Development Director

The Firehouse Community Arts Center of Chicago; Chicago (IL); Hybrid; USD 72,000 - 98,000; Full time

Job summary

Firehouse Community Arts Center in Chicago seeks a full-time Development Director to lead fundraising, donor engagement, sponsorship, grant coordination, and external relationship efforts. You will collaborate with executive leadership, donors, funders, and partners to grow revenue and impact.

The role emphasizes relationship-building, strategic planning, and stewardship, with in-person work at the center and some flexible scheduling opportunities.

Qualifications

• 3–5 years in nonprofit fundraising, development, or donor relations.
• Experience with donors, sponsors, foundations, or philanthropic stakeholders.
• Strong writing and communication skills for donor-facing materials.

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain relationships with individual and major donors, sponsors, and foundations.
• Support the annual fundraising strategy and campaign planning.
• Develop corporate partnerships and sponsorship opportunities.
• Coordinate grants, budgets, reports, and funder communications with teams.
• Plan fundraising events and donor engagement activities.
• Maintain donor data, track gifts, and prepare development updates.

Skills

Donor relationship management

Written and verbal communication

Organization and deadline management

Stakeholder engagement

Grant coordination

Tools

CRM systems

Google Workspace

Microsoft Office

Grant portals

Job description

Position Overview

Firehouse Community Arts Center is seeking a full-time Development Director to lead and strengthen the organization’s fundraising, donor engagement, sponsorship, grant coordination, and external relationship efforts.

The Development Director will play a key role in maintaining and growing Firehouse’s revenue, building strong relationships with donors and partners, supporting grant compliance, and helping position Firehouse as a trusted leader in violence intervention, arts-based healing, youth development, and community transformation.

This position is ideal for someone who is relationship-driven, organized, strategic, and comfortable working closely with executive leadership, donors, funders, corporate partners, and community stakeholders.

Key Responsibilities

Donor Relations and Stewardship

• Build, maintain, and strengthen relationships with individual donors, major donors, recurring donors, sponsors, corporate partners, foundations, and philanthropic supporters.
• Create and manage donor stewardship efforts, including thank-you processes, donor updates, cultivation touchpoints, and personalized follow-up.
• Work closely with the CEO to prepare for donor meetings, funder conversations, sponsorship asks, and major gift opportunities.
• Attend donor meetings, community events, fundraising events, and external engagements with the CEO as needed.
• Help identify opportunities to move donors from one-time giving to recurring giving, sponsorship, major gifts, or long-term investment.

Fundraising Strategy and Revenue Growth

• Support the development and implementation of Firehouse’s annual fundraising strategy.
• Help grow revenue through individual giving, sponsorships, corporate partnerships, foundation relationships, campaigns, events, and other fundraising opportunities.
• Track fundraising goals, donor activity, sponsorship progress, campaign performance, and follow-up needs.
• Support the planning and execution of fundraising campaigns, donor appeals, receptions, events, and special initiatives.
• Assist with creating sponsorship packages, donor materials, fundraising letters, campaign language, and donor-facing communications.

Corporate Partnerships and Sponsorships

• Develop and manage relationships with corporate partners, local businesses, banks, civic partners, and sponsors.
• Identify sponsorship opportunities for Firehouse events, programs, campaigns, and special initiatives.
• Ensure sponsor benefits, recognition, communications, and follow-up are completed professionally and on time.
• Maintain accurate records of sponsorship commitments, payments, deliverables, and relationship history.

Grant Coordination and Compliance Support

• Serve as Firehouse’s internal development lead and liaison to the external grant consultant team.
• Work closely with the grant monitors and consultants to ensure they have timely access to program information, budgets, data, reports, attachments, narratives, and supporting materials needed for grant applications and reports.
• Coordinate with program staff, finance staff, executive leadership, and consultants to gather accurate information for proposals, renewals, funder updates, and grant reports.
• Support grant budget preparation and review in partnership with leadership, finance, and the grant consultant team.
• Help monitor grant deadlines, reporting timelines, funder requirements, and internal responsibilities.
• Maintain organized records of grant agreements, reporting requirements, submitted reports, and funder communications.

Events and Donor Engagement

• Plan and execute fundraising events, donor receptions, cultivation gatherings, sponsorship events, and community engagement activities.
• Help manage guest lists, donor follow-up, sponsorship recognition, event communications, and post-event stewardship.
• Attend occasional evening and weekend events as needed.

Data, Systems, and Reporting

• Maintain accurate donor, funder, sponsor, and partner records in Firehouse’s donor or CRM systems.
• Track donor communications, pledges, gifts, sponsorships, grant deadlines, meetings, and follow-up tasks.
• Prepare regular development updates and reports for the CEO, leadership team, and board as needed.
• Use data to identify donor trends, revenue opportunities, retention gaps, and follow-up priorities.

Qualifications

• Minimum of 3 to 5 years of experience in nonprofit fundraising, development, donor relations, grant coordination, sponsorships, or external relations.
• Experience working with donors, sponsors, corporate partners, foundations, or philanthropic stakeholders.
• Strong understanding of nonprofit fundraising, donor stewardship, sponsorship development, and grant reporting.
• Experience in violence intervention, youth development, arts-based programming, workforce development, community development, or social impact work is strongly preferred.
• Strong writing, communication, relationship-building, and project management skills.
• Experience with donor databases, CRM systems, Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, grant portals, or fundraising tools preferred.

Required Skills and Competencies

• Strong donor relationship management skills.
• Excellent written and verbal communication.
• Strong organization, follow-through, and deadline management.
• Ability to work closely with executive leadership and external partners.
• Comfort with fundraising conversations, donor cultivation, and sponsor engagement.
• Ability to translate program work into compelling donor and funder language.
• High level of professionalism, discretion, and emotional intelligence.
• Ability to attend occasional evening and weekend events.

Work Schedule and Location

This is a full-time, 40-hour-per-week position. The role is primarily in-person at Firehouse Community Arts Center. Some remote work may be permitted based on schedule, organizational needs, and supervisor approval.

Compensation and Benefits

The salary for this position is $85,000 annually. Benefits are included and will be discussed during the hiring process.

Equal Opportunity Statement

Firehouse Community Arts Center is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to creating an inclusive, respectful, and mission-aligned workplace. We encourage candidates with diverse backgrounds, lived experiences, and professional experiences to apply.