Director of Development

DIRECTOR OF DEVELOPMENT

Overview: Enzian is seeking a Director of Development with both both professional expertise and a deep commitment to relationship‑based fundraising to join our small, passionate, welcoming, and collegial team that believes strongly in the power of cinema.

To apply, please upload your résumé and cover letter and answer the brief questions at our website: https://enzian.org/mission-leadership

Enzian is Central Florida’s premiere home for independent cinema. This single screen theater, its legendary outdoor restaurant and bar, and its prestigious film festival come together to form a beloved cultural anchor for the entire Orlando Metropolitan Area and beyond. For more than 40 years, Enzian has been a key part of Orlando’s film and arts community. Since 1992, Enzian has operated The Florida Film Festival, an Academy Award qualifying festival with regional and national recognition. The organization stands for superb curation, support for film and filmmakers, film education, community, and a spirit of outrageous fun. We know that film brings people together like no other art form. If you can passionately articulate Enzian’s mission to others and view fundraising not as a burden but as an opportunity to grow the Enzian Family, this position may be an excellent fit for you. You’ll be joining a small, passionate, welcoming, and collegial team that believes strongly in the power of cinema.

Position Summary
The Director of Development reports to the Executive Director and works with Enzian staff, members of the Governing Board, and members of the Advisory Council. The DoD will bring leadership, expertise, and a detail oriented mindset to the continuing effort to obtain financial, promotional, and community support to sustain Enzian’s mission and vision. The DoD is expected to be an enthusiastic, driven self starter and will manage planned, annual, deferred giving, and sponsorships, as well as approaches made to individuals, foundations, academic institutions, and corporations.
This position requires the ability to develop strong working relationships with the leadership of the organization, its constituents, and partners. This team member acts as a liaison for the organization within the community to government, prospective funders, institutions of higher education, and others. The Director of Development will help develop and lead creative fundraising, sponsorship, and partnership efforts including strategic plans for cultivation and presentations and proposals to donors and prospects. They will also assist with grant fulfillment requirements and other duties as needed.

Key Responsibilities
• Identify, cultivate, evaluate, and seek sponsorship/partnership prospects for Enzian and the Florida Film Festival; manage stewardship of those relationships
• Identify, cultivate, evaluate, and seek individual giving prospects
• Increase Enzian and Florida Film Festival’s visibility and sponsor support within the diverse marketplaces of our local and expanded community
• Create and manage an integrated development plan that is mindful of the goal to grow patrons into donors
• Create and implement development communication strategies
• Manage the United Arts and other personal giving campaigns for Enzian to increase gifts in number and size and develop new revenue streams
• Develop and maintain relationships with community organizations; establish and maintain a reciprocal program for co sponsorship opportunities and promotions to enhance visibility
• Maintain yearly goals for slide advertising and in kind marketing trades in collaboration with Marketing staff
• Collaborate on projects and coordinate efforts with other staff and contractors involved with development, membership, marketing, education, grant writing, and programming

Additional Responsibilities
• Provide support as needed with grants including searching for new funding opportunities, assisting with writing grant applications, and editing draft proposals for accuracy, completeness, and clarity
• Manage sponsorship fulfillment and provide recap and analysis for participating sponsors/partners at conclusion of agreements
• Work with the team responsible for the planning and presentation of the annual Florida Film Festival (FFF) and oversee sponsorship and fundraising tasks as needed
• Develop a good understanding of Enzian’s patrons through data analysis and institutional information gathering, creation of tools for patron and market research, and investigating comparisons with other agencies and markets
• Engage, structure, and activate the Advisory Council
• Primary staff liaison to the Board Development and Nominating Committee.
• Represent Enzian at community events, attend professional development seminars, and travel, as necessary, to regional conferences or film festivals
• Other responsibilities as assigned

Key Candidate Qualities
• Bachelor’s Degree and 5+ years in a fundraising, marketing, or sales capacity or commensurate experience
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically and creatively, work well under pressure, and manage the details of several concurrent projects
• Strong understanding of the donor cycle
• Proficiency with numbers and a drive to achieve aggressive results
• Experience in developing and presenting proposals to prospective sponsors/partners, donors, clients, and/or customers
• Excellent and demonstrated verbal, written, and interpersonal communication skills
• Polished demeanor, positive attitude, creative thinker, and demonstrated ability to work effectively in a fast paced, team oriented environment
• Proficiency in Word and Excel
• Familiarity and significant experience with Salesforce, Donor Perfect, Spektrix or other fundraising CRM
• Familiarity with marketing strategies and materials
• Familiarity with mass mailings
• Familiarity with developing or fulfilling a strategic plan for soliciting and securing gifts from private and corporate sources

IDEAL CANDIDATE PROFILE
The strongest candidates for this role bring both professional expertise and a deep commitment to relationship based fundraising. They view philanthropy as mission advancement and understand that effective fundraising is rooted in curiosity, preparation, and authentic connection.

Commitment to Fundraising
The ideal candidate embraces fundraising as meaningful work. They take genuine satisfaction in connecting individuals and institutions with opportunities to make an impact and understand that inviting support is an act of leadership.

Major Gift Experience
This individual has successfully solicited significant individual and institutional gifts and can articulate the strategy, preparation, and stewardship behind those solicitations. They learn from each ask and apply the principles learned to future work.

Mission Driven Advocacy
The candidate demonstrates a strong alignment with Enzian’s mission and can clearly articulate what makes the organization distinctive and worthy of support. Their enthusiasm for the mission inspires donor confidence in Enzian.

Research Driven, Strategic Approach
They approach donor engagement with the mindset of an investigator. They prepare thoroughly, asking thoughtful questions, and tailoring conversations to each donor’s values and philanthropic priorities. They understand that effective fundraising requires listening as much as asking.

Donor-centered
The ideal candidate brings personal experience with fundraising and understands what meaningful stewardship looks like. They recognize practices that build long term loyalty and avoid those that erode trust.

Core Competencies
The strongest candidates will consistently demonstrate:
• Strategic thinking
• Emotional intelligence
• Follow Through
• Attention to Detail

Partnership with the Executive Director
The Executive Director is this position’s strategic partner. The candidate communicates well, prepares leadership for donor meetings, and collaborates with the Director to align fundraising goals with organizational strategic priorities.

Board and Stakeholder Engagement
The candidate builds constructive, respectful relationships with board members and positions themselves as a resource. They help board members and other stakeholders understand their role in fundraising and support them in participating meaningfully in the process.

Balance of Internal and External Work
The ideal candidate understands the need to balance administrative responsibilities with active donor engagement. They maintain strong systems and processes while ensuring that a significant portion of their time is spent cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding donors and partners.

Employment and Compensation
Start date: Negotiable, approximately late Spring/early Summer 2026.
Salary: The compensation package will be competitive and informed by a variety of factors, including but not limited to, experience, qualifications, and training needs at the time of hiring. The hiring range will start at $80,000.
Location: Enzian’s offices are located in Maitland, Florida. The Development Director is expected to maintain a regular schedule on site as well as significant time out of office for development and fundraising meetings.
Benefits: Enzian offers a competitive benefits package, including paid vacation, shared health care expenses, holiday pay, flexible scheduling, and other perks.