Careers at Craft Alliance

Development & Communications Director
Craft Alliance | St. Louis, Missouri
Full-Time | Exempt | Reports to the Executive Director

About Craft Alliance

Founded in 1964, Craft Alliance is a nonprofit visual arts organization dedicated to nurturing and inspiring creativity through contemporary craft. Located in St. Louis’ vibrant Delmar Maker District, Craft Alliance is nationally recognized as a leader in the field of contemporary craft and is the only organization of its kind in the region devoted exclusively to advancing craft as an art form, educational experience, and means of community connection.

For more than six decades, Craft Alliance has brought artists, students, collectors, families, and community members together through exhibitions, education, artist residencies, community programs, and a gallery shop featuring exceptional contemporary craft. Our specialized studios support work in ceramics, metals, blacksmithing, fibers, glass, wood, and print and paper arts, creating opportunities for people of all ages and experience levels to discover, learn, make, and connect.

At the heart of Craft Alliance is a belief that creativity enriches lives, strengthens communities, and creates meaningful connections between people.

The Opportunity

Craft Alliance is entering an important chapter in its evolution, creating an exciting opportunity to strengthen its philanthropic program, deepen relationships with donors and community partners, and build the fundraising infrastructure necessary to support the organization’s long-term ambitions.

The Development & Communications Director will serve as the organization’s senior fundraising leader and will have the opportunity to shape the strategy, systems, relationships, and culture that drive Craft Alliance’s next chapter of philanthropic growth.

This position is ideal for an accomplished development professional who is equally comfortable developing strategy and building relationships—someone who understands that successful fundraising is rooted in authentic connection, disciplined execution, compelling storytelling, and meaningful engagement with donors.

As a member of Craft Alliance’s Leadership Team, the Development & Communications Director will work closely with the Executive Director, Board of Directors, Development Committee, staff, volunteers, artists, and community partners to expand contributed revenue and build a sustainable culture of philanthropy throughout the organization.

Position Summary

The Development & Communications Director provides strategic leadership for Craft Alliance’s comprehensive fundraising program, including individual and major giving, annual giving, corporate and foundation support, grants, membership, donor stewardship, special events, and future campaign initiatives.

The Director will develop and execute a diversified fundraising strategy designed to increase contributed revenue, expand and strengthen the donor pipeline, improve donor acquisition and retention, deepen institutional relationships, and position Craft Alliance for long-term philanthropic growth.

A central responsibility of this role will be developing meaningful relationships with current and prospective donors. The Director will personally manage a portfolio of major donors and prospects and will partner with the Executive Director and members of the Board to cultivate, solicit, and steward significant philanthropic relationships.

The Director will also provide leadership to the Development team and help establish the systems, processes, metrics, and accountability necessary for a sophisticated and high-performing development operation.

Key Responsibilities

Fundraising Strategy & Revenue Growth

• Develop and execute a comprehensive annual development plan aligned with Craft Alliance’s strategic priorities and financial goals.
• Create a diversified fundraising strategy encompassing major gifts, annual giving, membership, corporate partnerships, foundation support, grants, special events, and other philanthropic opportunities.
• Establish ambitious, achievable fundraising goals and regularly evaluate performance against revenue targets, pipeline activity, donor engagement, and other key performance indicators.
• Identify opportunities to expand contributed revenue and strengthen Craft Alliance’s long-term financial sustainability.
• Build the fundraising infrastructure and donor pipeline necessary to support future strategic and capital initiatives.

Major Gifts & Donor Engagement

• Personally manage a portfolio of current and prospective major donors, including identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship.
• Develop individualized engagement and solicitation strategies designed to deepen donor relationships and increase philanthropic investment.
• Partner with the Executive Director, Board members, and other organizational leaders on donor cultivation and solicitation.
• Create meaningful opportunities for donors and prospects to experience Craft Alliance’s mission, artists, programs, studios, exhibitions, and community impact.
• Develop a comprehensive donor stewardship program that recognizes philanthropic support and builds lasting relationships with Craft Alliance.
• Strengthen donor acquisition, retention, renewal, and upgrade strategies across giving levels.

Institutional Giving & Grants

• Develop and strengthen relationships with foundations, corporations, government agencies, and other institutional funders.
• Oversee the development of compelling grant proposals, sponsorship requests, presentations, reports, and other funding materials.
• Collaborate with program and organizational leadership to identify fundable priorities and translate Craft Alliance’s work into persuasive cases for support.
• Ensure timely submission, tracking, acknowledgment, reporting, and stewardship of grants and institutional gifts.
• Maintain awareness of local, regional, and national funding opportunities relevant to Craft Alliance’s mission and strategic priorities.

Development Operations & Analytics

• Establish and maintain disciplined development systems that support effective fundraising, donor stewardship, prospect management, and organizational decision-making.
• Oversee the integrity and strategic use of Craft Alliance’s donor CRM, currently DonorView, ensuring accurate and timely recording of donor information, contributions, interactions, moves management, and stewardship activity.
• Develop fundraising dashboards and regular reports that provide organizational leadership and the Board with clear visibility into revenue performance, donor retention, pipeline development, grant activity, projections, and progress toward annual goals.
• Use donor data and fundraising analytics to identify trends, opportunities, risks, and strategies for improving fundraising performance.
• Establish consistent development policies, procedures, calendars, and workflows that create accountability and continuity across the department.

Board & Executive Partnership

• Serve as the primary staff partner to the Board’s Development Committee, working closely with its Chair or Co-Chairs to establish priorities, evaluate progress, and engage Board members in fundraising.
• Provide the Board and Development Committee with timely, meaningful information regarding fundraising performance, donor engagement, pipeline development, opportunities, and challenges.
• Partner with Board members to identify prospective donors, open doors to new relationships, cultivate philanthropic connections, and participate appropriately in donor solicitation and stewardship.
• Work closely with the Executive Director to develop strategies for major donors, institutional funders, corporate partners, and other significant external relationships.
• Contribute actively as a member of Craft Alliance’s Leadership Team and participate in organization-wide planning, budgeting, decision-making, and strategy.

Team Leadership

• Provide clear, supportive, and accountable leadership to the Development team.
• Establish annual departmental goals, individual responsibilities, work plans, and performance expectations aligned with organizational priorities.
• Create an environment that encourages collaboration, professional growth, accountability, creativity, and continuous improvement.
• Ensure effective coordination among development, programming, finance, operations, and marketing and communications.
• Manage the Development department budget responsibly and allocate resources in support of organizational priorities and fundraising goals.

Communications & Storytelling Partnership

• Partner closely with marketing and communications staff to ensure that donor communications, organizational storytelling, and fundraising messages consistently reflect Craft Alliance’s mission, impact, and brand.
• Help develop compelling cases for support and donor-centered communications that demonstrate the impact of philanthropic investment.
• Collaborate on annual appeals, donor communications, impact stories, digital fundraising, campaign materials, and other development-related communications.
• Ensure fundraising and marketing efforts reinforce one another while maintaining clear accountability for their respective functions.

Events & Community Engagement

• Provide strategic oversight of Craft Alliance’s fundraising and donor cultivation events.
• Develop event strategies that strengthen donor relationships, attract prospective supporters, advance sponsorship opportunities, and generate appropriate net revenue.
• Partner with staff, volunteers, committees, sponsors, and community partners to ensure events advance broader development objectives.
• Represent Craft Alliance throughout the community and build relationships with donors, civic leaders, corporate partners, foundations, cultural organizations, and other stakeholders.

Qualifications & Experience

The successful candidate will bring a combination of fundraising expertise, relationship-building ability, strategic thinking, operational discipline, and genuine enthusiasm for Craft Alliance’s mission.

Competitive candidates will demonstrate:

• Five or more years of progressively responsible fundraising experience, with demonstrated success in areas such as major gifts, annual giving, institutional giving, donor stewardship, campaigns, and fundraising strategy.
• A record of personally cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual donors and securing philanthropic gifts.
• Demonstrated ability to develop fundraising strategies, establish measurable goals, and deliver results.
• Experience developing and managing donor pipelines and major-gift portfolios.
• Strong knowledge of contemporary fundraising practices, donor stewardship, moves management, and development operations.
• Experience working with nonprofit Boards and engaging Board members and volunteers in fundraising.
• Experience supervising and developing staff and creating effective, accountable teams.
• Excellent written, verbal, interpersonal, and presentation skills.
• Strong organizational and project-management abilities with the capacity to manage multiple priorities and deadlines.
• Experience using fundraising CRMs, donor analytics, prospect-management systems, and contemporary digital productivity tools.
• Sound judgment, discretion, professionalism, and the ability to build trusted relationships with a wide range of stakeholders.
• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.

Experience in arts and cultural organizations, knowledge of the St. Louis philanthropic community, capital campaign experience, and knowledge of planned giving are valued but not required.

Most importantly, Craft Alliance seeks a development leader who combines strategic thinking with a willingness to personally engage in the work of fundraising—someone who enjoys building relationships, making the case for investment, asking for support, and creating the systems necessary for philanthropy to flourish.

Measures of Success

The Development & Communications Director’s success will be evaluated through both fundraising results and the strength of the philanthropic infrastructure they build.

Measures will include growth and diversification of contributed revenue; expansion and movement of the major-gift pipeline; donor acquisition, retention, renewal, and upgrades; successful cultivation and solicitation of major donors; growth in institutional and corporate support; effective grant management; increased Board engagement in fundraising; disciplined use of donor data and the CRM; strong donor stewardship; and the development of scalable fundraising systems and practices.

Success will also be reflected in the Director’s ability to build trusted relationships, lead an effective Development team, collaborate across departments, and foster a culture in which philanthropy is understood as an organization-wide commitment to advancing Craft Alliance’s mission.

Leadership Attributes

The successful Development & Communications Director will be:

Strategic and entrepreneurial. Able to see possibilities, identify opportunities, and translate ideas into executable fundraising strategies.

Relationship-centered. Genuinely interested in people and skilled at developing authentic, lasting relationships with donors, volunteers, colleagues, artists, and community partners.

Results-oriented. Comfortable establishing goals, measuring progress, and being accountable for outcomes.

Collaborative. Able to work effectively across departments and alongside executive leadership, Board members, staff, volunteers, and external partners.

An exceptional communicator. Able to articulate Craft Alliance’s mission and impact with clarity, warmth, credibility, and enthusiasm.

Operationally disciplined. Understands that strong fundraising depends upon excellent systems, accurate data, consistent follow-through, and thoughtful stewardship.

Mission-driven. Inspired by the power of creativity, contemporary craft, arts education, and community engagement.

Work Environment

The Development & Communications Director is a full-time, exempt position based in St. Louis, Missouri.

Because fundraising is relationship-driven, the position requires an active presence within Craft Alliance and the greater St. Louis community. The Director should expect occasional evening and weekend responsibilities associated with donor meetings, cultivation activities, exhibitions, events, Board activities, and other organizational programs.

Compensation & Benefits

Craft Alliance offers a competitive compensation and benefits package commensurate with the responsibilities and leadership expectations of the position.

Benefits include generous paid time off; medical, dental, vision, and life insurance; a retirement plan with employer matching opportunities; discounts on Craft Alliance classes and gallery shop purchases; studio access; and appropriate professional memberships and professional development opportunities.

Craft Alliance believes transparency about compensation allows candidates to make informed decisions about whether an opportunity is right for them and encourages qualified candidates from a broad range of backgrounds to apply. The target salary for this position is in the $120,000 range.

Our Commitment to Inclusion

Craft Alliance is committed to fostering an organization where people with different backgrounds, experiences, identities, perspectives, and ideas can contribute and thrive.

We believe that diversity strengthens creativity, expands understanding, and enriches both our organization and the communities we serve. We strive to cultivate inclusion among our Board, staff, faculty, artists, volunteers, students, audiences, and community partners.

Candidates do not need to meet every preferred qualification to be considered. If you believe your experience, perspective, and capabilities would enable you to contribute meaningfully to Craft Alliance and succeed in this role, we encourage you to apply.

Craft Alliance is an equal opportunity employer.

How to Apply

Interested candidates should submit the following materials:

• A current resume
• A cover letter describing your interest in Craft Alliance and how your experience prepares you to lead the organization’s fundraising program
• A brief summary of significant fundraising accomplishments, including examples that demonstrate your role in achieving results
• One professional writing sample relevant to fundraising, such as a donor solicitation, grant proposal, sponsorship request, case for support, or stewardship communication

Please combine application materials into a single PDF and submit them to bryan.knicely@craftalliance.org.

Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis until the position is filled. Candidates selected as finalists will be asked to provide professional references and may be asked to provide additional examples of their work.

No phone calls, please.

Join Craft Alliance at an important moment in our history—and help build the philanthropic relationships and resources that will fuel creativity, artistic exploration, and community connection for years to come.

Development Manager (Grants & Institutional Giving focus)

Reporting to: Development & Communications Director

POSITION SUMMARY

The Development Manager is a key storyteller and strategist for Craft Alliance, primarily responsible for securing institutional support through expert grantwriting and relationship management. This role manages the full lifecycle of corporate, foundation, and public grants while assisting the Development & Communications Director in implementing a comprehensive development program.

Working closely with the Executive Director and Board of Directors, the Development Manager ensures that the organization’s mission is compellingly articulated to institutional funders to meet the ambitious goals of the Strategic Plan. While additional duties may be assigned from time to time, the following is a list of the core roles and responsibilities:

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Grantwriting & Institutional Giving (Primary Focus)

• Grant Lifecycle Management: Lead the preparation, writing, and submission of high-quality grant proposals, letters of inquiry (LOIs), and reports for private foundations, corporate giving programs, and public agencies (local, state, and federal).
• Strategy & Research: Proactively identify and research new institutional funding prospects. Maintain an annual grants calendar to ensure 100% on-time submission of proposals and reports.
• Compliance & Reporting: Work with program staff to gather data and narratives for grant reporting; ensure all grant-funded project requirements and recognition credits are met.
• Corporate Partnerships: Solicit corporate prospects for both programmatic grants and event sponsorships, aligning corporate social responsibility goals with Craft Alliance initiatives.
  Individual Giving & Stewardship
• Portfolio Management: Manage a portfolio of individual donors ($250–$500 range), focusing on cultivation and retention through personalized communications.
• Data Integrity: Manage assigned donor information in the database, tracking giving history and entering interactions to identify high-value prospects for the “donor journey.”
• Progress Tracking: Prepare monthly institutional giving and individual donor progress reports for the Development Team.

Board & Staff Engagement

• Culture of Philanthropy: Work across departments to translate program needs into fundable opportunities, ensuring an optimal fit between organizational goals and donor interests.
• Collaborative Marketing: Partner with the Marketing Team to integrate development messaging into sponsorship decks and collateral materials.
• Organizational Support: Demonstrate a commitment to teamwork and the Craft Alliance mission, complying with all policies and assisting with special events as required.

REQUIRED SKILLS & QUALIFICATIONS

• Education: Bachelor’s degree in a related field.
• Experience: 3–5 years of professional experience in nonprofit development, with proven success in grantwriting and institutional fundraising.
• Technical Writing: Exceptional writing skills with the ability to synthesize complex program information into clear, persuasive proposals.
• Strategic Thinking: Ability to analyze donor data and grant trends to forecast revenue and identify growth opportunities.
• Systems Proficiency: Experience with CRM/Donor databases (e.g., DonorView, Bloomerang, Raiser’s Edge), Microsoft Office Suite (strong Excel skills required), and grant research tools, including AI.
• Project Management: Highly organized with the ability to manage multiple deadlines and cross-functional contributions from staff and volunteers.
• Financial Literacy: Familiarity with nonprofit budgeting and a willingness to work with the finance department on grant reconciliation.

PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS

• A sincere passion for the arts and Craft Alliance’s role in the St. Louis community.
• An engaging communication style capable of building rapport with diverse stakeholders.
• Unfailing discretion and ethical judgment when handling sensitive donor information.
• A “best-in-class” approach to detail and excellence.

Status: Exempt/Full-Time

Salary Range starting at $50,000.

Benefits

Paid Time Off (PTO), health, vision, and dental insurance, discounts on educational classes, workshops, and camps, discounts on purchases in the shop and gallery.

Why Join Craft Alliance?

You will have the unique opportunity to shape the creative landscape of our region. We offer a competitive nonprofit salary, a flexible and creative work environment, and the chance to work alongside a community of passionate makers.

Craft Alliance Craft Alliance is a nonprofit visual arts organization nurturing and inspiring creativity as we educate and enrich our community through contemporary craft. Nationally recognized as one of the premier craft organizations in the country, Craft Alliance is the only organization of its kind in the region solely dedicated to contemporary craft. Craft Alliance offers classes in craft techniques, artist residencies, community programs, exhibitions, and a gallery shop. Craft Alliance has studios for ceramics, metals, blacksmithing, fibers, glass, wood, print and paper arts, and an Artists-in-Residence program.

Craft Alliance is an Equal Opportunity Employer – Research shows that people from historically excluded communities apply to jobs only when they check every box in the posting. If you’re currently reading this and hesitating to apply for that reason, we encourage you to go for it! Let us know how your lived experience and passion set you apart.

To apply, please send cover letter, resume, and three references (including relationship and contact info – they will not be contacted unless you move forward through the interview process) in a single PDF to Bryan Knicely, Executive Director at bryan.knicely@craftalliance.org with the subject line Development Manager. Your cover letter should outline your skills as they align with this position along with your passion for craft.