The Special Events & Development Associate supports logistics, planning, and event management for Madison's fundraising events to maintain and increase overall support. Madison’s special events are a major opportunity to engage and delight our current donors and recruit new supporters. The position’s responsibilities include implementation of key event logistics and timetable management, and providing administrative support to the development team.

This is a full-time exempt position working 35 hours a week Monday through Friday in the morning and afternoon. This job operates in a professional office environment and hybrid work-from-home/in-office model.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Coordinate and manage event timelines, pre and post-event and day-of logistics for Madison’s signature special events.
• Carefully track event costs, budgets and financial records for each event.
• Conduct research on vendors, venues, and other event aspects as needed. Source venues and necessary vendors as needed and maintain positive vendor relationships.
• Coordinate the solicitation, organization, and presentation of silent and live auction items and manage silent auction online platform.
• Assist in tracking attendance, guest lists, and seating assignments.
• Work closely with Communications Coordinator to draft and create invitations, program journal, event signage, and design online event engagement platforms.
• Support the research, identification, cultivation and solicitation of event chair, committee members and honorees.
• Ensure event fundraising actions are tracked and recorded in the donor database.
• Evaluate overall results of special events campaigns; provide recommendations, modifications and new approaches to support successful achievement of department and organizational goals.
• Conduct strategic prospect and donor qualification research using various research tools and resources.
• Assist and lead other projects and development tasks as assigned by Executive Director.

Required Skills/Knowledge:

• Bachelor’s degree in relevant field.
• Three to five years of experience in fundraising and/or event planning.
• Ability to work independently and as part of a team.
• Skilled at working with diverse groups of people.
• Experience in managing grassroots fundraising events.
• Excellent organizational and time management skills.
• Experience working with a fast-paced, mission-focused nonprofit environment.
• Demonstrated ability to work as part of a collaborative team showing both strong initiatives to reach individual goals as well as supports the overall team goals
• Ability to prioritize tasks and work on multiple projects and events simultaneously.
• Ability to ‘manage up’ and support senior staff/Board members and ‘manage across’ to colleagues in achieving projects on deadline
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills and superior attention to detail
• Ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with club staff, board members, volunteers, community groups and third party representatives
• Comfort using donor databases and Microsoft Office Suite
• Ability to have flexibility with work schedules to attend evening events and ability to lift boxes etc. as needed
• As a condition of employment, employees must have proof that they have received the COVID-19 vaccine.

EOE M/F/DISABILITY/VETS