Hiring: Development Associate – Regional Environmental Council

Job Title: Development Associate

Compensation: DOE, $36,000-43,680 annual salary, and a benefits package commensurate with work in a small nonprofit, including health & dental insurance, 13 paid holidays, 2 weeks’ vacation, 3 personal days, and 12 sick days.
Hours: Full time, Monday – Friday, 9am-5pm, occasional nights and weekends required.
Start Date: ASAP
Supervision: Position reports to the Development Director

The Regional Environmental Council, Inc. (REC) is a nonprofit food justice organization with a 50-year history of working for environmental sustainability and social justice in Worcester and Central Massachusetts. Our mission is to bring people together to create a just food system and to build healthy, sustainable, and equitable communities in Worcester, MA and beyond. We pursue this mission through advocacy and programs which include supporting the development and flourishing of community and school gardens, youth-led urban farming, and farmers’ markets and mobile markets.

DESCRIPTION
The Development Associate is responsible for assisting in the execution of the goals, strategies, and tactics for the REC’s general fundraising and capital campaign efforts. The associate will support the fundraising and operations of the Development offices’ annual work plan. We are seeking candidates who are outgoing, self-motivated, highly organized, can manage multiple tasks with competing deadlines, and can work well both independently and in a team environment. Fundraising and general nonprofit experience is desirable but not required. Strong verbal and written communication skills and high levels of organization and attention to detail are a must.
Detailed responsibilities include, but not limited to:

Gift Processing and Donor Stewardship
● Enter gifts and pledges into donor database (Kindful)
● Generate and distribute donor acknowledgement letters and gift receipts
● Assist with tracking donor stewardship activities
● Respond to donor inquiries

Fundraising Activities
● Work with the Communications Associate on direct mail, email, and social media content
● Generate mailing lists for publications and direct-mail distribution lists
● Coordinate production and printing/mailing of direct mail appeals
● Track and report on appeal performance

Database Administration (Kindful)
● Perform data entry in accordance with accepted best practices
● Perform routine database maintenance (ex: duplicate records searches)
● Keep donor records and information up to date

Reporting/Reconciliation
● Produce and reconcile monthly financial reports
● Generate fundraising reports for Development and Executive Directors, Board, Fund Development and Capital Campaign Committees
● Provide documentation and reports for yearly financial audit and annual report

Prospect Research and Tracking
● Conduct prospect research, keep records, and provide reports to the Development and Executive Directors
● Assist with tracking cultivation activities and entering notes into donor database

Grants
● Process grants payments, generate acknowledgement letters, and complete acceptance forms
● Maintain grants calendar, track proposals, reports, and donor commitments in grant management system (Grant Hub)
● Conduct grants research and prospecting, and support grants team in packaging and submitting proposals and reports
● Create agendas and take minutes of Grant Team meetings

Events
● Assist with planning and promoting the following annual events and projects: REC Annual Meeting, Plant Sale,
Earth Day Cleanups, Fall Farm Party, Farmers Markets, and other events as assigned.
● Track event sponsorships, process payments, send invoices and acknowledgement letters

Other
● Organize and attend meetings and record and distribute minutes of the Fund Development Committee, event committees, and other committees as assigned.
● Maintain and organize online fundraising folders (Dropbox).
● Work as part of a team to perform the duties of the Development Department broadly defined and to support the mission, goals, and activities of the REC.
● Stay up to date with trends in fundraising through participation in seminars, webinars, and professional
conferences
● Other duties as assigned

Job Skills and Requirements
The position requires the following skills and experience:
● Minimum High School diploma or equivalent with a minimum of 1 year of experience in an office setting
● Excellent people and communication skills, both written and verbal
● Ability to work both independently and in a team environment
● Comfortable interacting and establishing rapport with diverse community members via email, phone, and in person
● Experience and comfort with MS Office (Word, Excel, etc.), Google Apps (Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Drive, etc.)
● Experience and comfort with utilizing donor database and/or grants database desirable
● Experience with Dropbox, Adobe, MailChimp, and Asana is helpful
● Fundraising and event planning experience desirable
● Interest in and commitment to food/social justice desirable

HOW TO APPLY
Please send a cover letter and resume to: Tracy Andryc – Development Director, at tracy@recworcester.org. Include subject line: “Development Associate.” Applications will be accepted until this position is filled.

The REC is an equal opportunity employer committed to an inclusive workplace. People of color are strongly encouraged to apply. The REC does not discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment based on race, color, religion, national origin, age, gender, sex, ancestry, citizenship status, mental or physical disability, genetic information, sexual orientation, veteran, or military status.