Mission and Purpose of the Role

Parlando School of Musical Arts’ mission is to provide access to people of all ages and abilities, inspiring them to share in the love of music and the arts through education, community collaboration, and performance opportunity. We provide music lessons, classes, outreach, and theatrical performances to thousands of people every month, creating over 200,000 annual interactions. By our 25th Anniversary in 2027 we will have provided over $1,000,000 in tuition assistance since inception. More about Parlando’s Mission, Vision, and stance on Inclusivity can be found at parlando.org under About, History and Mission.

The Director of Development serves as Parlando’s lead fundraising professional, building meaningful, long-term relationships with donors, sponsors, alumni, and community partners. This role converts Parlando’s artistic and educational impact into sustainable and growing financial support, ensuring that current programs are fully resourced and future initiatives can be launched with confidence.

This is a strategic, relationship-centered role that aligns programming, storytelling, events, and donor engagement into a cohesive development effort. It is also a hands-on position - the Director of Development personally creates and manages key deliverables including appeals, sponsorship outreach, and grant-writing.

Impact of the Role

This role strengthens Parlando’s financial sustainability and supports program growth. It deepens donor loyalty, brings structure and clarity to fundraising efforts, elevates the donor experience, strengthens Parlando’s external presence, and ensures that major milestones such as the 25th Anniversary are leveraged in meaningful ways.

Responsibilities of the Role
Fundraising Strategy and Donor Engagement

• Develop and manage an annual fundraising strategy and development calendar aligned with Parlando’s programming and marketing efforts.
• Pursue diverse revenue streams including individual giving, sponsorships, grants, ticket-based initiatives, and strategic partnerships.
• Lead donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship; build and maintain relationships with donors, sponsors, and community partners.
• Maintain a structured approach to donor engagement including meetings, events, communications, and stewardship activities.
• Track fundraising performance using CRM tools and adjust strategy as needed to meet development goals.

Events and Experiential Engagement

• Plan and oversee donor cultivation and fundraising events, including performances, showcases, and special initiatives.
• Coordinate support staff, contractors, vendors, and volunteers involved in events.
• Collaborate with staff and board members on milestone initiatives such as Parlando’s 25th Anniversary.

Grants, Sponsorships, and Program Underwriting

• Identify and pursue grant opportunities and program underwriting for key initiatives such as Staged Productions, the Commissioned Composer Project, the New Musical Project, and the annual Tennis Tournament.
• Support or lead grant-writing efforts depending on project needs.
• Develop sponsorships, partnerships, and creative funding strategies to support programming.

Alumni and Community Engagement

• Build and sustain the Parlando Alumni Association as a long-term engagement and giving pipeline.
• Engage alumni and community members as donors, advocates, and ambassadors for Parlando.

Communications, Systems, and Reporting

• Partner with the Associate Director/Marketing lead to align fundraising campaigns with Parlando’s broader messaging.
• Contribute to donor-focused communications including appeals, newsletters, email campaigns, and fundraising-related social media using tools such as Canva, Mailchimp, or similar platforms.
• Maintain accurate donor records, mailing lists, and online giving platforms; use CRM reporting to track engagement and campaign performance.
• Provide quarterly development reports to Parlando’s Board of Trustees and support transparent donor communications including impact reporting and annual updates.

Qualifications and Attributes

• Strong alignment with Parlando’s mission and values. Experience in development and fundraising required; arts or nonprofit experience preferred.
• Prior experience in development for organization(s) of similar size (Parlando’s annual budget is approximately $3,000,000).
• Comfortable working with donors from all walks of life and giving capacities, with the ability to find the intersection of donor and funder priorities with Parlando programming and initiatives.
• Strategic thinker who balances big-picture planning with hands-on execution. Warm, relational communicator who enjoys building long-term relationships. Organized, proactive, and effective working across teams and timelines. Regularly exercises independent judgment and discretion in matters of significance.
• Equally comfortable leading projects and working under the leadership of others, depending on what is best for the project and Parlando’s overall needs.
• Confident with tools such as Canva, Mailchimp, and social media platforms. Experience using Bloomerang/QGiv or comparable CRM for reports, donor research, tracking attendance, and donor engagement; ability to learn quickly.
• Excited to build funding partnerships in support of programming that serves and celebrates all people.
• Must undergo annual background and multi-state sex-offender checks, as well as annual child abuse prevention training (costs covered by Parlando).

Work Format

This position is a hybrid format. It consists of on-site work in the Parlando studios, work from home, as well as attending donor meetings, events, and performances. These may include some evenings and weekends depending on the event schedules.

Hours and Compensation

This is a year-round, salaried, exempt position.

Depending on organizational needs, scope of responsibilities, and candidate experience, Parlando is open to structuring this role between approximately 25 and 40 hours per week. The specific schedule and expected workload will be established at the time of hire.

Examples include:
0.6 FTE (approximately 25 hrs/week): $58,000 – $70,000 per year
1.0 FTE (40 hrs/week): $92,800 – $112,000 per year

Overall salary range: $58,000 – $112,000 per year, based on qualifications, experience, and the agreed-upon structure of the role at the time of hire.

As a salaried exempt position, compensation is intended to cover the full scope of responsibilities associated with the role and is not subject to reduction or increase based on variations in hours worked from week to week. The schedule is flexible and may include occasional evening or weekend commitments related to events, donor meetings, or performances.

Paid Sick Leave

Employees accrue paid sick leave under the Colorado Healthy Families and Workplaces Act (HFWA) at a rate of at least 1 hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked, up to a maximum of 48 hours per year. Paid sick leave may be used for qualifying health and safety-related reasons as defined by Colorado law. Accrued but unused sick leave carries over year to year in accordance with state requirements.

Additional paid time off policies, if applicable, will be provided at the time of hire.

Success Metrics

This position requires relationship building and a keen understanding of Parlando’s programming and role within Boulder and the surrounding metro area’s arts ecosystem. Quantifiable success will be measured using the following metrics:

• Securing new major gifts;
• Growth in donor retention or recurring giving;
• Sponsorship revenue targets;
• Grant funding secured; and/or
• Other written development objectives established at the beginning of the performance period.

Benefits

• Paid sick leave as described above
• Employees regularly scheduled to work at least 30 hours per week are eligible to participate in Parlando’s group health insurance plan. Coverage becomes available following up to 90 days of employment, in accordance with applicable federal and Colorado law and subject to plan terms and eligibility requirements. Enrollment materials and contribution details will be provided at the time of hire and upon eligibility.
• Parlando offers a 401(k) retirement savings plan with employer matching contributions. Employees are eligible to participate in the plan in accordance with its eligibility requirements. Participation and employer contributions are subject to the terms of the plan document and applicable federal law. Additional details regarding enrollment, contribution limits, and plan features will be provided upon hire.

How to Apply

Applications must be submitted online at: https://forms.gle/ixugYomdWHPmoUYR7

Application Deadline: March 31, 2026

Applicants must submit materials by 11:59 p.m. Mountain Time on March 31, 2026.