Sled Island

Sled Island is hiring a full-time, permanent Fund Development Manager to lead the organization's sponsorship and donation activities.

Who We Are

Sled Island is a charitable organization with the mandate of fostering understanding and appreciation of music & arts underrepresented in mainstream media, and to nurture the local artistic community through performance and educational opportunities. Our main activity is the presentation of the annual Sled Island Music & Arts Festival, a pillar of Calgary’s cultural calendar taking place each June, that brings together thousands of artists, volunteers, partners, and attendees from across the country and beyond. We also present year-round artistic and educational programming through numerous community partnerships, aimed at increasing awareness of Sled Island on an ongoing basis.

Sled Island is a community-centric organization driven by values of curiosity and diversity, on and off the stage, and committed to principles of equity, anti-racism, and anti-oppression. We recognize the systemic lack of representation of equity-deserving communities in the current non-profit art space, and strongly encourage members of Indigenous, Black, and racialized communities; people with disabilities; people identifying as LGBTQIA2S+; and women to apply.

Would you require any accommodation during the application or hiring process, please contact us at hr@sledisland.com so we may meet your needs.
 

Who You Are and What You Will Do

This is a new position created to help Sled Island reach its yearly fundraising goals, grow its base of supporters, and ensure sustainable financial growth for the organization. Working closely with and reporting to the Executive Director, the Fund Development Manager will help craft and oversee the implementation of innovative sponsorship development strategies and creative fundraising events & campaigns, as well as create systems and processes to build Sled Island’s fundraising capacity. This is a unique opportunity to leverage Sled Island’s charitable and non-profit status and shape our fund development department from the ground up, and to create a lasting impact, both within the organization and in the community. This is a permanent, full-time position, joining a current team of three permanent employees.

To fill this role, we’re looking for someone passionate about advancing our mission and who can articulate, and advocate for, the importance and impact of music & arts. Our ideal candidate is a people person who’s not afraid to pick up the phone and attend networking events, and who can seamlessly navigate between the corporate and arts/non-profit world. A self-starter who likes to think outside the box and is motivated by reaching targets, in addition to meeting the qualification requirements listed further down.

Key Responsibilities

• Work closely with the Executive Director to develop multi-year fundraising strategies and annual fundraising targets, as well as fundraising budgets

Sponsorship

• Identify and prospect new corporate sponsors and cultivate existing sponsor relationships to achieve revenue targets
• Develop innovative and tailored activation opportunities to help sponsors achieve their goals, in collaboration with other festival departments
• Oversee yearly updates of Sled Island’s sponsorship deck
• Oversee sponsorship contracts fulfillment, including coordination of on-site activations during the festival and other events, and creation of final reports

Donations

• Lead all fundraising events and campaigns, and work with all festival departments to ensure successful planning and execution
• Identify and prospect new individual/corporate donors and foundations
• Raise the profile of the organization’s charitable status in the philanthropic community and clearly articulate the case for support
• Maintain and help deepen existing donor relationships through ongoing communications and innovative recognition activities
• Oversee administration of donor data, including processing of donations and tax receipting

Other Duties

• Maintain updated databases of prospective and existing donors and sponsors
• Analyze, measure and report on all fund development activities results
• Work with the board of directors’ Sponsorship & Fundraising committee to identify prospects and provide guidance on how to make asks
• Identify public and foundation grant opportunities and assist the Executive Director with applications
• Manage development staff and contractors as they are hired
• Act as a member of senior management team by participating and contributing to organization-wide meetings, events, and initiatives

Qualifications

Sled Island recognizes the value of both paid and unpaid work and welcomes non-traditional trajectories. We encourage you to consider the entirety of your experiences (professional and otherwise), and combination thereof, when determining if you possess the following qualifications:

• Experience in fund development with a proven successful track record in soliciting and securing corporate sponsorships and/or individual & corporate donations
• Demonstrated success in building and maintaining long-term relationships with partners and donors
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills and ability to adapt your communication style to a broad range of people and perspectives
• Excellent project management skills and attention to detail
• Ability to meet deadlines and juggle competing priorities
• Creativity, resourcefulness, and ability to innovate
• Ability to work both autonomously and with others
• Knowledge and understanding of CRA guidelines for charities regarding donations and sponsorships
• Proficiency with Word & Excel (or equivalent), Gmail, Google Docs
• Willingness to support Sled Island’s commitment to values of inclusion, anti-racism, and anti-oppression

Preferred Qualifications (these are considered assets but are not mandatory to apply)

• CFRE designation or current membership with the Association of Fundraising Professionals
• Experience writing grants for a non-profit organization
• Experience in a marketing or sales role
• Experience leading and managing a team
• Familiarity with the Canadian music scene

Job Specs & Work Environment

This is a permanent, full-time position (40hrs/w), with a flexible start date ideally in January. Due to the nature of the position, the Fund Development Director is expected to travel within the city for various meetings and to occasionally work some evenings and weekends due to events.

Our office is located in Mission and is easily accessible by public transport. Paid street parking and limited free parking is available in the area. Please note that the office is in the basement level of a building, with no elevator. Remote work can be accommodated for candidates with mobility issues. Please note, due to COVID-19, our staff is currently working from home.

What We Offer

Salary range is $50,000 – $55,000 annually, commensurate with experience. We offer 3 weeks of vacation annually + 5 additional paid days off during winter holiday closure (last week of December), professional development opportunities, flexible work hours with possibility for partial remote work, and access to free tickets for a variety of cultural events.

We have a small but mighty team that values collaboration, knowledge-sharing and diversity of perspectives and experiences. We strive to help our employees develop their skills and knowledge to meet their personal goals and encourage innovation and employee-driven initiatives.

How to Apply & Hiring Process

All candidates are asked to fill out this form instead of submitting a cover letter and to attach their resume. Please note that you will not be able to edit your responses after they have been submitted.

The deadline to apply is November 30, 2021, at 5.00 pm MST. If you encounter any problem with the form, please email hr@sledisland.com. All applications are held in strict confidence.

We use a standardized application method to help mitigate bias in our selection process. We appreciate and review every application that comes in but only candidates selected for an interview will be contacted. Interviews will take place in December, online or in-person at the Sled Island office (2206a 4 Street SW).

(Photo: Cary Schatz)