Donor Relations & Events Lead — Arts Fundraising (La Jolla)

Evolving Solution Services; San Diego (CA); On-site; USD 34,000 - 41,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, dental, vision, life and long

403(b) retirement plan with employer"s

Paid time off

Free parking on UCSD campus

Complimentary tickets to Playhouse

Job summary

La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla, CA is seeking a Donor Relations Specialist to manage a donor portfolio and execute high-level stewardship tasks. You will handle donor benefits, event RSVPs, and acknowledgments, supporting the Individual Giving team in cultivating donors.

The role requires 3–5 years in nonprofit philanthropy, strong communication skills, and proficiency with MS Office and Tessitura. This is a full-time, on-site position with benefits and occasional evening/weekend work.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant experience.
• 3-5 years of fundraising experience in a nonprofit organization in Philanthropy.
• Strong interpersonal and relationship-building skills, with the ability to work effectively with donors, trustees, volunteers, advisors, and colleagues across the organization.
• Excellent written, verbal, and presentation skills, including experience drafting donor correspondence, proposals, and gift documentation.
• Strong Microsoft Office experience including Outlook, Word, and Excel.
• Ability to work independently, manage multiple priorities, and contribute as a collaborative team member.

Responsibilities

• Manage and fundraise a portfolio of donors, including Friends ($150), Ovation Club ($250), and Center Stage Club ($500) donor levels and support all fundraising initiatives.
• Cultivate and prospect research subscribers and Playhouse supporters to become new donors.
• Project manage the department acknowledgement letters and tax receipts process from creation to distribution.
• Tessitura Gift Entry and Acknowledgments reporting and daily processing.
• Ensure donor benefits are fulfilled on a regular basis by updating department-wide documents to track season and production sponsors.
• Project manage logistics for Backstage Tours.
• Manage, organize and order La Jolla Playhouse-branded gifts for donors and staff.
• Project manage Playhouse holiday cards from creation through distribution.
• Work with Marketing & Communications Department to create and update monthly email signatures with new campaigns.
• Support Individual Giving Manager with curated donor events, including Inner Circle Nights, Donor Lounges, Playhouse Annual Tour and the WOW Festival.

Skills

Fundraising

Donor relations

Communication

MS Office

Project management

Education

Bachelor's degree or equivalent

Tools

Tessitura CRM

Tessitura Gift Entry

Microsoft Office

Job description

La Jolla Playhouse in La Jolla, CA is seeking a Donor Relations Specialist to manage a donor portfolio and execute high-level stewardship tasks. You will handle donor benefits, event RSVPs, and acknowledgments, supporting the Individual Giving team in cultivating donors.

The role requires 3–5 years in nonprofit philanthropy, strong communication skills, and proficiency with MS Office and Tessitura. This is a full-time, on-site position with benefits and occasional evening/weekend work.