Ravinia®, North America's oldest and most musically diverse music festival, presents over 140 different events throughout the summer. These concerts range from Yo-Yo Ma to John Legend to the annual summer residency of the nation's finest orchestra, The Chicago Symphony. Ravinia’s Reach Teach Play programs serve over 75,000 adults and children throughout Chicagoland and are designed to educate, foster diverse audience involvement, and provide the population with equitable access to live music experiences in their communities and at Ravinia.  Since 1988., the Ravinia Steans Music Institute trains the next generation of strings, piano, vocal and jazz musicians to successful professional careers.

Located north of Chicago in Highland Park, the 36-acre park is nestled in a gently wooded area that makes it an enchanting place to experience music. The family atmosphere encourages guests to bring their own picnics or eat at one of the park restaurants.  Ravinia employs approximately 60 full time people year-round and approximately 400 seasonal staff.  The seasonal staff includes box office, ushers, gatekeepers, housekeeping and grounds, production and security. The culture at the Ravinia Festival emphasizes collaboration, community and a sense of family that includes board, staff, volunteer organizations and attendees.  Ravinia's annual budget is $50 million.

Ravinia Festival’s Vision

We believe in the power of shared, live music experiences to inspire ourselves and the world.

Ravinia’s principle goals are:

• To present performances of a full range of classical music in its open-air Pavilion and enclosed recital halls, by the world’s greatest composers and musicians, along with a variety of other kinds of light classical, jazz and popular music;
• To maintain a beautiful park that is welcoming to all and attractive to families in which the music experience is enhanced by a beautiful environment and excellent dining opportunities;
• To enable gifted young performers to study under great teachers and perform in concert settings; and
• To develop broader and more diverse audiences for classical music through education and community engagement programs and by maintaining affordable ticket prices

Equal Opportunity Employer

As an equal opportunity employer, Ravinia strongly believes that diversity of backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives is essential to our success, and we strive to create and sustain an equitable and inclusive environment for all our employees. Ravinia does not discriminate on the basis of any protected status under federal, state, or local law. We encourage individuals of all identities and abilities to apply.

The Development Intern: Operations provides support to the Development Department at Ravinia as an important member of the Operations team. This position plays a role in assisting with Ravinia’s annual fund campaign, gift entry and processing, providing exceptional customer service to Ravinia’s 4,700 individual donors, planning and executing events, and playing a vital role in the VIP Donor Concierge Service assisting Ravinia’s most generous donors. The position offers an opportunity to gain valuable experience in fundraising, donor relations, and day-to-day operations of a world renowned non-profit arts organization.

Duties and Responsibilities:

• Provide outstanding customer service and assistance with dining reservations, ticketing, and other requests to all of Ravinia’s donors, during the donor ticket request periods April-June, and throughout the summer.
• Assist in tracking the Donor Concierge ticket and dining reservation waitlist in a very detailed manner for sold out concerts.
• Answer a high volume of phone calls and email inquiries from current and prospective donors during the donor ticket request periods April-June, and throughout the summer. (Phone calls and email can exceed upwards of 75 per day per team member.)
• Learn and utilize Ravinia’s three software platforms to perform various core job functions such as reserving, selling, and exchanging tickets; placing dining reservation requests; processing donations; and tracking waitlists.
• Represent the Donor Concierge Service in the utmost professional and respectful manner to ensure the highest level of service for Opus and Guarantor donors on the phone, in Ravinia’s restaurants, and throughout the park.
• Collaborate with the Manager, Donor Relations and Operations and the Manager, Annual Fund Campaign in planning various VIP events including but not limited to tracking event RSVPs using The Raiser’s Edge, designing invitations, assembling event materials, generating event correspondence, and event execution.
• Assist the Manager, Donor Relations and Operations with donor research projects aimed at increasing the number of annual donors.
• Use data in the ticketing system SRO to analyze donor benefits usage for highly attended concerts.
• Update donor records in all three of Ravinia’s software platforms as needed and maintain accurate contact information.
• Provide assistance to the box office on public sales day by assisting patrons by phone.
• Assist in concert duty coverage.
• Special projects and other duties as assigned, including providing administrative support for the Development department as needed, and assisting at various department events throughout the year such as season previews, donor receptions, annual Music Matters benefit, and Women’s Board Gala. (Events may be held virtually, in accordance with federal, state, and local COVID-19 regulations to prioritize the safety of our patrons, artists, and staff.)

Knowledge and Skills Required:

• Superior customer service, communication, and interpersonal skills
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Capability to multitask and manage multiple projects simultaneously
• Ability to quickly learn and then utilize various technology platforms
• Ability to problem solve quickly, calmly, and effectively in a variety of stressful situations
• Comfortable working with high level donors face-to-face
• Excellent listening skills
• Extremely detail oriented
• Capability to work well in a team environment across departments as well as independently
• Proficient in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint
• Experience working in databases (The Raiser’s Edge is a plus, but not required)
• Proficiency in Zoom Meetings and related video conferencing tools
• Passion for Ravinia’s mission, particularly music and music education

Education and Experience:

• Some college or higher preferred
• Experience in customer service, fundraising position preferred

Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position.

• Reports to: Manager, Donor Relations and Operations
• This is a full time position to start in February and go through the end of the season in late September.
• Must be available to work evenings and weekends outdoors (40+ hours per week) during the summer season.
• This position can be partially remote but in-person, in-office work is required (especially on concert days).
• Hourly wage
• This is a valued position that contributes heavily to the success of the Development Department and Operations team.

To apply, please attach a cover letter (Upload as a PDF under the Additional Attachments option) and resume. 

Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis. We encourage you to apply as soon as possible.

All hiring is contingent upon receiving an approved background check.

No phone calls or emails, please.

All your information will be kept confidential according to EEO guidelines.