Events Associate

About Washington Lawyers'​ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs

The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs (WLC) works to create legal, economic, and social equity through litigation, client and public education, and public policy advocacy with a primary focus on racial justice. For the last 55 years, the Committee has been on the cutting edge of civil rights advocacy in the region bringing precedent setting litigation to address discrimination. Our work focuses on injustices in housing, employment, the criminal legal system, education, public accommodations, and the civil rights of immigrants. We partner with individuals and communities facing discrimination and with the legal community to achieve justice. The Committee’s staff is unionized with the National Organization of Legal Service Workers Local #2320, UAW. For more information on the Washington Lawyers’ Committee, please go to www.washlaw.org.

About the role

The Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs is seeking an Events Associate. This is an ideal opportunity for a proven events professional to join an impactful organization focused on systemic change at a critical moment of growth.

Reporting to the Director of Development, this position will plan, organize, and execute our annual Wiley A. Branton Luncheon, monthly donor house parties, virtual donor briefings and other projects as needed. The associate, working with the development team, will manage all aspects of the events from concept development to execution, securing sponsorships, coordinating logistics, and ensuring successful fundraising goals are met.

Candidates must be within commuting distance to Downtown Washington, DC. Washington Lawyers’ Committee operates on a hybrid model: all staff work in the office (Tuesday – Thursday), with a telework option (Monday, Friday).

Responsibilities

The Events Associate will be responsible for accomplishing specific objectives and activities related to institutional fundraising, including but not limited to:

Event Strategy Development:

• Identifying potential fundraising event concepts aligned with the organization's mission and target audience.
• Developing comprehensive event plans including budget, timeline, goals, and key performance indicators.
• Researching market trends and competitor analysis to optimize event strategies.

Donor Engagement and Cultivation:

• Identifying and cultivating potential sponsors and donors for events.
• Coordinate with communications consultants to develop targeted communication strategies to engage donors and promote event participation.
• Managing donor relationships through personalized outreach and stewardship activities.

Logistics Management:

• Securing event venues and vendors (caterers, entertainment, A/V equipment).
• Overseeing event logistics including ticketing, registration, guest list management, and seating arrangements.
• Coordinating event day operations and managing volunteer teams.

Fundraising Activities:

• Developing fundraising components like sponsorships, and donation appeals.
• Designing and implementing effective marketing materials and communications for event promotion.
• Managing sponsorship packages and ensuring sponsor benefits are fulfilled.

Post-Event Analysis and Reporting:

• Tracking event revenue and expenses to evaluate financial performance against goals.
• Analyzing event data to identify areas for improvement and inform future fundraising strategies.
• Preparing post-event reports for stakeholders including donor thank-you communications.

Qualifications

To be maximally successful in this role, you need to be:

• An excellent communicator with strong interpersonal skills to build relationships with donors, sponsors, and stakeholders.
• A strong project manager able to manage complex event timelines and budgets.
• A creative thinker to design engaging and impactful event experiences.
• Proficiency in fundraising software and donor management systems.
• Marketing and event planning expertise.
• Experience in non-profit fundraising or related field preferred.
• A project manager with a knack for working backwards from a deadline to create a work plan.
• Diligently mindful of deadlines.
• Accustomed to working on multiple projects with different deadlines simultaneously.
• An independent worker, self-starter, self-initiator, and self-manager

You need to have:

• 2-3 years of nonprofit event management experience
• Experience managing events with at least 500 attendees
• Provide a writing sample representative of your development work and include it with your cover letter

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