Fundraising Events & Marketing Lead

Loaves & Fishes Community Services; Naperville (IL); Hybrid; USD 61,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Loaves & Fishes Community Services seeks a Special Events & Marketing Manager to plan and execute fundraising events, manage budgets, recruit sponsors, and ensure a welcoming guest experience from invitation to post-event follow-up.

You will collaborate with Advancement, Marketing, vendors, and volunteers, oversee timelines, solicit sponsorships, procure auction items, and help tell our story through social media and photos.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business, event management, marketing, communications, or related field.
• 2–3 years of nonprofit event management experience with fundraising results.
• Strong project management and organizational skills.
• Experience with vendors, sponsors, volunteers; ability to manage budgets and timelines.
• Excellent written and verbal communication; diplomacy with donors and partners.

Responsibilities

• Lead planning and implement signature fundraising events (Night to End Hunger, Chef Showdown).
• Drive revenue goals via sponsorships and auction items; outreach to engage guests.
• Coordinate event day setup, registration, and post-event follow-up.
• Build relationships with vendors, participants, sponsors, and volunteers.
• Track tickets, sponsorships, donations, and in-kind contributions in the database.
• Procure, manage, and fulfill auction items; negotiate contracts with venues and vendors.
• Develop events beyond signature events (peer-to-peer, ribbon cuttings, donor education).
• Collaborate with Marketing to create event marketing materials and collateral.
• Tell stories through newsletters, social posts, and photography; support brand voice.
• Develop social media strategy and content calendar; monitor posts.
• Collaborate with Graphic Designer on fundraising collateral.

Skills

Event planning

Project management

Vendor relations

Sponsorships

Auction procurement

CRM software

GiveSmart

Monday.com

Canva

Hootsuite

Content creation

Social media management

Communication

Team collaboration

Budgeting

Education

Bachelor’s degree in business or related field

Tools

DonorPerfect

GiveSmart

Monday.com

Canva

Hootsuite

Microsoft Office Suite

Job description

Loaves & Fishes Community Services seeks a Special Events & Marketing Manager to plan and execute fundraising events, manage budgets, recruit sponsors, and ensure a welcoming guest experience from invitation to post-event follow-up.

You will collaborate with Advancement, Marketing, vendors, and volunteers, oversee timelines, solicit sponsorships, procure auction items, and help tell our story through social media and photos.