Make-A-Wish® Greater Bay Area
Events Director
THE ORGANIZATION
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Overview
Make-A-Wish® Greater Bay Area creates life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses. Its work brings joy and healing to the children who receive wishes — and to those who help grant them. Wishes not only bring children hope, they also strengthen their families and communities by making life better for everyone involved in making each wish a reality. Wishes have also been shown to have tangible physical and emotional benefits that can give children with critical illnesses a higher chance of survival, empowering them to fight harder against their illnesses.
Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area serves children from Monterey to the Oregon border and grants over 400 wishes a year. It has a committed network of board members and advisors as well as an extensive network of over 650 volunteers throughout its Northern California territory. Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area has an ambitious three-year goal to grant the wish of every eligible child within its territory, ultimately granting over 500 wishes per year.
THE POSITION
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The Events Director will provide management-level leadership and accountability for the performance and success of fundraising events and strategies to meet Make-A-Wish revenue goals. Reporting to the Senior Director of Individual Giving, the Events Director will supervise and coach members of the Make-A-Wish events team, including the Internal Events Manager, Events Associate, Senior External Events Manager, and External Events Manager. S/he will be responsible for designing and implementing all Make-A-Wish Greater Bay Area fundraising events, including Wine in Wishes, Wishes in Wine Country, and Walk for Wishes. S/he will develop and manage a strategic plan of both internal and external events that will support the organization’s goal of identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual donors to meet annual revenue goals.
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Responsibilities:
Department Management
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Design, manage and evaluate a comprehensive program of special events (fundraising and cultivation/donor recognition) in support of the organization’s fundraising goals
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Determine and monitor annual event revenue goals and the strategies and metrics needed to meet or exceed them
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Develop and manage the Make-A-Wish events budget, monitoring monthly revenue and expense projections and established metrics
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Lead efforts to identify and embrace new opportunities to grow and expand revenue from the organization’s portfolio of events – internal and external
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Support and guide the Make-A-Wish Events team toward its annual goals and other performance objectives
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Supervise and review the performance of the Internal Events Manager, Events Associate, Senior External Events Manager, External Events Manager
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Work with the CEO, Senior Director and other staff to manage the cultivation, solicitation and stewardship process for event and non-event donors and prospects
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Manage a tailored portfolio of assigned prospective donors at various stages in the cultivation/solicitation cycle as event guests and event committee leaders
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Work with the CEO, Senior Director and members of the leadership team to formulate and implement plans to meet the organization’s short- and long-term objectives
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Recruit, support and staff high-level event committees and participate in board development committee meetings
Events Oversight
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Undertake a systematic process to review and reconceptualize the number and scope of current fundraising special events for the organization. Current external events include: Wine and Wishes, Wishes in Wine Country, Walk for Wishes, Brave the Bay
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Select and manage the work of event contractors and vendors overseeing event execution. Select vendors and negotiate contracts that may include gifts-in-kind
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Collaborate with marketing team to develop effective collateral for events (website, email, scripts, etc.)
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Direct Events Associate in planning and soliciting items for live and silent auctions
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Oversee and track external event programs and revenue
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Work with the CEO and Senior Director to design a program of cultivation/stewardship events
Administration
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Collaborate with Corporate and Development teams to steward high-level donors and grow the organization’s donor base
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Complete and file prompt contact reports and build information on individual donors and prospects in the database. Assist with the maintenance of accurate donor database information
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Review and monitor revenue accounting and reporting systems in a timely manner
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Prepare reports and provide information as requested and required; oversee project budgets and maintain financial records for events
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Ensure the confidentiality and security of proprietary and donor information
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Represent Make-A-Wish positively and professionally throughout the community
CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE
Experience:
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Five to seven years non-profit development/event experience; three years of staff supervisory experience
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Demonstrated success in developing, promoting, and managing fundraising events or similar programs
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Experience managing special events budgets
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Ability to sell Make-A-Wish programs and events to a variety of audiences, including corporate management, individual participants, and volunteers
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Prior experience in strategic planning and budget development preferred
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Demonstrated record of customer service and relationship building
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Proven ability to work on multiple projects with tight timelines and limited budgets​
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Education:
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Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and work experience.​
COMPETENCIES/ATTRIBUTES
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The successful professional will have or be:
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A high level of initiative, attention to detail and strong organization skills
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Strong verbal and written communication skills
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Skill in successfully managing multiple projects on tight deadlines and under pressure in a dynamic and open environment
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Knowledge of Bay Area philanthropy, both individual and institutional, a plus
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Unquestionable integrity and commitment to professional ethics, and the ability to responsibly handle sensitive and confidential information
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Able to undertake occasional weekend work for fundraising and donor recognition events
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Commitment to the Make-A-Wish mission and ability to work as part of a collaborative team
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Must possess a valid driver’s license.
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Excellent computer skills necessary, desktop publishing, Excel, and Raisers Edge experience preferred
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Physical ability to drive a motor vehicle and to lift 40lbs
COMPENSATION AND BENEFITS
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This is a full-time, exempt position. A competitive salary and generous employee benefits package will be offered. To be considered for this position or for additional information on the opportunity, please contact or send resume to:
David N. Randall
Principal
Randall Search Associates
415 767 3814