Advancement Capacity Building VISTA

About Idaho Youth Ranch

Idaho Youth Ranch strengthens the lives of Idaho youth and families through residential treatment, outpatient counseling, equine therapy, adoption services, crisis shelter, and workforce development. The Advancement Department supports this mission through marketing, fundraising, grants, volunteer services, and community engagement initiatives that ensure sustainable statewide impact.

Position Summary

Idaho Youth Ranch is seeking an Advancement Capacity Building VISTA to serve a one year AmeriCorps VISTA term focused on building long term organizational capacity across the Advancement Department. This opportunity is ideal for recent college graduates and early career professionals interested in nonprofit leadership, organizational systems, fundraising infrastructure, and cross functional strategy.

The VISTA member will design and enhance internal systems, documentation, and workflows that strengthen marketing, development, volunteer services, events, grants, and internal communication functions. This position is strictly capacity building in nature and does not include direct service, donor solicitation, event execution, or volunteer management.

Key Responsibilities

Strengthen Organizational Infrastructure Across Advancement Functions

• Conduct organizational assessments to identify gaps or inefficiencies in Advancement systems.
• Develop and refine standard operating procedures, internal workflows, templates, and process documentation across marketing, fundraising, volunteer services, events, and grants.
• Build shared resource libraries, process maps, timelines, and documentation that support operational clarity and continuity.
• Design tracking and reporting systems using platforms such as Office 365, CRM systems, and Excel.
• Create shared calendars, intake systems, and internal request processes to improve coordination.
• Produce sustainability tools including guides, toolkits, and structured documentation that staff can maintain beyond the one year service term.

Expand Community Engagement Capacity

• Map potential community partners, outreach channels, engagement opportunities, and event platforms to strengthen public visibility.
• Develop outreach templates, messaging guides, and partnership intake systems to ensure consistent communication.
• Create scalable event planning infrastructure including checklists, communication frameworks, staffing guides, and post event documentation templates.
• Design volunteer engagement infrastructure such as role descriptions, onboarding materials, communication guides, and recognition frameworks.
• Build a Partner Engagement Toolkit with shared databases, calendars, templates, and communication documents to support long term outreach efforts.

Strengthen Resource Development Capacity

• Conduct research to identify prospective donors, funders, foundations, corporate partners, and grant makers aligned with the organization’s mission.
• Develop grant readiness infrastructure including narrative libraries, case statement templates, data repositories, document storage systems, and tracking calendars.
• Create fundraising infrastructure such as stewardship calendars, acknowledgment templates, sponsorship frameworks, and segmented messaging outlines.
• Support development of digital fundraising systems by organizing dashboards, documentation, and engagement toolkits.
• Produce sustainability documentation that institutionalizes processes for future Advancement staff.

Advance Internal Communication and Cross Functional Collaboration

• Assess existing internal communication channels and identify opportunities to improve coordination across teams.
• Develop shared update systems, meeting templates, document organization structures, and internal communication calendars.
• Create cross functional onboarding materials outlining roles, expectations, and workflows across Advancement functions.
• Design structured processes for cross team information sharing, including intake forms, briefing templates, and collaborative planning workflows.
• Ensure all communication systems are documented and sustainable beyond the VISTA term.

Benefits of AmeriCorps VISTA Service

• Living allowance provided through AmeriCorps
• Education award or end of service stipend upon successful completion of the one year term
• Professional development and training opportunities
• Eligibility for certain federal hiring benefits

Impact

By strengthening systems across marketing, fundraising, grants, volunteer services, events, and internal communications, the Advancement Systems VISTA will help Idaho Youth Ranch increase efficiency, improve coordination, and build sustainable infrastructure that supports youth and families across Idaho.