Job Description
As L.A.'s premier performing arts destination, The Music Center convenes artists, communities, and ideas with the goal of deepening the cultural lives of every resident in Los Angeles County. The $70 million non-profit performing arts organization has three divisions: TMC Arts, TMC Ops and TMC Business Services, TMC Arts, The Music Center’s programming engine, provides year-round programming inside The Music Center’s four theatres, which include Walt Disney Concert Hall, Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Ahmanson Theatre and Mark Taper Forum; on Jerry Moss Plaza; outside at Gloria Molina Grand Park, a 12-acre adjacent green space; in schools and neighborhoods all over Los Angeles County; and on a digital platform called The Music Center Offstage. TMC Arts presents world-class dance with Glorya Kaufman Presents Dance at The Music Center, free and low-cost public concerts and events, as well as K–12 arts learning programs, workshops, performances, interactive experiences and special events. TMC Ops manages the theatres, the plaza and Grand Park, which comprise $2 billion in county assets, on behalf of the County of Los Angeles. TMC Business Services includes Advancement, Human Resources, Finance, Tech Services, and Marketing and Communications. The Music Center is also home to four renowned resident companies—Center Theatre Group, Los Angeles Master Chorale, LA Opera and LA Phil.
Position Summary:
Under the supervision of the institutional Giving Senior Director, the Fundraising and Advancement Intern is a collaborative, proactive, detail-oriented, and highly organized professional who provides essential support for the Advancement Department, with a focus on Institutional Giving strategies and projects. Institutional Giving includes foundation grants, government grants, corporate grants, and corporate sponsorships.
The Fundraising and Advancement Intern will learn industry standards and best practices for foundation, government, and corporate fundraising, with additional exposure to individual giving and special events. They will gain hands-on experience with identifying new funders, crafting and implementing fundraising strategies, and collaborating across departments including with programming, marketing, and operations teams. Additionally, the intern will gain insight into the innerworkings of one of Los Angeles’s premier cultural and civic institutions.
Our goal is for the intern to gain knowledge and hands-on skills related to fundraising activities, including proposals, stewardship, and research. The intern will receive an introduction to grant writing, gaining an understanding of the key elements required for grant proposal submissions, as well as an introduction to sponsorship proposal writing. In addition, as a large organization, we have many kinds of programming and fundraising strategies and will assign tasks that will help the intern to gain skills, knowledge, and experience in their chosen major or to prepare for their future career.
Key Responsibilities:
• Assist in preparing correspondence and presentations.
• Research new grants and potential donors, helping the team identify strategies for applications and outreach.
• Proofread grant proposals and other correspondence to ensure accuracy and clarity.
• Learn the key elements of successful grant proposals and fundraising requests, and assist in compiling supplemental materials, including artistic work samples, financial documents, and other necessary materials.
• Collaborate with various departments to gather program data for the Advancement Team, including Arts Learning impact data and TMC Arts performance data. Organize this information for grant proposals, design presentation slides, and contribute to the production of the annual At a Glance report.
• Help maintain grant deadline calendars and performance date schedules as needed.
• Assist in coordinating internal and external meetings, including scheduling appointments, preparing agendas and materials, setting up conference calls, arranging audio/video equipment, organizing catering and parking, taking minutes, and managing follow-ups.
• Provide on-site support at events.
• Attend Institutional Giving team meetings and other programming meetings as assigned, taking notes and documenting key discussions.
• Provide support for the Individual Giving and Special Events teams.
• Assist in compiling donor lists.
• Draft and proofread letters and other correspondence.
• Design or edit marketing and fundraising collateral.
• Offer support at performances and cultivation events.
• Perform other duties as assigned.
• Attend department-wide meetings.
Qualifications:
• Qualified candidates will possess a creative mindset and problem-solving skills and an ability to think critically.
• Strong project management and organizational skills are required, as well as the ability to effectively communicate information and ideas in a written and verbal format.
• The candidate must be willing to collaborate with all colleagues and have an interest in nonprofit administration, the performing arts and/or fundraising.
• Experience using MS Office Suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook) is required; working knowledge of the Adobe Creative Suite is a plus.
Eligibility Requirement:
This internship opportunity is intended for current undergraduate students who are actively enrolled in a degree program. Candidates who have already completed an undergraduate degree are not eligible for this internship.
Hourly Pay Rate: $17.87/hr
The intern will work approximately 25 hours per week from June through September 2025.
Internship candidates must: (a) reside in, or attend college within, Los Angeles County; and (b) be currently enrolled in a community college or four-year college/university program. Prospective graduates who will complete their undergraduate degree between May 1, 2025, and December 1, 2025, need not be currently enrolled at the time of the internship.
This internship is supported, in part, by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors through the Department of Arts and Culture’s Los Angeles Country Arts Internship Program.
Please submit a cover letter and resume. Incomplete submissions will not be considered.