Job Description

 

The Chicago Academy for the Arts (chicagoacademyforthearts.org), Illinois’ premier visual and performing arts high school, seeks a part-time grant and event associate to start immediately.

This position offers the right candidate valuable exposure to all areas of fundraising and to the overall administration of a non-profit organization that is one of just four independent high schools of its kind in the country. The right candidate must have at least one year of experience in nonprofit development, grant writing, or corporate sales, and enjoy the management of fundraising data and gift processing, as well as event management. The Grant Associate must be detail-oriented, entrepreneurial, customer-service oriented, collaborative, and interested in playing a central role in growing a wonderful organization. The right candidate must deliver a high level of quality control, possess a high degree of comfort working with multiple audiences, both internal and external, and enjoy leveraging opportunities for revenue growth.

The Academy’s educational model is co-curricular: students engage in rigorous academic classes for five hours each day before immersing themselves in 3-5 hours of professional-level training in dance, filmmaking, animation, writing, music, musical theatre, theatre, or visual arts. (Note: The Chicago Academy for the Arts is a different school than “ChiArts,” a CPS school.)

Students at The Academy are characterized by an extraordinary sense of purpose and community. Most continue with the arts after high school: alums include hit songwriters, Grammy Award nominees and winners, Broadway stars, internationally acclaimed dancers and visual artists, and award-winning filmmakers and writers. Students also pursue degrees and careers outside of the arts: many alums are successful professionals in the fields of science, mathematics, technology, business, law, healthcare, and many more.

The Chicago Academy for the Arts is an equal opportunity employer committed to building a culturally diverse faculty and staff and maintaining an inclusive community. All qualified applicants — regardless of race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law — are strongly encouraged to apply.

RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the supervision of the Director of Development and the Head of School, the Grant Associate will have the following responsibilities:

• Grant Writing: Works as the primary liaison between granting foundations and The Academy, writing and applying for new and existing grant opportunities.

• Database Administration & Gift Processing: Serves as the secondary administrator of development records in our robust Salesforce database. Responsible for all phases of grant processing, from the LOI to the application, to the reporting.

• Special Events: Responsible for logistics for large-scale fundraising events. This includes being a point person for a live and silent auction, managing parent volunteers, note-taking for all committee meetings, coordinating communications for an active committee, and being a point person on site for the day of the event.

• Auxiliary Groups: Serves as a liaison for alumni relations, board meetings, and the Parent Association – includes being the meeting planner and ensuring that agendas, minutes, and committee communications are distributed in a timely fashion.

• Stewardship and Communications: Familiarity with donor relations and donor communications is preferred. Scheduling stewardship touch points with foundations, including tours, personalized cards, phone calls, and events.

• Administrative and Student Performance Tasks: Fill in at the Front Desk as needed, greet families, and check tickets.

• Opportunities to work remotely at certain times as situations allow

• Opportunities to work asynchronous hours as schedules allow

• 15-20 hours per week – may flex time as grant seasons permit

QUALIFICATIONS, SKILLS, AND ABILITIES

• Bachelor’s degree in nonprofit management, marketing, communications, writing, literature, or related field and/or a minimum of one to two years of experience in development, writing, sales, marketing, or admissions.

• Proven success in managing a comprehensive set of development functions, which include fundraising goals from a variety of sources and strategies, including annual fund, institutional giving, and special events (or proven relevant success in corporate sales)

• Prior experience with fundraising and/or sales platform is preferred (e.g. Salesforce, Raiser’s Edge or Tessitura), including the ability to generate complex reports and oversee consistent use and updates within the database

• Strong organizational and project management skills

• Computer literacy is a must - Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint), Google Suite

• Comfortable navigating social media and prospecting platforms

• Ability to work effectively both with a team and independently

• A passion for working with teenagers, families, artists, and in the overall high school education arena

• Excellent language and communication skills, with the ability to motivate and build a rapport with a variety of stakeholders, including staff, board, volunteers, and donors

• Experience working in a fast-paced, results-oriented environment while demonstrating flexibility and responsiveness when faced with dynamic priorities and needs

• Ability to work outside standard work hours when necessary, attending fundraising events, and other meetings and events

Salary Range - Starts at $20,000, commensurate with experience as our budget allows. Ability to expand role in years two and three as grant opportunities expand.

SEND COVER LETTER AND RESUME TO:
Evan Pazkowski, Director of Development
employment@chicagoartsacademy.org
Please be sure to reference Grant and Event Associate within the subject line.

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