Development Associate

Development Associate 

FT, $23.25-$25.25/hour + excellent benefits, see amherstsurvival.org/jobs for full job description, benefits info, and more.

Position Summary: The Development Associate is responsible for assisting the development program of the Amherst Survival Center, ensuring that the organization has the financial resources needed to fulfil its mission in accordance with the revenue goals in the annual budget; and doing so with a fundraising approach that lifts our collective responsibility, community capacity, shared humanity, and dignity of all. The Development Department’s primary focus is individual and business/organizational giving, including annual giving, major giving, planned giving, fundraising events, and sponsorship.  The Development Associate assists with the implementation and assessment of the Center’s development strategies, working closely with the Development Manager and Development Committee in the execution of the development plan.    

Hours/Classification: This is a full-time (40 hours), non-exempt (hourly) position. Schedule is generally  

M-F. Occasional evening/weekend hours required for special events.  

Direct Report: The Development Associate reports to the Development Manager.  

Essential Duties and Responsibilities: 

Development Support (~95%) 

Process donations including counting/recording cash and check donations, donation entry, context notes for personalization, and follow up tasks. Maintain a high standard of data accuracy. 

Facilitate timely and accurate donor acknowledgement including generating standard and personalized thank you letters/receipts, notes, scheduling acknowledgements, and updating donor records. 

Assist with donor stewardship by researching and updating basic donor information, compiling relevant reports, making donor thank you calls, and related tasks. 

Assist with sponsor solicitation and recognition, including development of materials, correspondence, tracking sponsorships and benefits, and acknowledging sponsors.  

Produce eye-catching collateral materials such as sponsor recognition posters, infographics, emails, social media graphics, and posts. 

Develop, implement, and maintain effective system(s) for collecting and organizing content such as photos, stories and quotes. 

Support Development Manager with internal and external communications. Prepare and edit correspondence, presentations, and reports.   

Provide support for special events including preparation, day of logistics and follow-up tasks.  

Represent the Amherst Survival Center at development related events, providing information, engaging stakeholders, and following up on relevant tasks.  

Support Development Manager with various special projects as assigned. 

General (~5%) 

Manage participant and office mail.   

Greet, engage, and assist people in the admin area (donors, volunteers, visitors, and participants).  

Participate actively in full staff meetings, team meetings, and individual supervision meetings. 

Complete general administrative and program support duties as assigned. 

Represent the Amherst Survival Center with community stakeholders as assigned.   

Other reasonable duties as assigned by the Development Manager, Executive Director, or designee.  

Additional responsibilities: 

Demonstrate professionalism at all times, both verbally and in writing when representing the Amherst Survival Center, including appreciating and supporting those you work with, showing respect to all ASC participants, demonstrating professional conduct, acting with honesty and fairness in all of your dealings with others, proactively addressing conflict in the Center as it arises. 

Approach your work with an attitude of continuous improvement. This involves continually examining processes to discover and eliminate problems in order to improve participant satisfaction and to enhance program effectiveness. 

Play an active role as part of the Amherst Survival Center team to develop organizational structures and policies, and ensure all program areas fulfill the Center’s mission, including playing an active role in the Center’s justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion efforts. Participate in intentional learning opportunities, including a focus on understanding and dismantling institutional racism and building cultural competency.  

Working Conditions: Position primarily works indoors, with some outdoor exposure. Frequent typing, writing, talking on phone, and talking in person. Frequent sitting, walking, standing. Some use of stairs, lifting and carrying. The Center is a fast-paced environment which can be crowded and noisy.  

Qualifications: 

Required Qualifications 

Minimum 3 years work experience.  

Minimum 2 years closely related experience, including administrative/office, non-profit administration, executive assistant, development, or communications roles.  

Well-developed and demonstrated organizational skills.  

Outstanding attention to detail. 

Strong written and verbal communication skills.  

Outstanding customer service and relationship building skills.  

An eye for design and graphic presentation of information.  

Experience with and strong attention to confidentiality of private information.  

Ability to plan and track project components, plan time to accomplish tasks across projects, initiate follow-up and coordinate multiple parties and work project through to completion.  

Strong computer skills required, including proficiency in Microsoft Office (word and excel), and ability to quickly and accurately enter data and run reports in database.  

Valid driver’s license and ability to be insured under agency auto insurance policy.  

Strong appreciation for the organization’s mission, values and approach, with a strong commitment to working with and supporting all members of the Amherst Survival Center community and ensuring the fair and equitable distribution of goods.   

Preferred Qualifications: 

Prior experience with basic desktop publishing (e.g. Canva) preferred.  

Prior experience with/general proficiency with a CRM database preferred.  

Strong research and data analysis skills. 

Prior experience with and proficiency using Microsoft 365/SharePoint and Google Applications preferred.  

Preference for candidates who bring additional skills, capacity, and perspective that strengthen our ability to meet our mission such as any of the following: language proficiency in addition to English; lived experience with food insecurity; lived experience with or deep understanding of the impacts of racism; community engagement; experience working on food justice issues; experience working within organizations on diversity, equity, and inclusion; collaborative leadership, and/or other relevant skills.   

Language Proficiency:  

Fluency (written and verbal) in English required.  

While working proficiency in other languages is not a qualification for this role, the Amherst Survival Center does offer a bilingual differential for employees with professional proficiency/fluency in Spanish  Mandarin, Portuguese, Haitian Creole, or other priority language. 

The Amherst Survival Center is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to racial equity and social justice and make a particular effort to recruit people of color to apply for open positions. We employ the best qualified individuals without regard to race, color, religion/religious creed, national origin, ancestry, age, genetic information, sex, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, disability or military status.