to pivot, all while keeping the big picture in mind

• You are grounded in a strong sense of ownership, adaptability, and resilience

• Relationship building: You have a track record of building strong relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders, across race, gender, and other identities. You bring an enthusiasm for meeting and engaging with people, listening closely to understand needs or concerns, and seeking out opportunities for collaboration. You build trust through consistently showing up and following through with commitments

• Strong written, verbal communication and editing skills: You are an adept storyteller with the ability to develop a compelling pitch (both written and verbally) tailored to the interests and needs of a particular audience or donor. You have the ability to capture the essence of theThe Blank's programming and produce high-quality written materials with sharp attention to detail

• Mission & values alignment: You are motivated by The Blank’s mission, vision, and values

• You actively work to minimize inequities in work products, decisions, policies, processes and are comfortable working in a highly collaborative organization, with shared leadership

 

Nice-to-Have Skills and Experience

• Pre-existing knowledge of and relationships with funders that are invested in the arts and arts education

• Understanding and experience with non-profit grassroots fundraising

• An understanding of arts funding historically and in the current moment

• An understanding of legislative advocacy landscape and government program contracts that are available to arts organizations

 

PART-TIME Salary range: $2,000 / month

This is a part-time, salaried, exempt position. We expect a 20 to 25-hour work week.We hope to be able to migrate this position to full time work as revenue increases.

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Our central operations are based in Los Angeles, CA. This position is hybrid remote and in-person. This position requires occasional in-person meetings, gatherings, mobilizations and activities.

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Application Process

Send resume, 1-2 page cover letter, and three relevant work examples (could include writing samples of grant proposals/reports, fundraising appeals, or other development related documents) in PDF form to producer@theblank.com.

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Please respond to these three questions in your cover letter:

• What interests you in this role and why do you think you’re a good match?

• What is an ambitious administrative goal that you successfully achieved and how did you do it?

• What is your approach to foundation prospecting

 

This position will be open until filled, however, there is a priority deadline of September 6, 2024 and we aim for this position to have a start date in September 2024.

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We are an equal opportunity employer that values diversity and inclusion as central to our work, and we encourage candidates from a wide range of backgrounds to apply.