Development Officer

Responsibilities

The Development Officer position is a balance of individual responsibilities and shared ones. This person will manage some of the core pieces of North Star Fund’s fundraising. The person in this role will be responsible for building trusting relationships with a wide range of community members. They'll also work with other team members to advance development team projects. Responsibilities are:

Planning and Strategy Development

• Collaborate with the Managing Director of Development to support and execute annual fundraising strategy (whose key components are individual donors and foundations).
• Support the board on fundraising strategies, as needed.
• Collaborate on the development of annual goals and budgets to achieve growth and retention targets.

Major Donor and Institutional Fundraising

• Maintain and expand current supporter base while overseeing donor prospect research and cultivation.
• Develop and manage innovative solicitation campaigns, including year-end appeals, to engage new individuals within the region’s philanthropic community.
• Develop and oversee donor prospect research and cultivation.
• Maintain a detailed fundraising calendar with clear deadlines, in collaboration with the Development Team.
• Coordinate the submission of grant proposals and grant reports (and accompanying materials for both).
• Write and submit compelling grant proposals and reports to secure funding.
• Collaborate with our Donor Organizing Team to support strategy for new and existing donors to ensure optimal donor journey.

Independent Portfolio Management

• Successfully manage a portfolio of donors and prospects at various levels.
• Support the executive director in their portfolio management.
• Work with the Development Team to lead all individual giving efforts, including appeals, proposals, and fundraising events, in support of and in coordination with centralized development efforts.

Donor Outreach and Stewardship

• Oversee donor outreach communications, and lead engagement with major donors and foundations including periodic updates, mailings and acknowledgments.
• Plan and supervise donor events as needed to enhance donor involvement in North Star Fund activities.
• Create strategies that positively and respectfully engage donors and solicit gifts from individuals with diverse backgrounds, interests and experiences.

Events Management

• Work with the Development Team and Donor Organizing Team to design donor engagement events.
• Facilitate conversations around brainstorming and implementing event plans and concepts.
• Support the coordination of webinars, online events and in-person events.
• Collaborate with internal and external teams to manage annual fundraising events (such as our signature community gala) including stewardship of current and prospective sponsors, vendor management and related tasks.

Supporting Strong Organizational Culture

• Contribute to a safe, healthy, collaborative, and productive team culture.
• Attend and contribute to internal staff and team meetings as well as retreats when needed.
• Engage in and help to shape the organization's strategic planning.

Required Skills

• At least three to five years of experience in development, with a focus on individual giving
• Extensive knowledge and understanding of best practices in individual giving, including cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies
• Experience with grant writing and event management
• Proficiency in project management, precise with good attention to detail, and able to quickly understand and remember details about donors and projects to which they are assigned
• Well-organized, capable of establishing priorities, juggling multiple relationships and tasks, and meeting deadlines
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Excellent reading comprehension and analytical skills
• Strong organizational abilities with a collaborative approach to all parties that reflects our values
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build and maintain relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders
• Experience managing cross-department work and teams outside of formal reporting lines
• A collaborative and flexible working style
• Deep social justice values and a demonstrated commitment to the practice of racial justice, inclusion, and community-driven change
• Fluency with related concepts around intersectionality, structural, institutional, and internalized racism
• Proficiency with standard office software (such as Word, Excel or Google Worksuite), video conferencing platforms (Zoom or Meet), and internal communications platforms (Slack, Microsoft Teams)
• Familiarity with data management systems (Salesforce or Airtable)

Desired Skills

• Excellent facilitation and presentation skills
• Knowledge of grassroots organizing led by communities of color
• Resilience, flexibility, humility, self-awareness, and a sense of humor