Heyday is an independent, nonprofit publisher and unique cultural institution whose mission is to promote awareness and celebrate California’s many cultures, landscapes, and ideas. Through beautifully crafted books, public events, and innovative outreach programs we are building a vibrant community of readers, writers, and thinkers. Heyday publishes twenty-five to thirty books a year exploring subjects related to California’s cultural and natural resources. Heyday has played a leading role in California’s cultural and literary landscape since 1974.
Summary
Heyday’s Director of Development is responsible for a program that raises approximately $1 million a year from all donated sources, including: foundation and government grants; individual and major gifts; partnerships; letter appeals; and events. This is a full-time position and reports to the Executive Director/Publisher.
Duties
The Director is responsible for identifying and securing new and ongoing sources of funding; cultivating donors and prospects; and briefing the Executive Director/Publisher and board members in preparation for meetings with donors.
The Director works closely with Heyday’s creative team of editors, writers, and artists to develop programmatic themes, identify sources of funding, and build partnerships. The focus of these projects may be: nature and the environment; Native California; art and architecture; children’s books; literature and essays; or California history. To this end, the Director attends Heyday acquisition and schedule meetings, providing expertise on funding for book projects.
The Director oversees the preparation of appeal letters, proposals, reports, and strategic planning documents, and tracks donated income to ensure the organization meets its goals. The Director also oversees gift processing and donor management, and in that role will be trained to use Heyday’s donor-management database.
The Director serves on the Heyday management committee, helping to set direction for major initiatives and reviewing annual spending plans and income projections. The Director staffs multiple board committees, including development, finance, board development, and strategic planning.
The Director reports to Heyday’s Executive Director/Publisher, supervises a Development Manager, and works closely with the Chair of the Board of Directors and the board development committee, as well as with special consultants.
Qualifications
The ideal candidate will have:
- Exceptional writing and verbal communication skills
- Five or more years’ experience in development for a cultural nonprofit, including experience with individual, foundation, and project-based funding
- Thorough knowledge of California’s philanthropic and cultural landscapes
- Demonstrated ability to think strategically about framing projects in ways that are attractive to a variety of donors
- Event-planning experience
This is a full-time, salaried position, and the salary is commensurate with experience. Heyday benefits include health, dental, and vision insurance, and a savings 401K plan.
Please send a resume and cover letter to David Isaacson at david@heydaybooks.com.
Heyday is an equal opportunity employer. We will not discriminate and we will take affirmative action against discrimination based on race, color, religion, gender, gender expression, age, national origin, disability, marital status, sexual orientation, or military status in any of our activities or operations.