Assistant Director of - College of Fine & Applied Arts

Assistant Director of Advancement - College of Fine & Applied Arts

Based in Urbana-Champaign with hybrid opportunities

The Office of Advancement within the College of Fine and Applied Arts (FA) invites applications and nominations for one full-time Assistant Director of Advancement to secure philanthropic support for one of the university’s premier public presenting and performance institutions, Krannert Center for the Performing Arts (KCPA). The Assistant Director of Advancement will play a critical role to maximize overall support and opportunities for collaborative corporate and organizational giving.

The successful candidate will serve as a member of the FAA advancement team.

The College of Fine and Applied Arts is dedicated to the advancement, practice, and understanding of the arts. The central focus of the college is the synergy between research and the preparation of students for professional careers in the creation and interpretation of the environmental, visual, and performing arts. Deeply related to that focus is the commitment to elevate and sustain the study of the arts as both a necessary mode of understanding and a vibrant expression of human experience within the local, national, and international communities.

The Assistant Director of Advancement reports to the Associate Dean for Advancement and will work closely with advancement colleagues, the KCPA director, FAA academic department heads, and members of the FAA and university faculty.

This position will assist Krannert Center for the Performing Arts to broaden and strengthen advancement activities, performance sponsor ships, corporate philanthropy, and annual fundraising through digital and/or print communications, phone calls, video conferencing (Zoom, Skype, Microsoft Teams, Face Time, etc.) and in-person meetings. The position will require some travel of varying durations and locations, up to 25%, including some evenings and weekends.

This position will also require attendance at most KCPA performances to cultivate and steward corporate partners, donors, and patrons in attendance. The successful candidate will be a collaborative team member who values inclusion and is skilled at building strong internal and external collaborative relationships. This position will be responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding organizational and corporate giving prospects and donors to increase philanthropy in support of KCPA and other possible philanthropic interests related to the arts at Illinois.

• Identify, assess, analyze, and design appropriate strategies for approaching prospects and donors and making the vitally important match between donors’ philanthropic interests and KCPA’s programmatic and performance needs. Plan and implement effective outreach and cultivation activities to enhance prospect identification and move solicitation and stewardship processes forward.
• Qualify, cultivate, solicit, and steward a portfolio of organization and corporate giving prospects, determining frequency of contact needed. Document all activities and interactions in the alumni/donor database.
• Develop and maintain close collaborative partnerships with faculty and staff to gain a strong knowledge of the academic and research programs, along with performances throughout the season, to identify and define priorities to be funded through private support. Partner closely with other advancement professionals, including gift officers, stewardship and donor relations, alumni relations, and corporate relations professionals.
• Determine and prioritize lists of donor prospects and other stakeholders to be contacted for meetings and solicitations.
• Prepare and educate unit volunteer leadership and advisory boards (e.g., Krannert Center Advancement Council), faculty and staff members, and other unit volunteers to participate in cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of annual gifts as needed.

Within 3 months, you’ll:

• Become familiar with the strategic vision and priorities of KCPA and FAA.
• Meet your assigned Prospect Development Analyst and begin to dig into…