Director of Development & Donor Relations

Open Heart Magic: Working on the front lines of when kids need help the most, right at their hospital bedsides

Open Heart Magic (OHM) began in 2004 with the mission of bringing the transformative and therapeutic power of magic to kids facing the toughest medical situations. At the end of 2019, more than 160 of our volunteer Hospital Magicians were teaching kids magic at their hospital bedsides. OHM volunteers change the hospital experience for young patients by taking their minds off their fears, bringing them hope, and making them feel stronger to tackle their illnesses. At our peak in 2019, we reached over 12,000 children one-to-one at fifteen children’s hospitals in Chicago, Ann Arbor and Cleveland, including Lurie Children’s Hospital, University of Michigan C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital, and the Cleveland Clinic and are on track to return to this sizable impact.

CLICK HERE for a quick look at our Bedside Magic program

Our volunteer Hospital Magicians go into pediatric intensive care, oncology departments, burn units and even isolation rooms to reach kids who are in the fight of their lives. Our intense screening, training and certification program has created a dynamic community of fun, talented, caring volunteers.

We’re looking for a Director of Development who will care just as much.

Open Heart Magic is an established, well-run organization with the dynamic pace and culture of a growing startup not constrained by being locked into doing the same thing year after year without innovation. We are committed to leading the children’s hospital programming niche with the most thoughtful and beneficial programs fulfilled by the most highly trained and passionate volunteers in the nation.

Today, we’re building back and gearing up after needing to pause our services due to the pandemic. Our Bedside Magic programs are now live at five of our hospital partnerships. We developed our new Magic Delivery program to reach those kids in hospitals who are struggling the most. Seven hospitals in three cities are participating in this pilot program, which delivers high value experiences of magic and therapeutic activities boxed and delivered to kids at their hospital bedsides who have experienced a setback.

We are thrilled with the success and momentum of Magic Delivery to date – it shows the trust we work to build with our children’s hospital partners through smart programming. The Magic Delivery program offers outstanding partnership opportunities, and we are poised for growth.

CLICK HERE to see our new Magic Delivery program in action and how OHM worked through 2020

Our vision remains clear.

Our vision in 2019 was to build a national platform so we could respond to requests from hospitals and bring OHM to new cities if conditions were right for sustainable expansion. Then came COVID. We still hold this vision and are confident new opportunities will emerge in 2022.

Director of Development & Donor Relations – An Important Leadership Position

In this role, you will work with the Founder/Executive Director and Senior Director of Marketing & Program Development to grow Open Heart Magic’s revenue back to 2019 levels and then prepare for national expansion over the following four years. This is a new position focused solely on development activities that bring the resources we need to expand Bedside Magic and Magic Delivery and reach kids across three states and beyond.

Job Requirements

We are looking for an experienced nonprofit/charity fundraiser and manager who knows how to research and understand existing processes and systems, plan strategies to not just implement them, but also navigate support at the staff and Board level.

• You are a positive, proactive leader who is excited to roll up your sleeves and build something sustainable
• You have a track record of writing and winning community grants
• You have the flexibility to work some evenings and weekends – required for special events
• You have the talent and ability to work at a fast pace. We’re not constrained by levels of required approval or layers of bureaucracy.
• You are a self directed learner and have the ability to work independently
• You have the desire and ability to call a donor on the phone, meet with her and develop the relationship in person.

Job Responsibilities

As OHM’s Development Director, you will:

• Lead OHM’s existing fundraising operations, continue to advance our major donor program and work with staff on developing and delivering on our critical stewardship activities.
• Direct and drive activities, budgets, project plans, and schedules with the goal of ongoing growth and expansion, supported by Executive Director and Senior Director of Marketing
• Assist our Bank of America Marathon Chicago Charity Team with fundraising, which includes recruitment, engagement, marketing, and expo/race day activities
• Prepare the annual year-end appeal, with support from OHM marketing
• Prepare any grants requests and reporting

There’s a lot to do but since activities cycle throughout the year, it’s a manageable workflow. The great news is that we also have a very effective operational plan, development schedules, and supporting marketing and communications that grow each year.

Additional Responsibilities

• Move 25 lb. boxes and be involved on the front lines of a nonprofit charity (We’re a small team – we all work together to get everything done.)
• Develop email, mailed and social media fundraising campaigns, with support from Executive Director and Senior Director of Marketing
• Collaborate with Benefit Committee, special event committees, and volunteer leadership to create annual planning budgets for OHM events

Compensation & Benefits

• $60,000 to $66,000 total compensation which includes salary plus bonus depending on experience
• Full time position with flexible workdays
• Mac laptop provided
• iPhone provided after 6 months
• Medical, Dental and 401K
• Time off for sick days, vacation, holidays
• Future compensation based on performance and OHM growth

Ready to Work Magic?

To apply for this position, please submit your resume as a PDF and answer the following questions. There is no need to attach a separate cover letter. If you simply drop your answers into the body of your email, that makes it easy for all of us.

1. What experience do you have that you feel is most relevant to this position?
2. What do you think Open Heart Magic needs right now from a Director of Development and why are you the best candidate to provide it?
3. Anything else you think would be helpful for us to know?

Please email your responses to: [email protected].

Best of luck. If you don’t hear back from us within two months, another candidate was selected. If this ad is still live, then we’re still looking. We know it stinks not hearing back, but we hate sending canned emails. We think you’re awesome for wanting to work for a nonprofit that helps kids. Thanks for applying.