Development Officer

The Position

We are looking for a highly organized and collaborative individual who will play a critical role in MCA Denver’s fundraising activities.  On day one, you will be responsible for managing an existing portfolio of donors and donor prospects and conducting research to cultivate new prospective donors. Your teammates will include the Director of Development & Membership, the Membership & Community Partnership Manager, and the Database Manager with support from our Executive Assistant & Office Manager. We are headquartered, and this position is based, in the downtown Denver area. The position requires a minimum of two days per week onsite to connect with the larger team and additional day time and evening hours to attend donor events, while planning and written solicitations may productively occur remotely. 

About You

• You have a minimum of 3 years’ experience in professional fundraising and 3 years of successful fundraising event management.
• You enjoy bringing people together around a love and passion for arts and culture.  You are adept at building lasting relationships with donors through in-person cultivation, events, and written solicitations.
• You understand the moves management process and are interested in working together with the larger team to develop new strategies that will result in reaching our fundraising goals.
• You have strong organizational and problem-solving skills, and you excel at logistical planning.
• You are adaptable and have the ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• You can communicate with a variety of audiences, and you would describe yourself as collaborative and resilient.
• You know your way around an Excel spreadsheet and CRMs, and you can effectively manage and communicate prospect status along a moves management strategy.

A Day in the Life

1. Fundraising

• Manage an existing portfolio of donors and donor prospects.
• Create compelling communication assets that connect donors to the mission of the museum.
• Conduct research to cultivate prospective donors, with an emphasis on gifts at the $2,500+ giving level, develop a successful strategy for engaging them and advancing them through a moves management process.
• Produce high-quality proposals to be used in major gift solicitations.
• Assist in preparing monthly presentations to the Development & Membership Committee of the Board of Trustees.
• Act as the team project manager for in-person and virtual donor fundraising events.
• Generate content for various marketing assets for events, initiatives, and monthly newsletters.
• Acknowledge donors through public and private recognition.
• Manage Development & Membership systems and software to track and cultivate donors and prospects.

• Collaborate with the Development & Membership Team to align efforts and set goals in support of a culture of philanthropy at the Museum.
• Manage external vendors for fundraising events.
• Assist in the preparation of Board Committee meetings, other donor solicitations, and private donor events.
• Complete necessary administrative tasks in support of the Development & Membership team as a whole.

• Work with the Director of Development & Membership to establish and achieve fundraising goals.
• Manage fundraising event budgets.
• Create, send, and organize pledge documents for donors’ support.
• Maintain and update the monthly Development & Membership financial dashboard.

What You Bring to Us

1. 4-year degree or an equivalent combination of education and experience, or both.
2. A minimum of 3 years’ experience in professional fundraising and 3 years of fundraising event management. 
3. Experience fundraising for a museum or arts and cultural organization strongly preferred.
4. If you’ve made it to this point, you can guess that you need great computer skills including Microsoft Office, Asana, Slack, Mail Chimp, and Google Suite.  Experience successfully navigating CRM systems to manage and mine prospect data (Altru is preferred). 
5. You’ll also need to be adaptable and demonstrate an ability to prioritize work and tasks to accomplish short and long-term goals.
6. The desire to work with a dynamic, diverse and collaborative team, usually days, but nights and weekends if needed for events.

About Us

The Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA Denver) is a nonprofit organization providing an innovative forum for contemporary art that inspires and challenges, creating understanding and dialog about the art of our time. MCA Denver is paving a new path for a 21st century museum that is Both/And: We are both advancing the field of contemporary art and providing a platform for creative expression, in the broadest sense of the term.  We present both world-class exhibitions and quirky events, serious lectures and epic parties.  We are both sophisticated and unpretentious. We welcome all audiences, celebrate all voices, and share all stories to provide one-of-a-kind experiences for our community.

Our Core Values

We are:

• Adventurous – We are risk-takers. We are creative, open, curious, and sometimes weird.
• Excellent – We strive to be the best in our field, we have high expectations, we believe in being resilient, creative problem-solvers, and professionals.
• Human Centric – We are collaborative. We strive for emotional intelligence, and we value relationships.
• Inclusive – We are welcoming to all audiences, voices, and stories. We believe in being authentic and inclusive.  We actively seek and engage with diverse perspectives.

MCA Denver is committed in policy, principle, and practice to maintaining an environment that prohibits discriminatory behavior and provides equal opportunity for all persons. MCA Denver affirms its commitment to provide a welcoming and respectful work and educational environment, in which all individuals within the museum community may benefit from each other’s experiences and foster mutual respect and appreciation of divergent views. All employment decisions at MCA Denver are based on business needs, job requirements and individual applicant qualifications, without regard to race, color, religion, or belief, ancestry, age, sex (including pregnancy, sexual orientation, and gender identity), family or parental status, or any other status protected by law. MCA Denver will not tolerate discrimination or harassment based on any of these characteristics.

Our History

MCA Denver was founded in 1996 by philanthropist Sue Cannon and a group of committed volunteers and artists who responded to the community’s need for a contemporary art museum in Denver. In 2007, we opened our new, 27,000-square foot, environmentally sustainable facility in the Riverfront neighborhood of lodo Denver. Our building has five galleries on two floors as well as dedicated education spaces, a gift shop, an innovative art lending library, and a rooftop bar and café. 

Physical Requirements

• You need to be able to sit or stand for 6 hours per day. While not frequent, you need to reach for, move and/or 25 pounds and use your hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls, mobility to access a wide variety of meeting and museum settings, and to perform a variety of tasks that involve standing, walking, sitting, stooping, kneeling, bending, and twisting, occasionally climbing stairs or using an elevator, possibly reaching chest high and overhead for materials, with reasonable accommodation.

Application Process

• This is an exempt, salaried position. The salary range is $55,000 to $60,000 commensurate with experience and includes our standard benefits package, including a medical plan, dental plan, basic term life insurance, long term disability, 403b retirement, holiday pay and generous paid time off.
• We like to receive electronic applications but will accept applications by mail.  Please submit your interest via our applicant portal:  https://mcadenver.org/development-officer.  Applications will be accepted until the position is filled, but priority consideration will be given to those received by September 20, 2021.  No relocation assistance is offered for this position.