Executive Director

Evergreen, CO; Evergreen (CO); On-site; USD 90,000 - 105,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

PTO and sick time

Paid holidays

Sabbatical after certain milestones

Simple IRA with employer match

Performance-based bonus

CAE Discounts

Job summary

Center for the Arts Evergreen seeks an experienced, collaborative, community-minded Executive Director to lead the organization into its next chapter. The ED is CAE’s chief executive, accountable for strategy, fundraising, organizational health, and risk management, partnering with the Board and guiding staff across exhibitions, education, development, and operations.

With expanding facilities and programs, CAE seeks a leader who can strengthen governance, diversify revenue, and steward major

Qualifications

• Significant leadership experience in a nonprofit, arts and culture, educational, civic, or mission-driven organization.
• Demonstrated fundraising success, especially with individual donors and major gifts.
• Experience developing and managing budgets and using financial data to guide decisions.
• Experience supervising professional staff and making significant personnel decisions.

Responsibilities

• Set strategic direction with the Board and staff, translating mission into annual goals, budgets, staffing plans, and measurable outcomes.
• Lead fundraising strategy and personally lead major donor relationships and solicitations.
• Oversee programs, exhibitions, education, outreach, development, marketing, operations, and visitor experience.
• Manage finances including budgeting, cash flow, reserves, audits, and internal controls.
• Build and sustain relationships with donors, foundations, corporations, sponsors, and community partners.

Skills

Leadership experience

Fundraising

Grant writing

Budget management

Staff supervision

Board collaboration

Stakeholder management

Communication skills

Tools

CRM systems

Job description

Center for the Arts Evergreen (CAE) | Evergreen, Colorado

Reports to: Board of Directors

ABOUT CAE

Founded in 1975, CAE is a nonprofit arts organization whose mission is to enrich and serve our mountain community by promoting and cultivating the arts through quality educational programming, exhibitions, and events. Our guiding idea: Bringing the Arts and Community Together.

CAE serves artists, students, children, families, teens, seniors, veterans, individuals with disabilities, and residents throughout Evergreen and the surrounding mountain metro area. Our debt-free campus includes galleries, classrooms, artist studios, a ceramics facility, offices, flexible event spaces, a heated courtyard, and outdoor sculpture. With an annual operating budget of approximately $1.2 million, strong reserves, an engaged Board, and a growing network of donors, artists, members, and partners, CAE is ready for its next stage of impact.

ABOUT THE ROLE

Center for the Arts Evergreen seeks an experienced, collaborative, community-minded Executive Director to lead the organization into its next chapter.

The Executive Director is CAE’s chief executive, accountable for strategy, financial sustainability, fundraising, organizational health, community relationships, and risk management. You will partner closely with the Board of Directors and lead a talented professional staff across exhibitions, education and outreach, development and marketing, operations and facilities, finance, events, ceramics, artist programs, and visitor experience.

CAE has grown significantly in recent years, with an expanded facility, staff, programming, and contributed revenue. The next Executive Director inherits a strong organization with real momentum and will protect what makes CAE special while building the systems and discipline needed for long-term sustainability.

Fundraising is central to this role. You will lead CAE’s fundraising strategy and major donor relationships, supported by staff and outside resources. The Executive Director is accountable for the organization’s success but is not expected to personally perform every function. Effective delegation, clear accountability, and the ability to lead through others are essential.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Strategic & Organizational Leadership

• Set strategic direction with the Board and staff, translating mission into annual goals, budgets, staffing plans, and measurable outcomes.
• Lead annual and long-range planning; assess capacity, community needs, financial realities, and risks.
• Make timely executive-level decisions, balancing innovation with financial and organizational discipline.
• Serve as CAE’s chief fundraiser: develop the fundraising strategy and personally lead major donor relationships and solicitations.
• Cultivate and steward individual donors, foundations, corporations, and sponsors, and engage Board members in that work.
• Work with development and marketing staff to maintain a donor pipeline, stewardship program, and accurate donor records.
• Lead grant strategy, with enough grant-writing experience to contribute substantively and evaluate proposals; staff handle day-to-day preparation and reporting.

Government & Public Funding

• Maintain relationships with public funders, agencies, and elected and appointed officials.
• Ensure CAE meets public funding requirements and remains in good standing.
• Hold overall responsibility for financial health: budgeting, cash flow, reserves, restricted funds, audits, and internal controls, in partnership with the Finance Manager, Treasurer, and Finance Committee.
• Build a diversified revenue model across contributed, earned, grant, sponsorship, membership, and event income.

Board Partnership & Governance

• Serve as the Board’s primary staff partner: keep members informed, prepare agendas with the President and Executive Committee, and support recruitment, orientation, and development.
• Maintain clear boundaries between Board oversight and staff operations.
• Lead and develop a collaborative, accountable team; supervise director-level staff and empower them to manage their areas.
• Make final decisions on hiring, compensation, performance management, and separation, ensuring compliance with employment law.

Programs, Calendar & Mission Oversight

• Provide executive oversight of exhibitions, education, ceramics, youth programming, outreach, events, artist programs, memberships, rentals, and retail.
• Set organizational priorities when programs compete for dates, space, staff, or funding, and evaluate major new programs and partnerships before commitments are made.

Community Leadership & Communications

• Be a visible, trusted voice for CAE with donors, artists, schools, businesses, civic groups, and government.
• Navigate sensitive community issues with diplomacy, and tell CAE’s story compellingly in presentations, donor communications, and the media.
• Oversee significant contracts, insurance, permits, and risk, involving legal counsel when needed.
• Hold executive accountability for the campus and lead major capital projects with the Director of Operations, Board leadership, and outside professionals.

Events

• Provide strategic oversight of major events and attend when your presence supports donor cultivation or community visibility. Staff manage logistics.

QUALIFICATIONS

CAE recognizes that strong candidates come from many paths. You do not need to meet every qualification to apply.

Required or strongly preferred

• Significant leadership experience in a nonprofit, arts and culture, educational, civic, or other mission-driven organization, including responsibility for outcomes
• Demonstrated fundraising success, especially with individual donors and major gifts
• Working knowledge of grant writing and institutional fundraising
• Experience developing and managing budgets and using financial information to guide decisions
• Experience supervising professional staff and making significant personnel decisions
• Experience working with a nonprofit Board of Directors
• Experience managing complex external relationships and sensitive stakeholder issues
• Strong written and verbal communication skills and sound judgment

Particularly valuable

• Leadership in an arts, cultural, or educational organization of similar size or complexity
• Experience guiding an organization through growth or change
• Experience with government, foundation, corporate, and individual funding sources
• Experience with contracts, insurance, permits, or major capital and facility projects
• Nonprofit HR, governance, and compliance knowledge
• Experience in a highly relational community
• Familiarity with CRM and donor management systems

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS

Salary range: $90,000–$105,000 per year, based on experience and relevant skills.

Benefits and other compensation:

• Paid time off: up to 15 days PTO and 6 sick days after completing 6 months of service
• + 1 week PTO after Summerfest, + 1 week PTO between Christmas and New Year
• Paid holidays
• One-month sabbatical every other year, after 3 years of continuous employment, strong reviews and Board approval
• Simple IRA plan after 3 months of service, with up to 3% employer match
• Annual performance-based bonus opportunity of up to 10% of base pay
• CAE Discounts – gift shop and classes

The Center for the Arts Evergreen follows an equal opportunity employment policy and employs personnel without regard to race, creed, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender expression, age, physical or mental ability, veteran status, military obligations, and marital status. This policy also applies to internal promotions, training, opportunities for advancement, termination, outside vendors, members and customers, use of contractors and consultants, the Board of Directors, volunteers, and members of the general public.