Christopher E. Bulbulia

adx7pt@r.postjobfree.com • 240-***-****

www.linkedin.com/in/chris-bulbulia-arts-management

*** ****** **., **, ***. 201, Washington, D.C.

Summary

Professional with a track record of success in designing and launching highly engaging outreach and fundraising operations, which have consistently skyrocketed audience/student engagement; created volumes of new community partnerships; and renewed past donors giving. Skilled in building and leveraging partnerships with expertise in board and membership building; and a decade of experience in comprehensive leadership in strategic planning; grant writing; communications; public relations; marketing; and partnership/donor stewardship.

Technical Proficiencies

Marketing:

Adobe Creative Suite, Microsoft Office Suite, DSLR Video/Photography/Editing, Tableau, EMMA, Constant Contact, MailChimp, Salsa, Higher Logic, Cison, Google Ad Words & Display Ads, Hootsuite & more.

Fundraising:

Salesforce, Tessitura, Salesforce, Asana, Process Donation, WealthEngine, DataArts profiles, Foundation Directory, MobileCause, CharityAuctionsToday, BiddingForGood, IndieGoGo, Kickstarter & more.

Career Experience

The Solutions Group March 2022 - Present

DevOps Manager; and Remote and Onsite IT Support Specialist plus Cloud Services & Design Editing

Develops vendor relationships & monitors satisfaction, via direct servicing and assigning of technician workloads, ensuring proper diagnostics and audits prior to client delivery. Oversees the training of users, and the installation & testing of technology systems onsite and remotely; while maintaining detailed documentation and timely invoicing.

●Supervises the implementation, deployment, and integration of solutions, taking responsibility for delivery.

●Applies security controls as well as backup and disaster recovery procedures.

●Serves as a point of escalation for advanced/time sensitive issues.

●Monitors project workflows, ensuring finished project meets quality and reliability standards.

●Supports website development & multi-disciplinary design, for niche, multimedia storytelling projects.

Jubilee Housing, Inc. April 2021 - February 2022

Director of Development, Institutional Advancement (IA)

Led day-to-day responsibility for Jubilee’s development strategy and outreach. Cultivated and stewarded individual, foundation, and corporate donor relationships. Served as an external face of Jubilee to foundation, government, and corporate donors; and major individual donors, along with the VP of Institutional Advancement and the CEO.

●Developed and monitored program budgets in conjunction with the CEO and VP of IA.

●Co-created annual development plan and implementation strategy to meet growing $3M+ financial goals.

●Identified, cultivated, and stewarded past and new high-potential individual and corporate donors

●Envisioned and executed over 20+ donor and potential donor events and tours, including a sold-out gala evening.

●Developed and implemented multimedia communications to drive donor engagement / thought leadership.

●Drafted grants, letters, memos and e-mails on behalf of President/CEO and Board members to donors.

●Supervised site visits with funders, assisting program managers with pre-visit preparation and presentations.

●Co-managed annual fundraising calendar, timelines, and portfolio, coordinating upcoming deadlines and the gathering of data for pending funder reports on over 70 existing grant relationships.

Sticky Rice DC & Sing Sing Karaoke Palace, Washington, D.C. January 2019 – April 2021

General Manager

Increased visibility and business development by leading the creation of engaging digital marketing materials as well as print, e-marketing and multimedia advertising content. Fostered relationships through engaging social media and direct responses to inquiries via phone, email, and sales promotions. Hired qualified staff, directing onboarding and in-depth training. Stewards customer service excellence in managers and staff. Oversees COG to ROI dynamic.

●Created volumes of paid/in-kind partnerships with local non-profits, corporations and government agencies.

●Overhauled b2c service excellence, focusing on live/automated interactions via text msg and social media.

●Leveraged catering sales and daily themed programming to deliver consistent in-person traffic/revenue.

●Increased reservations by 50%+ & karaoke sales by 70%+ in 2019 through marketing/promotions.

●Successfully paid off $10K in vendor debt in less than a year through increased payments/account balancing.

●Managed 70% COVID lay off of staff--resulting in an 80% increase of sales between March and August 2020

●Supervised the opening of a second location in September 2020 to accommodate customer demand.

Funk Parade, Washington, D.C. January 2014 – May 2019

Fundraising, Partnerships, and Public Relations Organizer

Key development role in the creation of the festival, launching artistic programming; neighborhood advocacy strategies; community partnerships; and multimedia storytelling for donation and media purposes. Directed grass-roots marketing and fundraising campaigns that included door-to-door signature collection; press editorial procurement; successful media partnerships; and seed donations from Lee’s Flower Shop; Ben’s Chili Bowl; and the International Order of Odd Fellows.

●Curated panel discussions, festival events, street performances, parade routing and visual art installations along 13 closed blocks off of U St. NW corridor, contracting 1000+ artists, technicians and media over 6 years.

●Developed neighborhood organization and business relationships that led to funding and festival programming.

●Acted as a media sponsor; master of ceremonies; and main stage manager in tandem directly impacting growth of attendance that grew from 50,000 in the first year to 80,000 by sixth year.

Blue Room Music Studio, Maryland & Virginia July 2018 – January 2019

Public Relations and Partnerships Manager

Authored new press releases, coordinated events, built new partnerships, and launched new social media and digital advertising to ensure the success of a rebranding of creative services and engineering courses. Steered the negotiation of cost-effective terms for studio bookings, collaborative programming, and community education.

●Spearheaded a website redesign which included directly overseeing the establishment of a new theme, narrative, graphics, and a layout which incorporated client reviews.

●Led the successful execution of the SEO plan which utilized website analytics, keywords, multimedia, and user accessibility to increase traffic, web session duration, CTR, and ROI drivers.

Step Afrika!, Washington, D.C. December 2017 – June 2018

Development and Marketing Manager

Commanded full leadership over the creation and establishment of content for educational programming, in-house advertising, and local and national press coverage needs. Executed mass marketing and fundraising partnerships, including ticketed panel discussions; live interviews; and radio broadcasts. Designed and updated global tour calendars, scheduling multimedia content opportunities, while equipping multimedia content contractors with programming and b-roll.

●Incorporated media and corporate partnerships alongside impactful story-telling, resulting the creation of new digital programming; perfect for educational purposes and promotional content.

●Achieved sold-out sales for global events, including company’s first three-week in-house ticketed production.

●Utilized contemporary video, photo and public relations’ messaging on Print Materials; E-Marketing; Facebook; and Instagram in tandem to rapidly increase membership; attendance; and organic new followers by 11,000/yr.

●Secured 10+ impactful editorial and feature article coverage, including live show previews and raving reviews in print and digital media through persuasive communication and public relations releases.

Congressional Chorus (Family of Five Choruses), Washington, D.C. August 2013 – April 2017

Director of Development, Marketing, and Production

Demonstrated continued success during the creation of massive income and audience attendance growths. Reached out to new audiences using online, radio, and print advertising, direct mail marketing, social media, and a weekly e-newsletter. Drastically sky-rocketed funding from Institutional, Board Members and Individual Donor clientele.

●Executed the rebranding of the organization through government recognition; multimedia story telling campaigns; high-quality content creation; donor engagement events; and increased media attention.

●Adapted Capacity Building plans to focus on the recruitment of full-time interns; board members; and the creation of a new volunteer database, and monthly public engagement events.

●Jump-started new, sustained & lybnt donor support, increasing contributed income from $65K to $119K+.

●Launched highly engaging marketing campaigns, increasing concert attendance from 10K to 70K via government partnerships; direct-mailings; online, radio, print advertising and editorials; and new social media platforms, resulting in 20+ impactful concert previews, reviews, and articles.

●Supervised the amplification and high-quality multi-channel AV recording of all ticketed; and grass-roots concerts, utilized for grant samples; and historical storytelling for a multi-generational family of choruses.

Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, Washington, D.C. June 2011 – August 2013

Development Assistant – Corporate and Foundation Relations/Institutional Giving (CFR)

Directed the review and launch of 450+ corporate, foundation, and government solicitation campaigns for corporate, government and foundation grants, and direct sponsorships for 15 Programming Departments. Ensured full compliance with a five-division Development Budget while rapidly reporting low funds. Drove communication between multiple, cross-functional teams and departments to create a full-scope approach to all progress.

●Researched, wrote and assembled 60+ successful grant proposals, including five through seven figure gifts, which were critical funding points for annual departmental support and multi-year sustainability.

●Selected as assistant to the Director, tasked to review all grants compiled within the department (180+ per year), verifying grammar, accuracy and adherence to qualitative/quantitative standards, prior to Directorial submission.

●Acted as department liaison, and VIP scheduler, coordinating departmental meetings and donor engagement.

●Gained comprehensive training in fundraising, marketing, HR, and multimedia through the translation of organizational core messages and goals into engaging video and photo storytelling.

Education

Bachelor of Arts; Major: Theatre, Minors: Sociology, and Abrahamic Religions; Grinnell College, Grinnell, IA, 2010

Management Certificate & Multimedia Internship, DeVos Institute of Arts Management at the Kennedy Center, 2011

Certificate, Management Concepts, Detecting and Preventing Fraud on Federal Grant Projects, 2021

Awards & Honors

Internship Supervisor Awardee, The Washington Center, Summer 2015, Winter 2015, Fall 2016

Full-Tuition Leadership Scholarship, Posse Foundation, January 2006 – July 2010

Philanthropic Affiliations

Festival Community Partnerships, Home Rule Music & Film Preservation Foundation, Feb. 2022 – Present

International Order of Odd Fellows (IOOF), Columbia Lodge #10, Noble Grand (President), Jan. 2023 – Present

IOOF, Columbia Lodge #10, Vice Grand & Grants Committee Chair, Dec. 2021 – Present

Class of 2010: Class Fund Coordinator, Grinnell College, August 2015 – Present

FY24 General Operating Support (GOS) Panelist - DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, Spring 2023

FY23 GOS Panelist: Service Organizations – DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities, Spring 2022

Alumni 10 Year Reunion Committees for Classes of 2010 & 2011, Grinnell College, August 2019 – May 2021

FY18 Operating Support Grant Panelist and Lead Reader, Arts Council of Fairfax County, Spring 2017

FY16 Selection Committee for AIM Award, Center for Nonprofit Advancement, October 2015 – June 2016

FY16 Individual Music Grant Panelist, DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, Spring 2016

Board Member, Raise Your City, March 2013 – June 2017

Board Member, Afromoda Dance Theatre, August 2013 – January 2016

Contact this candidate