Position Summary:
The Development Director plays a vital leadership role in advancing the Clark Center for the Performing Arts’ fundraising and donor engagement efforts in support of fulfilling the Center’s mission of inspiring, entertaining, and educating our community through the power of cultural and performing arts.

Reporting to the Executive Director, this position is responsible for planning, organizing, and implementing comprehensive development and sponsorship programs to secure support from individuals, corporations, and foundations. These efforts support the Center’s programming, capital and endowment priorities. The Development Director is essential to sustaining and growing the Center’s impact through strong community partnerships, strategic fundraising initiatives, and effective donor stewardship. The ideal candidate is a dynamic, detail-oriented professional with a passion for the performing arts and a demonstrated track record in nonprofit development.

Duties:

• In collaboration with the Executive Director and Board of Directors, prepares the department’s strategic plan with short- and long-range goals to meet funding objectives in annual, capital and endowment campaigns.
• Establishes development policies, systems, and procedures, with an emphasis on ethical standards for soliciting and reporting gifts and for meeting the expectations of donors (individual, corporate, foundation and government).
• Develops and operates a responsive and effective customer service program for donors and sponsors.
• Designs and manages a comprehensive annual giving program, including donor recruitment, renewal, and retention; cultivation and growth strategies; administration of donor benefits; ongoing communication and stewardship; database management; and regular reporting.  Secures gifts.
• Secures annual sponsorships for the season, individual performances, and in-kind contributions, and well as advertising for show programs, linking Clark Center unique assets with sponsor business objectives. Develops and manages sponsor communications and ensures timely fulfillment of sponsorship benefits.
• Maintains comprehensive donor and sponsor records in the Center’s Customer Relationship Management system, including donor and sponsor pledges, payments and related information.
• Using audience, donor and sponsor information contained in the Center’s customer relationship management databases, develops techniques to define, analyze and report on past, current and potential supporters.
• Performs research to identify prospective donors and sponsors.
• Develops and implements a planned giving program to cultivate long-term donor support, including identifying prospective donors, managing legacy giving opportunities, maintaining accurate records and communication, and ensuring appropriate stewardship and recognition.
• Researches, identifies, prepares, submits, reports on and otherwise manages grant proposals for federal, state and local governments, and national, regional and local foundations and corporations.
• Oversees the planning and execution of fundraising and other special events to insure maximum net financial results from such efforts while maintaining quality of experience for participants consistent with the Clark Center mission and brand.
• Develops and cultivates contacts with community organizations, attends meetings, delivers presentations, and promotes the Center’s fundraising and sponsorship programs.

Required Abilities and Experience:

• Senior development experience and a successful track record in individual and major giving is required, preferably from work in arts organizations.
• Background in development planning and current development strategies.
• Demonstrated success in major donor cultivation and solicitation or translatable experience.
• Working knowledge, understanding and experience with sponsorships.
• Strong leadership and management abilities.
• Ability to initiate and maintain cooperative relationships with co-workers, managers and supervisors, customers/clients, Center volunteers, and members of the public.
• Knowledge of financial management to allocate resources, prepare and track budgets, analyze financial data and project fundraising income and expenses.
• Ability to work effectively under deadlines; requires excellent organizational skills, time management efficiency, and careful attention to detail.
• Experience with desktop computers and related software including word processing, spreadsheet, presentation, and email systems such as those found in Microsoft Office and Google Suite.  
• Experience in entering, manipulating, reporting on and analyzing data in customer relationship management databases.
• Excellent interpersonal and communication skills; ability to articulate ideas clearly and concisely, be that in written or oral format.
• Ability to speak with ease and confidence in front of large groups.
• Demonstrated success in managing complex programs and strategic plans; strong organizational and time management skills.
• Passion for nonprofit arts and cultural institutions
• Willingness to work some long hours and weekends

Other Desirable Skills/Qualifications/Experience:

• Experience managing staff and/or volunteers
• Experience with desktop publishing, social media management, email marketing and website content management systems; online advertising.
• Bachelor’s degree or higher
• Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) Certification
• Certified Event Sponsorship Professional (CESP) Certification and/or Sponsorship Marketing Association Academy Training.

To Apply:

Send a cover letter outlining your interest and suitability for the position together with a current resume and list of 5 references to:

By Email:        Employment@clarkcenter.org         Subject: Development Director Position

By Mail:         

Development Director Search Committee

Clark Center for the Performing Arts

487 Fair Oaks Avenue

Arroyo Grande, CA  93420

About the Clark Center

Serving San Luis Obispo County and the Santa Maria Valley region in northern Santa Barbara County, the Clark Center for the Performing Arts’ mission is to inspire, entertain, and educate our community through the power of cultural and performing arts. 

It does this through operation of a regional performing arts center opened in 2002 that includes the 617-seat Forbes Hall and smaller black box Studio Theater, and programs that include Center presentations of touring artists, a facility rental program that makes the Center available for community use, rotating lobby exhibitions highlighting the work of local visual artists, a performing arts scholarship program for graduating high school seniors, and an Arts-in-Education program with school-time matinees that provide opportunities for K-12 students to experience the magic of live performance.  The Center is the performance home for many local school music, dance and theater programs, and also produces the annual Stone Soup Music Festival and Street Fair in Grover Beach each summer.

With funds raised by the community, the Clark Center for the Performing Arts facility was built in partnership with the Lucia Mar Unified School District (which owns the building) and is managed by a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with ongoing support from the community.  In 2027, the Center will celebrate its 25th Anniversary.