Fundraising Events & Marketing Manager

Organization: Heartland Animal Shelter
Location: Wheeling, IL
Job Type: Full-Time
Reports to: Director of Mission Advancement

About Us:
Heartland Animal Shelter (Heartland) is dedicated to helping dogs and cats in need by providing sheltering, placement, and prevention services to reduce animal homelessness and unnecessary euthanasia. As an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Heartland has been helping people and animals in Chicagoland and beyond since 2002. It all started with Dr. Herbert Preiser, DVM and founder of Heartland Animal Shelter. Dr. Preiser wanted to make a difference by saving the lives of unwanted cats and dogs who might not otherwise be given a chance to find a home. From there, Heartland’s reach grew as the organization developed strategic partnerships with local, regional and national organizations. Today, Heartland’s primary focus is saving animals who are most at risk of euthanasia at open-admission shelters. Even while rescuing some of the most vulnerable populations of animals such as these, we have continued to achieve an exceptional average 96% live release rate for more than 1,000+ dogs and cats annually.

This is a unique opportunity to be a part of a dedicated and results-oriented team who values collaboration, open communication and a positive workplace culture. We do our best to leverage each other’s strengths and strive to create opportunities for the work to be fun, rewarding, and to meet our individual and collective organizational goals. We take our mission of providing excellent and life-saving care to the most vulnerable dogs and cats seriously; We envision a humane community where pets and people thrive together in Chicagoland and beyond, and we’re dedicated to making that vision a reality. Are you an energetic and creative professional with a passion for helping shelter animals and people? Do you thrive in collaboration and get excited by a good brainstorming session? If your answer is YES, we invite you to apply to be our Marketing and Events Manager!

Position Summary:
Heartland Animal Shelter is seeking a dynamic, organized, and creative Marketing & Fundraising Events Manager to join our dedicated team. This individual will be responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing marketing, event, and other fundraising initiatives that support the organization’s mission and goals. This manager also will oversee the development of high-quality cross-channel content to attract and engage donors, volunteers, adopters, and other constituents. The ideal candidate is a self-starter with experience in event management, donor engagement, and marketing.

Key Responsibilities:

Event Planning & Management:

• Develop and manage the annual calendar of Heartland’s signature events, including the Golden Paw Gala, Slumber Pawty, Walk of Love and holiday-related events
• Recruit and manage committees of volunteers, including Event Chairs, that will help plan and executive each signature event to reach fundraising goals
• Serve as administrator for event management system and auction coordination
• Oversee event logistics, including venue selection, vendor negotiations, permits, and on-site management in collaboration with the Mission Advancement team.
• Cultivate relationships with event sponsors, partners, and key donors.
• Prepare sponsorship proposals, event collateral, and post-event thank-you communications.
• Collaborate with volunteers, board members, and staff to ensure event success.
• Coordinate with Heartland Young Professional junior board for event and fundraising opportunities.
• Oversee event budgets, timelines, and post-event evaluations.

Marketing & Communications:

• Ensures all written and visual communications, including tone and messaging, are strategically aligned with Heartland’s brand and effectively advance its mission.
• Oversees the development and timely execution of impactful marketing plans and collateral across all platforms, including web, email, social media, and print.
• Partners with key stakeholders to refine and evolve Heartland’s brand identity, under the direction of the Executive Director.
• Leads website redesign initiatives, ensuring a seamless transition, compelling content creation (text, graphics, and photos), and adherence to Heartland’s brand guidelines.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Nonprofit Management, or a relevant field preferred
• 2+ years of proven experience in event planning, marketing, or fundraising, with a preference for nonprofit experience.
• Track record of successfully managing events and driving donor engagement campaigns.
• Superior written and verbal communication skills, enabling impactful storytelling.
• Highly organized and adept at managing multiple projects and priorities effectively.
• Familiar with marketing and fundraising technologies, including email, social media, website management, graphic design, and donor CRM systems
• Fear Free Certification, or willingness to receive certification within 6 months of employment
• Bonus: Passion for and experience in animal welfare.

Key Competencies:

• Passion for the mission and values of Heartland Animal Shelter.
• Creativity in event, marketing and fundraising approaches.
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build lasting relationships.
• Detail-oriented, with a focus on producing high-quality results.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a collaborative team
• Excellent writing/editing skills for a variety of aude
• Familiarities with print, email, web, and social media platforms, analytics, and best practices.

Mission and Culture:

• Treat people around you with compassion and kindness in all your actions, build trust by demonstrating authenticity and following through on your commitments, encourage self-care and work-life balance through your own example, and work to build strong relationships with fellow team members (staff and volunteers) by creating communication loops to share and receive honest feedback.
• Promote, uplift and model Heartland’s Culture Expectations.
• Stay abreast of external changes in animal welfare and community support systems; work with leadership to support our mission, vision, and values and contributions to organizational objectives.
• Lead by example through direct and impactful personal and organizational contributions towards Heartland’s organizational goals and mission.

Time Commitment/Location

• This is a full-me, exempt salaried position working onsite at our beautiful shelter facility in Wheeling.
• Being available to work occasional evenings and weekends is a requirement of this role.

Compensation & Benefits:

• Competitive salary, commensurate with experience
• Health Insurance (for employee only)
• Accrued time off
• Flexible work schedule
• Professional development opportunities
• Employee’s pets are eligible for discounted vaccines and diagnostics and at cost medications and medical supplies
• A positive, mission-driven work environment

Equal Opportunity:

Heartland Animal shelter is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer that does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, religion, color, creed, sexual orientation, gender or gender preference, handicap, or national origin.

To Apply:

Send your one page cover letter and resume to [email protected].