Development & Special Events Manager

Responsibilities

• Manage the day-to-day planning and execution of HANDY's year-round event calendar, including signature fundraising events such as the Scholars Breakfast, Field Day, and Moonrise.
• Coordinate cultivation and engagement events including Lunchbox Tours, Coffee with the CEO, CONNECT events, monthly tours, Open House, volunteer recognition, and other community-facing activities.
• Build and maintain event timelines, run-of-show documents, scripts, guest lists, task calendars, and internal/external communications to keep all parties on schedule.
• Lead event-day execution, including vendor coordination, staffing, volunteers, guest experience, and troubleshooting.
• Lead post-event debriefs and reporting, capturing attendance, revenue, sponsor fulfillment, lessons learned, and recommendations for future events.
• Serve as the primary staff contact for third-party events and community-hosted fundraising activities.
• Serve as the staff lead for event committees, including recruitment, onboarding, meeting cadence, agendas, minutes, assignments, and follow-through.
• Support and grow affinity groups, including NextGen and Ladies with Heart, by creating meaningful opportunities for involvement, leadership, outreach, and giving.
• Partner with committee and affinity-group chairs to establish goals, assign responsibilities, and monitor member commitments.
• Identify and cultivate emerging volunteer leaders and potential future committee or board prospects in partnership with the Chief Development Officer.
• Recruit, schedule, train, and recognize event-day volunteers.
• Serve as the day-to-day relationship contact for existing corporate sponsors before, during, and after events.
• Manage sponsor benefit fulfillment end to end, including logo placement, signage, program recognition, digital/social recognition, ticket allocations, and on-site activations.
• Prepare sponsor recap and impact reports and support renewal conversations for established partners.
• Work with the Chief Development Officer to identify opportunities to deepen existing corporate relationships and increase sponsorship support.
• Support new partnership development through prospect research, proposal preparation, sponsorship packages, and cultivation follow-up.
• As experience grows, participate in and gradually assume responsibility for selected sponsor solicitations and fundraising conversations.
• Support the Chief Development Officer in using events and engagement activities as a deliberate pipeline for donor cultivation and fundraising growth.
• Assist with donor and prospect follow-up after events, tours, and cultivation activities.
• Track referrals, introductions, gifts influenced, sponsor renewals, and other development activity in the donor management system/CRM.
• Support fundraising campaigns, appeals, stewardship initiatives, and special development projects as assigned.
• Develop greater ownership of fundraising goals over time, including defined revenue or relationship-management targets established with the Chief Development Officer.
• Represent HANDY professionally with donors, corporate partners, community leaders, volunteers, and other stakeholders.
• Manage vendors, contracts, venues, permits, insurance certificates, décor, entertainment, A/V, catering, printing, and other event logistics.
• Maintain event budgets, process invoices and payments, track ticket sales and event revenue, and reconcile revenue and expenses with the Finance team.
• Maintain accurate event, sponsor, donor, volunteer, and constituent records in HANDY's donor management system/CRM.
• Pull and review event and fundraising data to monitor results, identify trends, and support decision-making.
• Maintain organized files, event records, sponsor agreements, and post-event documentation.
• Perform additional responsibilities as assigned to support Development and agency operations.
• Consistently deliver organized, professional, and mission-aligned events that meet established timelines and budget expectations.
• Strengthen sponsor retention, committee engagement, and donor follow-up through consistent relationship management.
• Demonstrate increasing confidence and effectiveness in fundraising, cultivation, and sponsor solicitation activities.
• Use event and donor data to evaluate outcomes and recommend opportunities for improvement or revenue growth.
• Partner with the Chief Development Officer on an annual development plan that identifies areas of increased responsibility and readiness for future Director-level development leadership.
• Other duties as assigned