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Seaside Arts Center is a non-profit, multi-disciplinary, arts school based in Carmel Valley. Through dance, theater, music, visual arts, performances, school partnerships, and community programming, Seaside provides high-quality arts experiences that develop artistry, creativity, confidence, self-expression, and belonging. Financial assistance and affordable pathways to participation are central to our mission.
THE FRACTIONAL DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT POSITION
The Fractional Director of Development is crucial to helping advance Seaside Arts Center’s mission and growth working closely with our Artistic & Executive Director and administrative team in creating and implementing a practical development plan encompassing institutional giving, major donors, corporate partnerships, and board engagement.
This is an ideal position for an experienced nonprofit development professional who works fractionally with a small number of mission-driven organizations. The successful candidate will be both strategic and willing to execute: identifying opportunities, developing relationships, writing strong proposals, donor communications and grant applications, and establishing systems that Seaside can sustain as it grows.
RESPONSIBILITIES
Responsibilities include, but are not limited to, creating and implementing an overall development and fundraising plan for Seaside Arts Center.
DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY
- Evaluate Seaside’s current fundraising activities, opportunities, and readiness for growth.
- Develop an annual fundraising plan with clear revenue goals, timelines, responsibilities, and measures of progress.
- Help determine the strongest case for support for operating needs, tuition assistance programs, expanded programming, community partnerships, transportation, and facility growth.
- Advise leadership on fundraising priorities and realistic sequencing.
FOUNDATION AND GOVERNMENT FUNDING
- Revise and expand Seaside’s prospect research and analysis, creating a grant pipeline of qualified foundation, corporate, and government prospects.
- Determine which opportunities are strategically worthwhile and maintain an application and reporting calendar.
- Draft, edit, and submit competitive letters of inquiry, proposals, budgets, and reports.
- Help organize reusable language, data, outcomes, attachments, and supporting materials.
INDIVIDUAL GIVING & MAJOR DONORS
- Create a practical strategy for cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual donors.
- Identify prospective major donors within Seaside’s existing network and the broader San Diego community.
- Prepare donor research, meeting briefs, talking points, proposals, and follow-up communications.
- Support the Executive Director in developing a pitch and making direct, relationship-based asks.
- Help establish appropriate donor recognition and stewardship practices.
CORPORATE & COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
- Identify businesses and corporate funders whose priorities align with arts education, youth development, access, and the San Diego community.
- Develop sponsorship and partnership opportunities that are meaningful to both Seaside and prospective partners.
- Assist with outreach, proposals, presentations, and relationship management.
BOARD DEVELOPMENT
- Help the Board understand how to participate effectively in fundraising.
- Provide concrete, manageable ways for board members to open doors, cultivate relationships, thank donors, and support campaigns.
- Participate in board meetings as necessary and provide progress reports.
SYSTEMS AND INFRASTRUCTURE
- Recommend and help implement effective donor tracking and development systems.
- Establish processes for prospect management, gift acknowledgment, reporting, and stewardship.
- Develop dashboards or concise reports that show activity, pipeline, projected revenue, and results.
- Ensure development practices support ethical fundraising and donor confidentiality.
QUALIFICATIONS
- Significant professional experience in nonprofit fundraising, preferably including arts, education, youth development, or San Diego philanthropy.
- Demonstrated success securing foundation grants and cultivating individual donors.
- Ability to translate an organization’s mission and impact into a persuasive case for support.
- Strong writing, communication, research, and relationship-building skills.
- Experience working closely with executive directors and nonprofit boards.
- Strategic judgment about which opportunities to pursue—and which are unlikely to justify the time involved.
- Comfortable working independently in a small, entrepreneurial organization.
- Familiarity with the San Diego philanthropic community is strongly preferred.
- Experience supporting organizations during expansion or a capital-readiness phase would be especially valuable.
- DOJ/FBI background check will be done for this position.
Compensation
$ 50 – $ 75 per hour
