Development and Communications Associate

About Snow City Arts

Snow City Arts (SCA) inspires and educates children and youth in hospitals through the arts. SCA provides one-on-one and small group instruction in the visual arts, creative writing, poetry, theater, music, dance and media arts to patients at Rush University Children’s Hospital, Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, Children’s Hospital University of Illinois (UIC), and Cook County Health. Snow City Arts’ programming also includes virtual instruction to meet the needs of young people who are isolated due to illness.

Snow City Arts’ curricula are steeped in studio practices and benchmarked by the National Core Arts Standards and Common Core State Standards. SCA works in close partnership with Chicago Public Schools and suburban school districts. With permission, students’ learning outcomes and portfolios are sent to their schools in order to generate credit for work completed with SCA.

The Snow City Arts team includes an administrative staff of five and an artistic staff of eight part-time, professional Teaching Artists, as well as numerous interns, work study students, and volunteers. As a small yet mighty organization, our team values an “all hands on deck” approach balanced with a strong commitment to wellness. Snow City Arts is committed to creating a work environment centered on learning, equity, and inclusivity. A cohort member of Enrich Chicago, SCA is committed to advancing systemic change in the arts and is building a vision and framework for anti-racist work across the organization.

Summary of Position

The Development and Communications Associate reports to the Director of Development and works with the Executive Director, the Board of Directors, Snow City Arts supporters, and other external constituents. The Development and Communications Associate leads the production and execution of special events, ensures the processing of gifts and acknowledgment letters, manages marketing and communications projects, supports development projects, recruits and supervises interns, and supports other office-related administrative tasks. The position requires an excellent understanding of event management, database management, excellent written and verbal communication skills, strong judgment and ethics, strong multi-tasking and organizational skills, and ability to solve problems.

Responsibilities

SPECIAL EVENTS - 30%
• Produce and execute Snow City Arts’ annual gala, Gallery Night
• Coordinate annual Governing Board house parties and/or virtual events in partnership with the Director of Development
• Manage event volunteers

DEVELOPMENT OPERATIONS - 30%
• Process incoming contributed revenue and ensure donors are acknowledged in a timely manner
• Maintain and improve data in donor-related and other databases
• Support transition of donor database to a new platform
• Execute annual fund campaigns
• Produce and analyze reports as directed
• Support major gifts and other individual fundraising as directed
• Maintain departmental processes and evolve new systems as directed

MARKETING & EXTERNAL RELATIONS - 30%
• Facilitate various brand-conscious marketing campaigns and strategies
• Manage and create content for Snow City Arts’ social media platforms, website, e-newsletter, and blog
• Create and update marketing materials in conjunction with graphic designers as needed
• Manage one-time and event-related artwork sales
• Work with the program and curatorial teams to promote external-facing events

ADMINISTRATION - 10%
• Attend Governing Board and committee meetings to record and distribute meeting minutes
• Recruit, interview, train, and manage interns in partnership with other administrative staff
• Ensure security and confidentiality of donor and HIPAA-related* data
• Support office administrative activities as necessary
• Participate in all-staff planning, professional learning days, and other all-staff initiatives

Compensation and Benefits

This is a full-time, exempt position with some evening and weekend work required. The salary range for this role is $42,000-$46,000 annually. Snow City Arts offers health insurance (HMO and PPO options) with Snow City Arts covering $5,000 of the insurance package annually (all or the majority of the cost depending upon the chosen plan). There are 26 paid days off annually split among vacation, sick, and holidays and we offer a flexible, hybrid work environment. We offer a Flexible Spending Account as well as an employee retirement account, the latter with a 3% match from Snow City Arts.

Background Check and Health Records

A criminal background will not automatically eliminate you from consideration, though a criminal history background check will be conducted for final candidates prior to beginning employment.

A variety of documentation (typically related to vaccines and annual tests and a 10-panel drug screen, which are paid for by Snow City Arts) is required to meet the health documentation requirements of our hospital partners. COVID-19 vaccines, including documentation, are required prior to or within the first two weeks of employment.

Snow City Arts is an equal opportunity employer. Snow City Arts is committed to building a culturally diverse and pluralistic team. ALAANA-identified** individuals, transgender and gender-nonconforming people, people from poor and working-class backgrounds, and individuals with disabilities are encouraged to apply.

*HIPAA: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act
**ALAANA: African, Latinx, Arab, Asian, Native American

Requirements

Priority Skills and Experience

The ideal candidate will have a combination of the following professional and personal qualities, skills, and characteristics. Snow City Arts will consider candidates who do not meet every single requirement.

• Two or more years of relevant experience such as event planning and/or nonprofit administration (can include both paid and unpaid/volunteer work)
• Strong interest in nonprofit development and administration, and/or arts in health
• Strong verbal communication and writing skills, with the ability to adjust communication style for multiple audiences
• Exceptional data management and computer-systems skills including Microsoft, Google, and Adobe Creative Suite as well as donor database experience such as Salesforce, Raiser’s Edge, GiftWorks, etc.
• Excellent attention to detail
• Commitment to supporting a culture of collaboration, cooperation, and accountability
• Inquiry-based orientation to problem solving and gathering information
• Active listener with the ability to synthesize information and translate into action plans
• Commitment to developing an anti-oppressive work environment
• Ability to navigate challenging or tense interpersonal dynamics in a manner that is centered on trust, respect, and shared vision
• Capacity to build internal and external relationships; aptitude in working closely with people from various artistic and administrative backgrounds
• Commitment to growth of personal critical analysis of anti-racist frameworks and practices

Desired Skills and Experience

• Familiarity with the public school and arts education landscape of Chicago
• Familiarity and/or interest in social media and email marketing, as well as marketing strategies for a range of constituents
• Experience working with vendors and contractors
• Access to reliable transportation that allows for commuting to meetings throughout Chicago
• Ability to transport artwork and supplies up to 50lbs