Development Director

About the organization

Art with a Heart's mission is to enhance the lives of people in need through visual art. The organization views creative development and artistic expression as vital components of the human experience and works to address the equity gap in visual arts education and access by offering a variety of services, including engaging, educational, and interactive visual arts classes to underserved Baltimore-area children, youth and adults in schools, group homes, shelters, community centers, recreation centers, foster care agencies, senior facilities, and hospitals. Art with a Heart's goals also include using visual art for positive civic and economic change in its workforce development, public art, community service, and leadership development branches. The organization values collaboration, creative self-expression, consistency, and high levels of artistry in all its work.

About the position

The Development Director will serve as the organization’s lead fundraising strategist and a key member of the senior leadership team. Working in close partnership with the Executive Director, the Development Director will lead the development of Art with a Heart’s fundraising strategy and be responsible for its implementation, tracking, and ongoing refinement. The Executive Director will remain actively engaged in donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship, while the Development Director will help identify and prioritize the Executive Director’s donor portfolio, develop strategies and next steps for key relationships, and prepare and support the Executive Director for donor meetings and solicitations.

Qualifications

• A keen interest, genuine passion for, and deep personal commitment to AWAH's mission.
• Five or more years of relevant work experience in comprehensive fundraising strategies including corporate, foundation and individual giving.
• Strong written and verbal communications and ability to represent Art with a Heart to donors and partners.
• A highly organized self-starter who possesses critical thinking and problem-solving skills, eager to build new systems and processes.
• Demonstrated ability to strategize based on available data and turn strategy into actionable steps to achieve fundraising goals.
• Demonstrated ability to build and maintain relationships and work effectively in collaboration with diverse groups of people.
• Ability to remain focused, transparent, and tactful while exercising solid judgment, especially in high pressure situations.
• Ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously and thrive in a complex environment with multiple priorities.
• Technical skills should include proficiency with donor management platforms, Microsoft suite, Google suite, and experience with or willingness to learn other software and systems necessary for the role.

Specific Duties and Responsibilities

You will collaborate with the Executive Director and Board of Directors on the following specific duties and responsibilities:

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

• Develop and lead implementation of Art with a Heart’s annual fundraising strategy, including goals, revenue projections, strategies, timelines, and metrics across individual, foundation, and corporate donations.
• Build and actively manage donor portfolios for the Executive Director, as well as cultivate, solicit and steward a specific portfolio of donors/prospects of your own.
• Partner closely with the Executive Director on major donor relationships, including identifying prospects, preparing meeting strategy and materials, coordinating follow-up, and strategizing movement through the donor pipeline.
• Develop and implement strategies to retain, renew, upgrade and steward existing donors, while also building the pipeline of new prospects.
• Lead Art with a Heart’s foundation and grant strategy, including identifying and cultivating prospective funders, managing a robust grants calendar and pipeline, overseeing proposal development and reporting, stewarding foundation relationships, and developing strategies to renew and grow institutional support.
• Develop and lead a strategic corporate sponsorship program, creating a clear structure for identifying, soliciting, and stewarding corporate partners and developing opportunities for long‑term engagement.
• Own fundraising reporting and analysis, regularly reviewing revenue, donor retention and renewal, pipeline activity, projections, and progress toward goals and using that data to inform strategy.
• Provide fundraising leadership to the Board of Directors, helping Board members identify relationships, open doors, cultivate and steward donors, host events and participate effectively in fundraising.
• Lead the research and development of new financial support for the organization, including cultivating donors, proposal development, grant writing and reporting, charitable campaign applications, annual appeals, and/or organizing innovative fundraisers and marketing campaigns.
• Communicate the organization’s mission, goals and operational plans to the broader corporate and philanthropic community and to individual donors.

• Partner with Art with a Heart staff and oversee the Communications and Marketing Manager to develop and implement social media and public relations strategies.
• Partner with the Operations Specialist to update databases and communications with new donor and constituent data, ensuring the donor data is accurately and consistently maintained.
• Manage communications and marketing materials for Art with a Heart grant‑makers, donors, and sponsors, with support from the Communications and Marketing Manager.
• Act as organizational ambassador during community service events,

corporate functions, fundraisers and networking events.

• Oversee the Communications and Marketing Manager to gather stories for and assist with writing the monthly newsletter, in support of Art with a Heart’s fundraising and visibility goals.

• Support external relationships and partnerships which may include development of press packets, preparation for media coverage, and other public relations tasks as needed.
• Represent Art with a Heart in public engagements, community meetings, and events, as needed.
• Oversee and implement a calendar of special events which serve as donor cultivation, community activation, and stewardship opportunities, including but not limited to the Volunteer Appreciation Luncheon, Holiday Open House, Volunteer Art Show and Shop & Bop celebration.

Technical Skills

• Microsoft and G Suite
• Experience with or willingness to learn Constant Contact, DonorSnap or other donor management system(s)
• Facility with Apple products