Arts for LA
Director of Development
About Arts for LA:
Arts for LA (AFLA) leads communities, artists, and organizations to advocate for an equitable, healthy, vibrant, and creative Los Angeles region through the arts. AFLA believes that by identifying and eliminating barriers to equity, access, and inclusion, all of Los Angeles will thrive. AFLA works to increase public and private investment in arts, culture, and arts education to a level commensurate with the region’s geography, demographics, and economic capacity because the arts foster civic engagement, stimulate economic activity, increase cultural empathy, and thus play a crucial role in sustaining thriving communities. AFLA believes that every resident deserves access to a variety of cultural and creative experiences, from neighborhood cultural centers to major arts institutions.
Position Summary:
AFLA seeks a full-time Director of Development to help cultivate, steward, and expand relationships between Arts for LA and our individual and organizational membership partners, corporate, foundation, and individual donors, while growing earned revenue through cross-sector (government, nonprofit, and business) partnerships. This position is critical in laying the groundwork for the organization’s long-term financial sustainability. The Director of Development will build and execute AFLA’s new fund development plan, and implement the information technology systems to support the department. Reporting directly to the CEO, this position is an integral part of AFLA’s Senior Leadership Team.
Key Responsibilities:
Fundraising (60%)
Cultivate and steward relationships to build visibility, impact, and increase financial resources for AFLA via individual donations, corporate sponsorships, and foundation grants. Manage funder and contractor relationships and ensure grant compliance and accurate reporting.
Collaborate with the CEO to identify major giving prospects and cultivation strategies for supporters with a capacity to give (>$10K+).
Delegate and oversee grant writing activities; work with the grant writing team to develop and implement strategies to engage new and existing foundation and institutional partners.
Oversee strategy and implementation of direct mail and digital campaigns to support annual giving and the AFLA membership program.
Work with the Arts for LA Board Advancement Committee to organize and oversee AFLA’s fundraising events. Attend events as needed.
Manage the implementation, maintenance, and utilization of the donor database for donor management, and revenue reporting. Oversee AFLA’s donor recognition and retention program and ensure management efforts are being tracked in the agency’s donor database.
Strategy (30%)
Collaborate with all AFLA staff to develop shared strategies around supporter engagement and elevating AFLA’s website, social media, and its print and digital collateral.
Develop short- and long-term strategic goals for Arts for LA’s fundraising, including timelines and budget; assess areas for growth, and support leadership in launching new donor and event-related initiatives.
Utilize donor prospecting tools to conduct research on individuals, corporations, and foundations for prospect activity and maintain the integrity of the data.
Other (10%)
Share in the day-to-day operations of the organization as it relates to the duties of the position or as in the normal course of running the office as do the other staff members (i.e. special projects, conferences, logistics, etc.).
Supervisory Responsibility:
This position is responsible for supervising at least one employee (potentially more as AFLA grows) as well as contractors and consultants to support the implementation of diverse fundraising strategies at AFLA.
Required Knowledge/Skills/Position Qualifications:
- Required history of developing and maintaining strategic partnerships, securing grants, corporate partnerships, and major gifts that contribute to the increasing visibility, impact, and financial resources of an organization over time
- 3+ years of direct staff supervision experience required.
- Experience in planning, leading, and managing revenue goals, including coordinating with peers to achieve desired outcomes and tracking and reporting on progress to the Board of Directors and CEO
- Bachelor’s degree required, advanced degree, and/or relevant professional certification preferred.
- 5-7 years of progressive fundraising experience required; including the donor relations process, successful grant writing, and event management. Experience with government grants, contracts, and compliance a plus
- Experience building organizational systems and processes, including on-boarding new software and management tools/systems
- Profound and confident understanding of foundation priorities and grant-making practices to make strategic decisions with funding requests.
- Demonstrated level of comfort with public speaking and presenting complex information in a compelling manner to a variety of audiences
- Detail-oriented, highly organized, and ability to prioritize time to set and meet goals and deadlines
- Strong multitasking and problem-solving skills; ability to achieve in a fast-paced environment and proven experience managing large-scale projects.
- Strong judgment – the ability to identify critical information and use it to choose effective courses of action.
- Self–starter and a team player with the ability to develop and maintain a goal-oriented, positive attitude throughout the organization; must be able to interface equally well with all AFLA stakeholders; including the Board of Directors, staff, corporate, and community partners, donors, and the general AFLA community.
- Exceptional skills in comprehension, analysis, and technical writing, including the ability to articulate and explain complex funding and financial issues in a clear, non-technical manner.
- Outstanding written and verbal communication skills.
- Flexible and adaptable work style with a growth mindset.
Preferred, but not required skills:
- Experience interacting with nonprofit boards.
- Awareness of Los Angeles arts and culture community and local government structures.
- Public relations experience.
- Bilingual applicants are encouraged to apply.
Work Environment:
This job operates in a hybrid work-from-home and professional office environment.
Travel:
This position requires local travel, as well as occasional travel within the state of California.
Position Type and Expected Hours of Work:
This is a full-time position. Days and hours of work are M-F from 9:00am- 5:00pm, with some weekend and evening hours required.
Other Duties:
Please note this job description is not designed to cover or contain a comprehensive listing of activities, duties, or responsibilities that are required of the employee for this job. Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time with or without notice.
Compensation:
Starting salary range $75,000, dependent on experience.
Benefits include health, vision, dental care, and PTO. Anticipated start date April 2022.
How to Apply:
Submit resume, cover letter, writing sample (i.e. development plan, grant application, membership solicitation, or sponsorship deck) and list of contact information for 3 references to supportus@artsforla.org with the subject line “AFLA – Director of Development” no later than March 15, 2022. Applications without a cover letter or writing sample will not be reviewed.
AFLA is an equal employment opportunity employer and we strongly encourage diverse candidates to apply. Arts for LA do not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religious creed, sex (including pregnancy), gender, national origin, ancestry, citizenship, age, medical condition including genetic characteristics, mental or physical disability, veteran status, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, (including transgender status), weight, height, linguistic characteristics (such as accent and limited English proficiency, were not substantially job-related), citizenship status, or any other basis prohibited by law. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation, and training.