Job: Director of Development
Arlington Children’s Theatre is hiring its inaugural Director of Development to support the organization’s mission and vision for future growth. The part-time Director of Development will make connections within the ACT community, the Arlington community, and the theatre community. They will fundraise, including establishing an annual fund program; identifying, cultivating and soliciting new major gift prospects; and planning and launching a capital campaign to support the purchase of property for rehearsals. While the Director of Development may work from home and set their own hours, they will strategically leverage opportunities to engage with prospects and donors during ACT’s evening rehearsals and weekend performances throughout the year. They will also staff the Board of Directors, and guide them in fundraising work on behalf of the organization. The Director of Development will be a key link between ACT and the Arlington community and the Town boards and offices, and they will work to strengthen those connections.
ACT’s vision for the future includes expanding its programmatic offerings, actively reaching out to engage youth from underrepresented groups and neighborhoods, and deepening its ties to the Arlington community with entertaining programming and space rental to other groups, performing artists, and educators.
The first step toward this goal is hiring an entrepreneurial advancement professional to serve as a part-time Director of Development. This person will work with the Artistic Director, staff the Board of Directors, and will direct friendraising, fundraising, and the initiation of a capital campaign to purchase ACT’s future home.
Arlington Children’s Theatre is an organization that welcomes all youth regardless of theatre experience and casts every registrant in a part. Founded as a community theater troupe that accommodated youth on the autism spectrum, ACT has continued to be a welcoming environment for youth of all races, cultural backgrounds, sexual orientation, gender identity, socioeconomic status, and neurodevelopmental ability. ACT achieves its mission of theater education by meeting its ACTors where they are and helping them engage in a manner that works for them. With equity and inclusion built into the fabric of Arlington Children’s Theatre, the organization welcomes diverse candidates for its Director of Development position.
HISTORY
Arlington Children’s Theatre (Arlington Community Theatre, Inc. 501(c)3) is dedicated to creating quality theatrical events, workshops, and experiences that educate, inspire, and enrich the lives of children ages 7-18, their families, and the community. ACT’s plays, musicals, and vacation day programs center on the educational process, emphasizing the theatrical and personal development of each participant. Founded in 1991, ACT’s rehearsals during the first sixteen years were nomadic–utilizing or renting large spaces wherever they could be found–followed by eight years of renting from Arlington Center for the Arts in the Gibbs School, and currently renting space in Trinity Baptist Church. ACT rents main stage theatre venues for its performances. Theatre serves the social and emotional development of young people who find themselves–and their joy–by acting, singing, and performing in theatrical productions. Arlington Children’s Theatre continues to have greater demand for its programming than it can meet.
JOB QUALIFICATIONS
A successful candidate for this position will have:
- The ability to work independently: to create a schedule, and then initiate and complete projects according to that schedule
- An entrepreneurial, energetic person who enjoys discovery work in an organization without a defined donor pool
- Volunteer and Board management skills: A collaborative person who can work closely with the Artistic Director and Board of Directors, and can manage their work to keep moving forward towards goals
- The ability to reach out to and strengthen relationships with donors, the ACT community, the Arlington community, public schools, etc.
- Superlative communication skills
- Experience identifying, cultivating, soliciting and stewarding donors
- Creativity for marketing and social media
- The ability to lead in selecting and establishing donor records using donor management software
- Be CORI certified (ACT can facilitate CORI application if needed)
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES REQUIRED
- Minimum of three to five years of experience in nonprofit development and fundraising
- Commitment to Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA)
- Demonstrated success in planning, implementing, and executing major revenue generating campaigns
- Exceptional interpersonal skills
- Marketing and case development experience, excellent written and verbal communication skills
- Excellent customer/donor service skills and demonstrated ability to build relationships
- Strong attention to detail
- Ability to work independently and meet deadlines and goals
- Computer proficiency and working knowledge of constituent relationship management systems and wealth screening databases
- An individual with transferable skills will be considered with evidence of the ability to successfully achieve goals and manage multiple projects
WORKING CONDITIONS
Hybrid work: Work from home or at the ACT office on your own schedule. Some evening and weekend work (at rehearsals and performances) for community development, individual prospect/donor meetings, work with Board members, and events will be required. Local and regional travel: New England day-trips could develop, though current donors are in the Boston-Metro area. This position is part-time with benefits.
HOW TO APPLY
Applicants are asked to please email their cover letter and resume to: ActDoDSearch2023@gmail.com. Finalists will be asked to complete an application form and provide references.