Mid-America Arts Alliance Announces New Development Director
By Sarah Mote
Mid-America Arts Alliance is delighted to announce the promotion of Tabitha Dunham to the position of director of development.
Tabitha will now lead M-AAA’s development team, helping further strengthen our relationships with private donors, foundations, and other partners. We are honored to have her insights and leadership as part of M-AAA’s senior management team.
“Tabitha brings to the position her existing knowledge of our programs, belief in our mission, optimism, and skillful management of donor relationships making her the ideal person to guide our fundraising efforts into an exciting new chapter,” says Todd Stein, M-AAA’s president and CEO. “Under her guidance, M-AAA will continue to grow and thrive, ensuring arts and creativity remain a vital and vibrant part of our region.”
In her new role, she will lead M-AAA’s fundraising efforts, overseeing strategies to secure and sustain private and public funding for core programs and operations. As a key member of the senior management team, Tabitha will work closely with the president and CEO as well as M-AAA’s Board of Directors to cultivate meaningful partnerships, manage the development team, and ensure the organization meets its short- and long-term financial goals.
Tabitha has a long history in nonprofit development with expertise in building relationships with institutional funders, grant writing, prospect research, board service, and individual giving. Tabitha founded and continues to run Grants for the Arts, which helps small arts organizations across the US attain funding so that they can increase their impact in their communities. A founding board member of Agarita Chamber Players, Tabitha led its development efforts, increasing its budget from $25,000 to $700,000 in six years.
Before she joined M-AAA, Tabitha worked with the San Antonio Symphony (Texas) as their grants manager and Arts Incorporated (Nebraska) as their development coordinator.
Tabitha holds a bachelor of music and bachelor of music education from the University of Central Florida and a master of music from Oklahoma City University. She joined M-AAA in 2021 as a grant writer before her promotion in 2023 to grants and development specialist. Tabitha began her new role in October.
“I am honored to step into the role of director of development at Mid-America Arts Alliance,” says Tabitha. “Supporting the transformative power of the arts across our region has always been deeply meaningful to me, and I’m excited to build on our organization’s incredible legacy. This is an exciting opportunity to help strengthen the vital connections between M-AAA and the individuals, communities, and partners who believe in the power of the arts. I look forward to building new relationships and deepening existing ones as we work together to foster creativity, collaboration, and cultural growth across our region.”
We invite you to join us in congratulating her on this well-deserved promotion.