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Development Associate

Location: In-house

Reports to: Managing Director of Development

Grade: Exempt 

Overview

The Empower Illinois Development Associate holds a unique role–managing both a traditional portfolio of donor prospects and working in a support role to school advancement teams. Each of these duties will intersect with each other as you form relationships among the school and donor communities all moving toward obtaining organizational fundraising and engagement goals.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities

Operate your portfolio through high-engagement, proactive moves management 

• • Daily outreach to donors in various stages of the donation life-cycle, through activities such as thank you calls, renewal requests, and/or key stewardship updates;
• • Manage toward incrementally increasing financial goals;
• • Create donor and school portfolios infrastructure by tracking data, engagement, and moves management, among other key performance indicators using Zendesk and Salesforce; 
• • Work with leadership on the Development and Communications Teams to build out communications for your donors and schools
• • Collaborate with the Customer Success Team to provide donors a smooth experience during the donation process
• • Support donors with tactical donation questions including how to donate and why donating is beneficial to schools
• • Work jointly with Regional Managers to support specific schools and their donor base 

 

Liaise with the Customer Success Team 

• • Provide technical and customer assistance with inbound and outbound donor calls;
• • When duties allow, assist Customer Success Team in outreach to schools and families;
• • Utilize both Zendesk and Salesforce to create a database footprint of donor outreach and interaction. 

 

Support activities to steward and grow a base of leadership stakeholders 

• • Help identify, research, cultivate, and solicit community leaders and philanthropists for the Tax Credit Scholarship Program and Empower Illinois Leadership Council, the organization’s major donor stakeholder society;
• • Research people connections, ask for referrals (and enlisting others to do the same), and efficiently enlist the best and brightest to our mission;
• • Help prepare background research, give histories and facilitate story collection for proposals for five-figure and above philanthropic support for tax credit scholarships and Empower Illinois 501c3 operations;
• • Help facilitate captivating donor events 

 

Support schools through individual and group trainings and creative fundraising tools 

• • Work with the Development and Communications Teams to provide meaningful training and relevant resources to school network and civic leaders relative to fundraising, donor relations, and marketing and communications;
• • Build lasting relationships with and between schools that deepen the EI community;
• • Activate schools around our key initiatives around policy and advocacy.

 

Manage acknowledgment letters for all C3 and Employer Match donations 

Education and Experience

• • Excellent communication and presentation skills.
• • Strong writing, research and editing skills.
• • Self-starter, with ability to multi-task, prioritize and manage time effectively.
• • Background in non-profit development, marketing, or customer service preferred.
• • Familiar with CRM systems and practices. Salesforce background strongly preferred.
• • College degree or equivalent. Education is considered to include both the formal/ traditional, as well as learning from life and experience. 

 

Skills and Knowledge

• • Excellent interpersonal skills and customer service orientation.
• • Collaborative work style and ability to work in a team environment.
• • Excellent communication skills and the ability to organize, prioritize, and follow up.
• • Ability to establish and maintain effective relationships with donors, constituents, co-workers, and the general public.
• • Ability to present information effectively in written and oral form.
• • Proficiency in Google Docs or Microsoft Teams, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and CRMs (preferably Salesforce).
• • Mature, professional manner.
• • Self-directed with a demonstrated ability to manage their own time and work.
• • Able to work a range of hours between 8am-6pm CT, with availability for occasional work outside regular business hours.

 

Empower Illinois is an Equal Opportunity Employer, M/F/H/V.