Development Associate

Advocates For Children (AFC) is a dynamic social justice organization that strives to ensure a high-quality education for New York students who face barriers to academic success, focusing on students from low-income backgrounds. AFC works on behalf of children and youth who are at greatest risk of academic failure due to poverty, race, ethnicity, disability, homelessness, immigration status/limited English proficiency, or involvement in the child welfare or juvenile/criminal legal systems. We use uniquely integrated strategies to advance systemic reform, empower families and communities, and advocate for the educational rights of individual students. For more information on AFC, see www.advocatesforchildren.org.

JOB SUMMARY

AFC seeks a full-time Development Associate to become an integral member of our three-person team as we continue to develop and enhance AFC's fundraising capacity and grow our foundation, corporate and individual donor bases.

This position supports AFC's Development Department and is vital to the department's success in achieving AFC's annual fundraising goals. The Development Associate reports to the Director of Development (DOD) and works closely with the Assistant Director of Development (ADD). The position provides critical support for all fundraising efforts, including data management, grants management, gift administration, and special events. The qualified candidate will have first-rate communication, organization, analytical and strong technology skills, including experience using donor databases. The candidate must have the ability to work under deadline and be able to set and maintain priorities. The Development Associate should be a collegial team player who can also work independently to manage various projects and administrative systems simultaneously and thrives in a fast-paced, iterative environment. This is an entry-level position with substantial opportunity for growth and expansion of responsibilities.

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES

Data Management and Gift Administration: Act as primary administrator/manager of the organization's donor database and income tracking systems.

• Ensure all revenue (stock, cash, pledges, in-kind gifts, online credit card payments and electronic fund transfers) is tracked, processed and acknowledged in a timely manner and in accordance with established policies.
• Prepare data and run reports for the Development and Finance departments to ensure reconciliation of all donations, accuracy of data, and reporting.
• Analyze data to facilitate strategy and planning.
• Maintain various organizational/administrative documents for the department and collaborate with the Operations team on the annual audit.
  
  

Grants Management: Oversee grants management system for all government and foundation funders.

• Implement and maintain grants management system, including reporting deadlines and fulfillment.
• Assist in the preparation of government contracts and grant and reporting submissions.
  
  

Special Events and Campaigns: Assist with planning and execution of all Special Events and Campaigns.

• Provide administrative support for event production and campaigns including maintaining detailed records of all revenue and preparing mailing, guest and sponsorship lists.
• Create online donation portals for events and campaigns.
• Attend and provide necessary support at events.
• Work closely with Spring Benefit Event Planning Consultant to provide administrative support.
  
  

QUALIFICATIONS

• Ability to thrive in a mission-driven environment with strong values and culture; passionate commitment to AFC's mission, vision, and strategic growth goals. Please review AFC's work at www.advocatesforchildren.org.
• Bachelor's degree and 1-2 years of professional or volunteer work. Experience in fundraising a plus.
• Comfort using all Microsoft Office applications with proficiency in Excel required.
• Strong organizational skills and detail-oriented with the ability to prioritize work while meeting critical deadlines.
• Strong communication ability, particularly prompt and highly responsive with internal and external stakeholders.
• A self-starter who welcomes new challenges, comfortable taking initiative and bringing forward new ideas.
• Highly collaborative and able to work across teams.
• An imaginative, creative problem solver with the ability to think outside of the box.
• Ability to anticipate and satisfy internal (staff) and external (donor) needs.
• Experience/training with a donor/CRM database application (particularly Donor Perfect and/or Salesforce) is preferred.
• Desire to learn, both as an individual and as part of an organization, and apply diversity, equity, inclusion, and anti-racism principles.
• Strong writing ability is a plus
  
  

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

Candidates should submit a resume and optional cover letter highlighting why they are interested in this role at AFC and how their experience aligns with the Development Associate position, including any personal or professional experience that demonstrates your connection to the populations that AFC serves. This is a full-time position, with a salary in the $57,289 - $62,344 range, depending on experience, and includes a comprehensive benefits package.

AFC's current compensation package includes medical and dental insurance, with a plan option that covers full payment of medical plan premiums for staff and their qualified dependents. AFC has generous time-off policies that include 10 federal holidays, office closure between Christmas and New Year's Day, and 15 vacation days and 15 paid time off days in the first year of employment. AFC also currently offers a 403(b) plan with a fully vested employer match and coverage of the premium cost of life insurance, short-term disability insurance, and long-term disability insurance.

This position is expected to work at least 2 days a week in the office and remotely on the remaining days.

Due to a high volume of applicants, only complete applications from qualified candidates will be contacted. No phone calls please.

AFC is an affirmative action employer that actively seeks to recruit and retain a diverse staff and especially encourages applications from people of color, persons with disabilities, parents of persons with disabilities, persons of diverse sexual orientations, gender identities or gender expressions and persons of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds. AFC is committed to providing access, equal opportunity, and reasonable accommodation when requested by a qualified applicant or employee with a disability or other protected characteristic. The policy regarding requests for reasonable accommodation applies to all aspects of employment, including the application process. For more information and to request an accommodation, contact Human Resources at HR@advocatesforchildren.org.