Fundraising Events & Marketing Manager

Position Summary

Heartland Animal Shelter is seeking a dynamic, organized, and creative Fundraising Events & Marketing Manager to join our dedicated team. This individual will be responsible for planning, coordinating, and executing fundraising events, fundraising marketing campaigns, 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 fundraising, donation solicitation, volunteer management, event management and marketing.

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Key Responsibilities

Fundraising & Event Management:

• Responsible for raising $250,000 in revenue through event sponsorships, ticket sales, pledge drives and peer-to-peer fundraising.
• Develop and manage the annual calendar of Heartland’s signature fundraising events, including the Golden Paw Gala, Slumber Pawty, Walk of Love and holiday-related events responsible for raising $250,000+ to support Heartland’s mission
• Recruit and manage committees of fundraising volunteers that will help plan and executive each signature event to reach fundraising goals.
• Cultivate and solicit event sponsors, partners, and key donors for financial support
• Prepare sponsorship proposals, event collateral, and post-event thank-you communications.
• Collaborate with volunteers, board members, and staff to ensure events reach or exceed budgeted revenue and expense goals.
• 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.

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Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree in Nonprofit Management, Marketing, Communications or a relevant field preferred
• 2+ years of proven experience in fundraising, sponsorship sales, event planning, marketing and communication with a preference for nonprofit experience.
• Track record of successfully managing events to reach revenue goals
• Superior written and verbal communication skills, enabling impactful storytelling.
• Highly organized and adept at managing multiple projects and priorities effectively.
• Familiar with fundraising and marketing, 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.

Heartland Mission and Culture Expectations:

• 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 .
• Stay abreast of external changes in animal welfare and community support systems; work with leadership to support our 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-time, 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
• rofessional 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

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To apply:

To be considered for the position please email your cover letter, resume and writing sample and/or social media post relevant to this position to [email protected].

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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.

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About Us:

Heartland Animal Shelter (Heartland) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to helping dogs and cats in need through sheltering, placement, and prevention services that reduce animal homelessness and unnecessary euthanasia.  F

Founded in 2002 by Dr. Herbert Preiser, DVM, who was driven to save the lives of unwanted pets, Heartland has since grown through strategic partnerships with local, regional, and national organizations.

Today, our primary focus is rescuing animals most at risk of euthanasia at open-admission shelters, and despite the challenges, we’ve maintained an exceptional 96% average live release rate while serving more than 1,000 dogs and cats annually.

This is a unique opportunity to join a mission-driven, results-oriented team that values collaboration, open communication, and a positive workplace culture. We believe in leveraging each other’s strengths, finding joy and meaning in our work, and staying committed to our shared vision of a humane community where pets and people thrive together.

If you’re an energetic and creative professional with a passion for shelter animals, love to collaborate, and find inspiration in a good brainstorming session, we invite you to apply for our Marketing and Events Manager position!