Director of Development & Fundraising

We are looking for a Director of Development & Fundraising whose goal will be to raise the funds necessary to allow the Mercia Entertainment to become a premier cultural institution in the New York City and the Tri-State area.   This person will report to the Managing Director (MD), and also work closely with Mary Riley, the Founder & Artistic Director of the Mercia Entertainment.   They will provide the leadership, strategic direction, management and coordination for Mercia Entertainment fundraising and corporate partnership activities. The Director will create fundraising strategies that diversify and expand the organization's current fundraising strategies including individuals, corporations, foundations, event participation fundraising, third party event fundraising, and major gift donor cultivation.  The Director of Development will play a key role in identifying, cultivating, and soliciting major donors for capital and annual gifts. They will work in close collaboration with the Founder (Mary Riley), the MD, and other senior staff and key volunteer leadership to achieve the fundraising goals of the organization.    This position requires an ability to build strong relationships with individual and corporate donors, vendors, volunteers, sponsors and colleagues. The ideal candidate has a proven track record of achieving aggressive fundraising goals through successful donor development programs to advance the mission of Mercia Entertainment.

  
Responsibilities Include:

• Plan, administer, and implement all annual fundraising activities of Mercia Entertainment
• Provide detailed reports about the fundraising progress to the Managing Director on a regular basis;
• Maintain a proactive, creative leadership role in the identification, cultivation, and solicitation of individual, corporate and foundation contributions;
• Oversee the identification, research, cultivation, solicitation, acknowledgment and stewardship of sponsors, key donors, key volunteers, and other event organizers at all levels.
•  Develop bi-annual fundraising plan in collaboration with the MD for presentation to the Board of Directors;
• Ensure corporate sponsorship goals and major gifts goals are met including, but not limited to, prospect identification, cultivation and solicitation of new corporate sponsorships, re-solicitation and maintenance of current corporate sponsors and donors.
• Prepare and/or oversee all direct mail letters, case statements, grants,  and sponsorship proposals required to support fundraising efforts;
• Coordinate donor patron receptions, events, and galas in collaboration with Marketing Director, Theater Operations Manager and volunteers;
• Ensure that all donors are appropriately thanked and receive regular communication by making donor stewardship a priority throughout Mercia Entertainment, Inc.;
• Develop and maintain close working relationships with the philanthropic community, individual and corporate donors, sponsors, board members and volunteers;
•  Serve as a visible spokesperson and advocate for Mercia Entertainment, Inc. mission and programs in the funding community;
• Developing, implementing and monitoring progress toward short- and long-term fundraising strategy and goals.
• Cultivating relationships with current and prospective funders and supporters, especially individual donors.
• Maintaining oversight over all fundraising activities including major giving, grants, special events, direct mail appeals, corporate partnership initiatives.
• Participating in the planning and reviewing grants budgets.
• Create and managing expense budgets for all fundraising;
• Serving as a public representative of the organization, including cultivating relationships with community members, including prospective volunteers and supporters in order to build awareness of and commitment to Mercia Entertainment work.
•  Maintain involvement with external organizations and professional groups that may provide continuing education or build long-term relationships with donors/supporters.
• Overseeing the maintenance and expansion of the organization’s database of supporters.
• Working with the Founder, MD, key staff, and Board members, plan and implement a long range (5 year) fundraising plan.
• Engage and direct the Board of Directors regarding fundraising to maintain and build a strong, productive and motivated Board;
• Work on other Affiliate projects and events as assigned by the Managing Director

At this time, this position is volunteer.

If this job is for you, submit your resume now!

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Grants Manager

_GRANTS MANAGER: The Grant Manager's primary goal is to raise the funds necessary for Mercia to continue to grow and produce unique, quality productions. To this end, your responsibilities will include:

• Identifying, researching and evaluating prospective new funding sources.
• Developing and maintaining funding contacts with corporations, foundations, public agencies, and individuals.
• Gathering information and background research for proposals.
• Writing and editing grant proposals or components of grant proposals.
• Providing technical assistance to other proposal writers as appropriate.
• Maintaining and/or developing high-quality proposal attachments, such as organizational budgets, fact sheets, performance videos, and other materials.
• Tracking deadlines of all grants and ensuring that they are delivered in a timely manner.
• Working with the Development Director to ensure a sound grants development process that adheres to Mercia Entertainment's fundraising strategy.

This position reports to the Artistic Director.

At this time, this position is volunteer.

If this job is for you, submit your resume now!