Development Operations Intern

The Development Operations Intern 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 5,000+ individual donors, planning and executing events, and playing a vital role in the VIP Donor Ticketing 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.

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 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, 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 Audience View to analyze donor benefits usage for highly attended concerts.

Update donor records in Ravinia’s CRM (Audience View) 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.

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

Extremely detail-oriented

Capability to work well in a team environment across departments as well as independently

Proficient in G-Suite applications

Experience working in databases (Audience View is a plus, but not required)

Experience with project management software ( 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

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:

Development Operations Coordinator

This is a full-time position starting in January and running 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).

$16.50 Hourly wage

This is a valued position that contributes heavily to the success of the Development Department and Operations team.