Project Development Director Jobs in Denver, CO (NOW HIRING)

The Director of Development serves as Parlando’s lead fundraising professional, building meaningful, long-term relationships with donors, sponsors, alumni, and community partners. This role converts Parlando’s artistic and educational impact into sustainable and growing financial support, ensuring that current programs are fully resourced and future initiatives can be launched with confidence.

This is a strategic, relationship-centered role that aligns programming, storytelling, events, and donor engagement into a cohesive development effort. It is also a hands‑on position - the Director of Development personally creates and manages key deliverables including appeals, sponsorship outreach, and grant‑writing.

This role strengthens Parlando’s financial sustainability and supports program growth. It deepens donor loyalty, brings structure and clarity to fundraising efforts, elevates the donor experience, strengthens Parlando’s external presence, and ensures that major milestones such as the 25th Anniversary are leveraged in meaningful ways.

• Develop and manage an annual fundraising strategy and development calendar aligned with Parlando’s programming and marketing efforts.
• Pursue diverse revenue streams including individual giving, sponsorships, grants, ticket‑based initiatives, and strategic partnerships.
• Lead donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship; build and maintain relationships with donors, sponsors, and community partners.
• Maintain a structured approach to donor engagement including meetings, events, communications, and stewardship activities.
• Track fundraising performance using CRM tools and adjust strategy as needed to meet development goals.

• Plan and oversee donor cultivation and fundraising events, including performances, showcases, and special initiatives.
• Coordinate support staff, contractors, vendors, and volunteers involved in events.
• Collaborate with staff and board members on milestone initiatives such as Parlando’s 25th Anniversary.

• Identify and pursue grant opportunities and program underwriting for key initiatives such as Staged Productions, the Commissioned Composer Project, the New Musical Project, and the annual Tennis Tournament.
• Support or lead grant‑writing efforts depending on project needs.
• Develop sponsorships, partnerships, and creative funding strategies to support programming.

• Build and sustain the Parlando Alumni Association as a long‑term engagement and giving pipeline.
• Engage alumni and community members as donors, advocates, and ambassadors for Parlando.

• Partner with the Associate Director/Marketing lead to align fundraising campaigns with Parlando’s broader messaging.
• Contribute to donor‑focused communications including appeals, newsletters, email campaigns, and fundraising‑related social media using tools such as Canva, Mailchimp, or similar platforms.
• Maintain accurate donor records, mailing lists, and online giving platforms; use CRM reporting to track engagement and campaign performance.
• Provide quarterly development reports to Parlando’s Board of Trustees and support transparent donor communications including impact reporting and annual updates.

• Strong alignment with Parlando’s mission and values. Experience in development and fundraising required; arts or nonprofit experience preferred.
• Prior experience in development for organization(s) of similar size (Parlando’s annual budget is approximately $3,000,000).
• Comfortable working with donors from all walks of life and giving capacities, with the ability to find the intersection of donor and funder priorities with Parlando programming and initiatives.
• Strategic thinker who balances big‑picture planning with hands‑on execution. Warm, relational communicator who enjoys building long‑term relationships. Organized, proactive, and effective working across teams and timelines. Regularly exercises independent judgment and discretion in matters of significance.
• Equally comfortable leading projects and working under the leadership of others, depending on what is best for the project and Parlando’s overall needs.
• Confident with tools such as Canva, Mailchimp, and social media platforms. Experience using Bloomerang/QGiv or comparable CRM for reports, donor research, tracking attendance, and donor engagement; ability to learn quickly.
• Excited to build funding partnerships in support of programming that serves and celebrates all people.
• Must undergo annual background and multi‑state sex‑offender checks, as well as annual child‑abuse prevention training (costs covered by Parlando).

This position is a hybrid format. It consists of on‑site work in the Parlando studios, work from home, as well as attending donor meetings, events, and performances. These may include some evenings and weekends depending on the event schedules.