Development Director

Who we are

The Lancaster County Council of the Arts, a non-profit founded in 1977, is instrumental in empowering the arts to reach people where they are. We are changing the landscape of our county through public art, advocacy for our community artists, and arts education for young and old. We are a leader in revitalizing our downtown corridor, supporting growth in the fastest growing areas of our county, and ensuring all people are uplifted through the power of the arts. We believe the arts are a vital part of our lives. Through the arts we not only experience beauty, but we can teach thoughtful problem solving, appreciation of diversity in our community, and build strong, lasting relationships amongst residents. Our people are our heartbeat and our greatest resource; we are all passionately rallied around our mission to enrich the quality of life in Lancaster County by building vibrant and inclusive communities connecting arts, culture, education and economic vitality. Our staff is small, but mighty. We are a team of 6, young (but well experienced) leaders in the arts that are passionate about our work and know our strength lies in our collaboration and uplifting of one another. Join our stellar team leading the charge to deepen our impact and expand our service.

What you’ll do

Creatively drive fundraising within each funding stream to effectively implement and manage campaigns and other fundraising activities:

• With consultation from the Executive Director, initiate and create the overarching strategy/goal several months in advance of the campaign/activity
• Write grant proposals, letters of intent, and reports for all funding sources demonstrating high-quality writing skills
• Develop a detailed timeline of specific activities, identifying the date due and person responsible
• With support from the team, direct the creation of collateral materials, direct mail letters, and a campaign donation page to support each fundraising activity
• Working with social media focused team members oversee the creation of a social media plan that complements fundraising activities
• In close collaboration with the Executive Director, support all external revenue activities to meet or exceed annual fundraising goals for the region.

Each year, manage a portfolio of institutional and individual relationships:

• In collaboration with the Executive Director, create an overarching plan to identify and engage with local businesses and their leaders for sponsorship and foundation support.
• Working with the Executive Director, create individualized stewardship plans to effectively manage relationships with portfolio donors.
• Implement stewardship plans by scheduling meetings (to include the Executive Director and/or board members) with existing and new institutional and individual donors.
• Propose and develop creative touchpoints for portfolio donors.
• Plan and facilitate donor site visits to workshops, events, and arts therapy sessions to represent our programs in action.

Ensure communications are clear, consistent, and compelling:

• Effectively write high-quality volunteer and donor communications that demonstrate deep knowledge of our programs and promote our mission. Through exceptional writing, serve as an ambassador of the LCCA.
• Quickly establish credibility when promoting the LCCA to external audiences, demonstrating a high degree of comfort and poise with educators, donors, corporations, and prospects
• Regularly deliver convincing messaging and tailored experiences, demonstrate a genuine joy in connecting with volunteers, donors, and all external stakeholders
• Provide support to the Education Coordinator in the implementation of comprehensive, informative, and compelling communications for the recruitment and engagement of prospective volunteers, education donors, and community partners
• Provide guidance and support to the team managing our social media accounts and online presence to ensure a positive brand

Drive development operations:

• Ensure that the calendars are consistently up-to-date for grants/proposals/reports, communications, and board/committee meetings
• Analyze data and produce reports to drive streamlined communication internally and with board/committee members and funding sources

Other duties as needed that may include capital campaign fundraising and planned giving.

How you’ll do it

Strategic Planning:

• Demonstrate an ability to work collaboratively with the Executive Director and other team members to develop strategic fundraising plans, create action steps, and mobilize stakeholders to achieve fundraising goals. Lead the way to build sustainable plans to maximize market opportunities, meet goals, and significantly grow funding.

New Revenue Generation:

• Demonstrate a proficient ability to conduct research, to prospect, and to drive ongoing external development efforts in the community. Demonstrate excitement to steward and leverage relationships that result in meeting or exceeding target fundraising goals. Boast an entrepreneurial spirit and actively seek to deepen current donor relationships and forge new ones.

Team Collaboration:

• Positively collaborate with the Executive Director to meet and exceed aggressive fundraising goals through effective development operations.
• Work together to deliver on a high volume of operational needs for the development department including grant writing, meeting brief creation, donor cultivation tracking, event planning, prospect research, and data entry.

Communication:

• Externally, demonstrate the ability to genuinely promote the LCCA and our mission through a variety of strategies. Provide excellent customer service to donors, volunteers, and partners. Have a high level of comfort with public speaking and with crafting mass communications. Be able to differentiate communication depending upon the audience.
• Internally, set up strong systems for communication and messaging, tailor communication to audiences, and contextualize messaging. Demonstrate a strong aptitude for effective communication, remotely and in person, with direct reports, stakeholders, and other LCCA partners. Be able to conduct difficult conversations with grace and ease.

Relationship Development:

• Leverage existing relationships and build new transformational relationships in the community. Establish highly collaborative cross-functional relationships, and work effectively with all stakeholders for both organizational fundraising and communications. Celebrate wins with all stakeholders.
• Internally, establish highly collaborative relationships with all team members. Demonstrate a hunger to learn, grow, support, and add great value to the LCCA. Regularly seek to understand all aspects of our programs and priorities to convey externally.

Project and Operations Management:

• Demonstrate a strong detail orientation, accuracy, and ability to develop compelling reports and communications to be used internally and externally. Execute all work in a highly organized, analytical, and data-driven manner.
• Create innovative solutions in the face of competition for resources, time, etc. with a high degree of adaptability and flexibility. Anticipate challenges and/or questions, and proactively execute solutions. Understand larger strategic priorities and make measurable progress against these larger goals. Be able to make quick, sound, and on-the-fly decisions that consider all stakeholders. See the bigger picture and also drill down to smaller details to connect the dots.

About you!

You’ll be successful in this role if you:

• You have 3+ years of increasing responsibility in a development or related role
• You have 3+ years of grant writing experience
• Project management skills with a focus on meeting deadlines
• Are achievement-oriented and have a demonstrated track record of achieving aggressive fundraising goals
• Are an exceptional and persuasive communicator in writing and verbally
• Have flexibility and adaptability in work style and schedule, including some evening or weekend time during events
• Hold a Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent experience
• Have the ability to travel occasionally to conferences and other professional development opportunities throughout the year (typically 2-4 conferences)
• Demonstrate a commitment to race, equity, diversity, and inclusion in your leadership.
• Display a deep belief in our mission and root your work in our core values.
• Ability to prove eligibility to work legally in the U.S. and that you are at least 18 years of age.

Bonus Points if you:

• Have experience in the arts
• Have a high degree of comfort with fundraising databases
• Have experience working in growth phases of organizations

What we offer:

• This is a full-time, exempt, and salaried position. The pay range for this position is $45,000 - $55,000 per year.
• Full-time benefits include paid time-off, holidays, and a flexible work schedule.
• We offer a QSEHRA in lieu of health benefits to all full-time employees
• Flexible Paid Time Off (PTO) benefits for regular employees scheduled to work 30 hours or more per week
• We offer an exciting and dynamic culture, and we are committed to investing in and supporting our amazing people to grow their careers with us.

The other things you need to know:

• This role is an in-person role reporting to the Lancaster, SC office Monday - Friday each week.
• Travel: This position travels regularly within the community. This position may also involve occasional travel to conferences and professional development as mentioned.

What’s Next?

If you are interested in joining the LCCA team, please submit a detailed cover letter highlighting your qualifications and experiences for the position and how your skills and commitment align with the position description along with a current resume.

The Lancaster County Council of the Arts is committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion and strongly encourages women, people of color, and individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ+ individuals, and veterans to apply. The LCCA is dedicated to the principles of equal opportunity. All qualified applicants will be considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, pregnancy, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, national origin, age, disability, genetic information, or any other personal characteristic not relevant to the posted position.