Development Director

Position Overview

The Development Director will work closely with Clarion West leadership in efforts to lead and grow our fundraising efforts to ensure the long-term financial viability of Clarion West. This position supports the mission of the organization by developing and overseeing diverse fundraising strategies, growing our planned giving program, managing the grants program and relationships with foundation staff, cultivating donors and community partnerships, producing fundraising events, and providing effective and accurate management of the donor database.

Position: Development Director

Schedule: Full-time exempt

Salary: $75,000 – $85,000 annually

Reports To: Executive Director

Benefits: Employer Sponsored Health and Dental Plan plus 9 paid holidays and flexible PTO plan.

Location: This position offers a hybrid flexible schedule, with 2-3 days per week in our Seattle office.

Position Close Date: Until filled.

To Apply: Complete the application here: https://forms.gle/jgreW6TNp9AW2HMN9

About Clarion West

Clarion West is a 501(c)(3) non-profit speculative fiction writers organization focused on helping writers become successful, fostering greater equity and inclusion in the speculative fiction world, and bringing writers and readers together. Clarion West is best known for our residential six-week workshop held every summer consecutively since 1984. We also host one-day, weekend, and online workshops year-round and events that bring writers and readers together.

Mission: We support emerging and underrepresented voices by providing writers with world-class instruction to empower their creation of wild and amazing worlds. Through conversation and public engagement, we bring those voices to an ever-expanding community.

Although there are fine science fiction and fantasy writers of all ethnicities, races, and genders, historically the field has reflected the same prejudices found in the culture around it, leading to proportionately fewer successful women and LGBTQIA+ writers, writers of color, and writers from marginalized backgrounds. We believe that these communities must be centered in the work we do. Hence, we encourage applications from people with these identities or who are members of other marginalized communities.

Position Overview

The Development Director will work closely with the Executive Director, Program Director, and Board Development Committee in efforts to lead and grow an effective fundraising plan to ensure the long-term financial viability of Clarion West. This position will take the lead in the planning of the organization’s first capital campaign over the next three years, with the campaign beginning as early as 2027.

The position supports the mission of the organization by developing and overseeing diverse fundraising strategies, growing our planned giving program, managing the grants program and relationships with foundation staff, cultivating donors and community partnerships, producing fundraising events, and providing effective and accurate management of the donor database.

The position reports to the Executive Director and will work out of the Clarion West office in Seattle with the opportunity to work a hybrid schedule.

Major responsibilities include:

Fundraising Management

• Prepare Annual Development Plan in collaboration with Executive Director and Board Development Committee.
• Manage and grow grant development, including all aspects of grant writing and oversight of additional grant writing volunteers, contractors, or other staff members when applicable.
• Develop and maintain a portfolio of major donors and actively lead identification and engagement of new donor prospects.
• Serve as primary administrator of donor database and files.
• With the Executive Director, manage and coordinate donor cultivation and fundraising events to increase community visibility, including annual fundraiser.
• Identify strategic business partnerships and expand corporate sponsorships.
• Coordinate successful major donor appreciation and planned giving events annually.
• Oversee and execute direct mail solicitation, working closely with the Executive Director and workshop team on effective storytelling and production of creative and inspiring mail pieces.
• Work with the Executive Director and Board Development Committee to plan and execute a signature fundraising event to take the organization to the next level.
• Assist with annual budget preparation, manage development budget, and monitor progress toward organizational development goals.
• Ensure the timely creation and distribution of fundraising/stewardship materials, collateral and briefings, and highly personalized proposals.

Board training and development

• Work with the Executive Director to report development plans and progress for Board meetings.
• Work with the Executive Director and Development Committee to ensure implementation of the Clarion West Annual Development Plan.
• Identify board gaps in fundraising capacity and help plan and implement board training, on-boarding management, and the solicitation of new board members to ensure capital campaign readiness.

Capital Campaign Readiness

• Work with the Executive Director and Board Development Committee to create and finalize campaign strategy and plans.
• Plan and run steering committee meetings.
• Identify prospects on the individual, corporation, and foundation levels.
• Manage the grants process with other staff and volunteers.
• Identify and cultivate steering committee members.
• Create and edit campaign communications, acknowledgments, follow-up letters, and newsletters.

Other tasks, as they arise.

An ideal candidate should be passionate about speculative fiction, highly organized, and have proven success in developing and implementing overall fundraising strategies and tactics, grant writing, donor cultivation, database administration, and event management.

Required skills and qualifications

• A background in nonprofit development with 4+ years of hands-on fundraising experience in a mission-driven organization(s).
• A proven track record of developing a comprehensive and diverse fundraising program that sets and achieves ambitious goals.
• A high level of technological and organizational skill, with experience using cloud-based collaboration tools, spreadsheets, Canva, and donor databases (NeonCRM).
• Experience in event planning and execution.
• Skilled storyteller with clear written and spoken communication skills, research skills, and meticulous attention to detail.
• Commitment to diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice in the environmental movement.

Preferred qualifications

• An undergraduate degree in communications, nonprofit management, business, marketing, or similar field or equivalent experience preferred.
• Previously managed or worked on a capital campaign for an arts organization.
• Strong sense of purpose and self-driven.

Closing Date

Open until filled

Equal Opportunity

Clarion West is an Equal Opportunity Employer. All qualified persons will be considered for employment without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, disability, sexual orientation, or other non-related work factor as protected by law.