Events & Development Manager

Description

Status:
Full Time

Wages: $65K - $85K annually

The Hands On Children’s Museum is located on the picturesque East Bay waterfront in downtown Olympia. We are a nationally known family learning destination and the most visited children’s museum in the Pacific Northwest hosting about 300,000 visitors each year. Our mission is to stimulate curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking skills through rich, interactive learning experiences. We believe that all children deserve respect and the opportunity to learn, regardless of their ability to pay, which is why the Museum works hard to serve more than one-third of its annual visitation through the Inspired Learning for All initiative.

The Museum is recognized as a national Museum for All and won a Noyce Foundation Bright Lights Award for bringing art and science education to underserved populations.

Voted a “Best Place for Kids” for more than a decade, the Museum offers a state-of-the-art LEED Gold facility with 150 indoor exhibits, a half-acre Outdoor Discovery Center, Art Studio, a Make Space for tinkering and inventing, café and gift shop, and award-winning education programs including camps, workshops, preschool, parenting classes, field trips, community outreach and family support programs.

Work for an award-winning Children’s Museum, voted a “Best Place for Kids” for more than a decade!
Do you love event planning and fundraising as well as exciting, hands-on learning? If so, this position could be yours!

· The Development Manager will partner closely with the Development Director to develop and execute the annual fundraising plan and strategy.

• Develops and implements strategies to retain and grow sponsorship support from businesses and individuals.
• Coordinates with the Database Manager to ensure donor gifts and sponsor ships are properly recorded.
• Coordinates with multiple Museum departments, educators, partners, and stakeholders to manage multiple museum events such as the Summer Splash! Gala, Fire Rescue Spectacular, and other seasonal events.
• Manages all phases of event planning, from concept through evaluation, including interdepartmental coordination, budgeting, logistics, communications, staffing, committees, volunteers, and on-site management.
• Works with Development leadership to prepare and monitor budgets and provide post-event financial analysis including, live and silent auction performance, raise the paddle contributions, sponsorship revenue, etc.
• Align event strategies with the Museum’s overall fundraising objectives to maximize sponsorship, donor engagement, and revenue opportunities.
• In coordination with the Development team and board, manages the procurement, tracking, promotion, and display of auction items.
• Stewards event sponsors in conjunction with the Development Director
• Negotiates contracts, discounts and in-kind contributions with event vendors including catering, food service, entertainment, AV, videographers, and other similar support companies.
• Works with the Communications team to develop promotional materials, Power Points, videos, branding, advertising, and digital strategy for events.
• Prepares detailed advance sheets identifying responsibilities for each department and various contractors. Works cooperatively with facilities and operations for set-up, tear-down and staffing logistics.
• Serves as on-site point of contact during museum events and provides training to staff and volunteers as needed.
• Completes post-event wrap-up, including evaluation of all event elements, recommendations for improvement, donor reports and acknowledgements, and reconciliation of budget and vendor payments.
• Works with development staff to ensure accurate financial…