Development Director

New Orleans Film Society

Development Director

(Full-Time // Year-Round)

MISSION:

The New Orleans Film Society is a 501(c) (3) arts non-profit organization whose mission is to discover, cultivate, and amplify diverse voices of filmmakers who tell the stories of our time. We produce the Oscar®-qualifying New Orleans Film Festival annually and invest year-round in building a vibrant film culture in the South to share transformative cinematic experiences with audiences and connect dynamic filmmakers to career-advancing resources.

VALUES STATEMENT:

• Start with the art and allow artistic vision, equity, and social impact to guide our search for resources.
• Champion filmmakers who have been historically denied access to resources and opportunities within the industry–– including Southern artists, women, people of color, LGBTQIA+ people, and people with disabilities.
• Seek deep audience engagement.
• Build a working environment that is fair and fulfilling.
• Exhibit dedication and passion and believe that inspired and impactful programs arise from collaboration and mutual respect.

POSITION OVERVIEW:

The New Orleans Film Society (NOFS) is seeking an experienced fundraiser with the poise, passion, and skills to close successfully on budgetary funding requirements that will ensure NOFS’s success as the presenter of an Oscar-qualifying New Orleans Film Festival (NOFF) with a national reach, as well as other programs focused on filmmaker professional development and bringing quality film experiences to local audiences in New Orleans. The Development Director plans and implements strategies and activities to ensure the attainment of fundraising campaign goals focusing on individual donors and members, in-kind and cash corporate sponsorships, and foundation and government grants.

In addition to cultivating and maintaining relationships with supporters and planning special events related to membership and donor cultivation, the Development Director works closely with the Executive Director, Managing Director, Artistic Director, and Marketing and Communications Director in achieving the established financial goals and cultivation objectives for NOFS.

The Development Director reports directly to the Executive Director and oversees the full-time Development Coordinator as well as select seasonal hires and focus-area interns.

Principal Duties:

• Work closely with the Executive Director to identify opportunities to facilitate the growth of earned and contributed income for a $1.5M cash budget and $500K-$1M in-kind budget, and direct the Development Coordinator in relevant prospect research projects.
• With oversight from the Executive Director and Managing Director, manage the year-round development budget.
• Work closely with the Board of Directors to identify new leads and actively support the Development Committee of the Board with information, coordination of meetings, and active participation as a Committee member.
• In collaboration with the NOFS team, develop and maintain effective working relationships and collaborative arrangements with stakeholders, funders, patrons, agencies, organizations, and the general public.
• Work with the Marketing & Communications Director to gather information, design, and produce development and membership digital and print materials to ensure the inclusion of sponsors, donors, and member-focused content that underscores recognition, appreciation, and the impact of sponsorship and donations.

Grants + Sponsorships

• Working closely with the Executive Director and Artistic Director, identify local, regional, and national grant opportunities for NOFS and, with support from the Development Coordinator, maintain the annual grants calendar, write funding proposals and grant reports, and manage grants throughout the year.
• In consultation with the Executive Director, cultivate, develop, maintain, and pursue regional and national corporate sponsorships.
• Prepare sponsorship materials (decks, proposals, outreach materials, contracts, and invoices, among others) for cash and in-kind sponsorships and ensure that team-used Google documents and Airtable are accurately and timely updated.
• Manage sponsorship benefits for all revenue sources (e.g., corporate, government, foundation, individual, trade sponsors, and media partners) and ensure that deliverables are met, and timely acknowledged with a thank you wrap report detailing their specific involvement, reach, and delivered benefits post-festival

Fundraising Campaigns + Events

• Oversee individual donor and membership campaigns and special donation appeals (EOY, GiveNola, Giving Tuesday, among others), including maintaining up-to-date mailing lists and coordinating communication plans with the Marketing and Communications Director
• Serve as liaison for all board fundraising events (spring gala, festival parties and receptions, donor events and activations, etc.) and, with the Executive Director’s approval, manage event planning teams and seasonal hires in the planning and execution of the event.
• Manage and solicit ticket and table purchases and donations for NOFS’s annual Gala fundraiser
• Manage VIP sponsors, donors/members, and guests and, with help from the development team, serve as on-site liaison at NOFS events

Donor + Membership Cultivation

• Serve as primary liaison to all member levels with a special emphasis on cultivating and renewing Producer Circle and above member levels.
• Track all donor and member contributions and ensure that proper acknowledgment of all contributions is maintained and donors and members are invoiced and renewed with appropriate timing
• Ensure member inquiries and issues, such as those related to ticketing, payment, and timely receipt of benefits, are resolved in a timely manner
• Research and pursue individual donor prospects

Other Duties

• Represent NOFS at regional and community events and at other outreach activities as needed
• Identify relevant community activities where NOFS presence would increase community awareness and work with the team to ensure adequate NOFS coverage and materials
• Maintain festival pass lists for Sponsors, Grantors, and high level NOFS members and ensure that passes are properly created and timely distributed
• Other duties as assigned

Skills, Experience + Qualifications – Required:

• Alignment to the organization’s stated mission and values
• Bachelor’s Degree and a minimum of 5 years of experience in non-profit development and fundraising, and 2 years in a supervisory role
• Proven track record securing and managing grants, individual donations and corporate sponsorships
• Proven success at drafting and enacting an annual fundraising plan
• Self-starter with strong initiative, drive, sense of urgency & ability to work with a high degree of autonomy
• Excellent relationship management, networking and negotiation skills
• Proven & effective team and project management skills
• Must have the ability to travel to in-person events in New Orleans and work nights and weekends during scheduled festivals and events.

Skills, Experience + Qualifications – a plus:

• Experience in major gift cultivation and planned giving
• Strong eye for design and basic ability to lay out content in user-friendly design software such as Canva; ability to provide detailed feedback to graphic designer and foresee design-based challenges with sponsorship assets
• Knowledge of experiential marketing trends that impact the corporate sponsorship world
• Experience working with arts or film organizations
• Knowledge of the independent film and media landscape
• Direct experience with Microsoft Office, Google Workspace, Airtable, Salesforce, Quickbooks, and Eventive

Benefits & Compensation:

This position is full-time exempt, and the salary range is $65,000.00 per annum. Full-time staff members are eligible to receive the following benefits:

• Health insurance (medical, dental, vision, group term life) fully paid by New Orleans Film Society;
• 8 paid weeks of parental leave;
• 13 paid holidays per year;
• Short- and long-term disability insurance;
• Flexible vacation policy;
• Home office set up (up to $50) and home internet reimbursements (up to $50/month) while working from home.
• Simple IRA with 3% employer-matched contribution
• Professional development opportunities.

The New Orleans Film Society reserves the right to change the listed benefits at any moment, with advance notification to employees.

Location

New Orleans Film Society staff are working on a hybrid schedule, with a portion of the week in the office and a portion remotely. Remote candidates will be considered with a proven track record of securing and managing national corporate sponsorships. The New Orleans Film Society is not able to offer a relocation package at this time.

How to Apply

Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

No phone calls or inquiries from recruiters will be accepted. Please do not email any staff member individually.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

New Orleans Film Society fosters a creative and professional environment that reflects the diversity of New Orleans. We actively recruit a wide pool of applicants representing dimensions of difference that include — but are not limited to — age, national origin, ethnicity, race, religion, ability, sexual orientation, gender, or political affiliation.

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New Orleans Film Society