Development Department Intern

Department Description: The Development Department’s primary role is to cultivate and maintain relationships with local and national sponsors to raise money for the festival. The primary goal of the position is to raise money in cash sponsorships for the Austin Film Festival, On Story, and the Film & Food Party. The purpose of the Development Department is to cultivate new corporate sponsorships, both locally and nationally. The duties include searching out and cold calling new sponsors, setting up meetings, creating presentation material, closing sponsors, preparing sponsor agreements, maintaining relations with the sponsors during the festival and providing each sponsor with a follow-up report which encapsulates the Festival’s fulfillment of the sponsorship agreement.

Job Description: AFF is seeking interns to work in the Development Department on a variety of daily tasks and projects that will assist in fundraising for the festival, helping build partnerships with corporate clients, aiding in the execution of networking events, and maintaining sponsor and partner relations.

Job Responsibilities:

• Contacting potential sponsors and partners through emails and phone calls
• Negotiating festival promotion for food trade with local restaurants
• Researching potential sponsor targets
• Assist with writing marketing proposals for local businesses
• Sponsor database management
• Helping acquire sponsor assets, marketing materials, and collateral and understand how the sponsor wants to use these items to market their company during the festival
• Collaborate with the Development Team on generating new avenues for sponsorship and new outreach for sponsors
• Assist in maintaining communication with sponsors
• Assist in creating Final Reports and build final report materials post festival

Project Ownership Opportunities:

*Approximately a month into each internship, interns will be assigned one of the following projects to own throughout the rest of the internship’s duration. Project assignment is based upon interns’ capabilities and goals.*

• Food Trade Project
• Sponsor Ownership in Fulfillment
• Exhibit Hall Management
• Film and Conference Sponsor Management

Interns will get the opportunity to:

• Gain experience in cold calling and corporate company outreach
• Learn people skills and develop skills to work with individuals
• Experience event management
• Build tenacity
• Learn marketing assets within a company and corporate sponsorship opportunities
• Hospitality skills and customer service
• Event Production and Event Logistics

Qualifications:

• People Skills
• Strong communication skills and customer service
• Time management
• Excellent organization skills
• Keen attention to detail
• Ability to stay calm under pressure
• Microsoft Suite proficiency
• Event experience preferred
• Must be able to lift at least 25 lbs.

Timeframe: Spring Semester. Summer Semester into Fall Semester

All internships are unpaid. Additionally, all internships are in-person positions. There are no remote internship opportunities available.