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ONTARIO CULTURE DAYS
Fundraising Associate
One year, part-time contract
Start date: April 27
Pay Range: $20 to $24/hour
Culture Days is a pan-Canadian volunteer-driven, grassroots arts and cultural
participation movement and annual event led by arts-lovers, cultural aficionados and the
arts and cultural sector in collaboration with municipalities, public funding agencies,
provincial governments, the private sector and the media. Culture Days provides
support, tools and resources to a wide variety of artists and cultural organizations to
help them participate in the annual weekend cultural celebration.
Now entering its sixth year, Culture Days will take place September 25-27, 2015. In
2014, over 1.7 million Canadians participated in the Culture Days weekend and 7,573
free activities were held in 825 cities and towns across Canada, including more than
1670 activities in Ontario.
After five years as a successful collaborative project of the arts and culture sector,
Ontario Culture Days (OCD) incorporated as a not-for-profit organization in January
2015. As such, OCD is better positioned to support and stimulate the remarkable growth
and development of Culture Days across the province and aims to diversify and
increase our funding sources.
Fundraising Associate Role
In collaboration with a Development Consultant and the Executive Director, the
Fundraising Associate will work to increase the organization’s financial resources and
secure a more diverse funding portfolio to further the strategic goals and support the
rapid growth and expansion of the organization. The Fundraising Associate will be
responsible for securing funds by grant-writing to councils, ministries and other
governmental sources and to private foundations. The Fundraising Associate will also
assist the Development Consultant with preparation of sponsorship pitches and
proposals.
This is a part-time position with a flexible schedule of 20 hours per week. Though the
OCD office is in Toronto, exceptional candidates located elsewhere in the province that
can telecommute will be considered. The Associate will report to the Ontario Culture
Days Executive Director.
Principal Responsibilities
70% Fundraising
 In collaboration with the Executive Director, develop a long-range funding
strategy for Ontario Culture Days that aligns our strategic goals and existing
programs with funders’ priorities
 Research and identify public and private sector funding sources to which
OCD is eligible to apply
 Develop relationships with public sector funding officers and private
foundation representatives on behalf of OCD
 Write grant applications, develop funding request budgets and gather support
materials and documents
 Write letters of inquiry to private foundations
 Provide support to the Executive Director, Development Consultant and
Board of Directors as they cultivate prospective corporate sponsors,
including customizing proposals and preparing presentations
 Support OCD’s stewardship of corporate sponsors, especially in the lead-up
to the Culture Days weekend
 Help to identify and support innovative and collaborative approaches to
fundraising at the community level
 Locate, create and share fundraising tools and resources for activity and
community organizers to use in their own local fundraising efforts
 Other duties as required to support the fundraising and sponsorship efforts of
Ontario Culture Days
30% Documentation and Reporting
 Maintain a database of prospects, applications, proposals and reports
 Create a work plan and maintain a calendar of funding deadlines
 Prepare regular summaries of fundraising activity and progress reports for
OCD’s Executive Director and the Board
 Track indicators and ensure reporting requirements are met on all grants
 Prepare progress and final reports for existing funders
Qualifications:
o 5+ years relevant work experience in the not-for-profit sector, preferrably in arts,
heritage or culture
o Demonstrated success at securing funds for a not-for-profit organization
o Exceptional writing skills and experience crafting grant applications, funder request
letters and other communications to prospective sponsors and funders
o Experience preparing budgets and developing performance indicators for funding
requests
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Broad knowledge of the private and public sector funding landscape in Ontario along
with an understanding of the opportunities and challenges facing the Ontario cultural
sector
Ability to identify needs and develop fundraising strategies that will work for small
not-for-profit arts organizations, artists, cultural groups, both amateur and
professional
Proven ability to work independently as well as collaboratively to achieve goals
Proficiency in Microsoft Office programs, especially Word, Excel and Powerpoint
Able to work flexible hours depending on the needs of OCD with increasing hours in
the lead-up to key funding deadlines
High attention to detail, excellent time management and ability to work to deadline
A passion for arts and culture
Applications
Please send resume, cover letter and one relevant writing sample to:
Aubrey Reeves
Executive Director,
Ontario Culture Days
aubreyreeves@culturedays.ca
Deadline: April 10, 2015, 5pm
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