Development Officer

Location

• 922 East Emma Avenue, Springdale, AR, 72764, United States
• $67,000.00 - $70,000.00 / Year
• FT Exempt

For 30 years, Jones Center has been a trusted community anchor for Northwest Arkansas—a place where everyone can learn, play, and thrive together. With 600,000 annual visitors and a mission to fuel community connections and cultivate spaces and experiences for all, we serve as a dynamic hub for education, recreation, arts, and nonprofit sustainability. Through our Jones Community for Nonprofits campuses, we empower more than 100 mission-driven organizations, strengthening the social fabric of our region.

The Development Officer is an important role at Jones Center designed for a relationship-driven development professional looking to support a Northwest Arkansas anchor organization during an exciting period of growth. This role reports to the Director of Development and is responsible for strengthening corporate, foundation, and individual philanthropic investment in Jones Center and Jones Trust entities, including the Jones Community for Nonprofits Springdale and Rogers campuses and the Regional Volunteer Center.

This position will manage a strategic relationship portfolio of current and prospective donors and partners, with responsibility for cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding support from corporate, individual, and foundation donors. The Development Officer will also serve as the Development team lead for Big Night, Jones Center’s annual gala, and will work across the organization to ensure the event is executed with excellence and aligned with fundraising, stewardship, and donor engagement goals.

• Job Title:
  
  Development Officer
• Department:
  Development
• Classification:
  Salary / Exempt
• Job Type: Full-time
• Reports to:
  
  Director of Development
• Reviewed:
  July 10, 2026

• Foster a culture of philanthropy throughout the organization that ensures fundraising is executed in keeping with the organization’s values, vision, and mission.
• Build and maintain a philanthropic relationship portfolio, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding current and prospective donors to support operating, programmatic, capital, and endowment needs.
• Manage a strategic portfolio of corporate, foundation, and individual donors and prospects, creating individualized strategies to deepen engagement and increase giving over time.
• Identify new prospective donors, sponsors, and funding partners in partnership with the Director of Development, Chief Strategy Officer, CEO, Board members, Development Council, and other volunteer leaders.
• Secure philanthropic gifts and sponsor ships from corporate, individual, and foundation donors.
• Work with the Director of Development and department heads to identify funding priorities and create strategies to fulfill those needs.
• Prepare donor briefings, proposals, sponsorship materials, presentations, solicitation strategies, reports, and stewardship communications as needed.
• Serve as the Development team lead for Big Night, Jones Center’s annual gala, with responsibility for driving the fundraising strategy, donor engagement, sponsor ships, and contributed revenue goals for the event.
• Lead Big Night sponsorship, donor engagement, and auction strategy, including identifying prospects, supporting solicitations, developing sponsorship opportunities, coordinating item procurement, shaping guest cultivation and stewardship opportunities, and ensuring strong sponsor recognition and post-event follow-up.
• Partner with Jones Center departments, special events, guest services, marketing, finance, volunteers, vendors, and external partners to guide Big Night planning and execution, including timelines, logistics, registration, committee involvement, program flow, guest experience, revenue tracking, and alignment with Jones Center’s broader fundraising priorities.
• Support additional fundraising, stewardship, cultivation, and donor engagement events as assigned.
• Build and maintain strong relationships with volunteers in the fundraising process, including the Development Council, event committees, Board members, and other volunteer structures that may be of…