Development Associate

Museum Overview

The American LGBTQ+ Museum (ALM) preserves, investigates, and celebrates the dynamic histories and cultures of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer people, as well as those of the emergent and adjacent identities among our communities. Using exhibitions and programs, we seek to advance LGBTQ+ equality through the lens of social justice movements, including, but not limited to, race, gender, class, immigration, and disability.

In 2017, the Museum was founded by a group of activists and advocates for LGBTQ+ rights. The board and staff work to center racial, gender, and disability justice in all aspects of the organization. In 2021, a partnership was established with The New York Historical to house the Museum in a new wing currently under construction. In 2022-23 monthly public programs were launched, Ralph Appelbaum Associates was selected to lead the creation of the first tranche of exhibitions and digital experiences, and a $30-million comprehensive fundraising campaign was launched.

The Museum is building its home in New York City because of its cultural context, its historic significance in the LGBTQ+ rights movement, and its popularity as a tourist destination. However, its national scope for exhibitions and educational products will be reflected in a series of traveling exhibitions created with partners across the country, and a digital museum with born-digital and gamified experiences. We are planning a Late 2027 opening for the Museum’s galleries in New York.

The Museum aims to:

• Educate our communities on the evolving and complex narratives of LGBTQ+ history
• Provide a physical space for LGBTQ+ people that fosters individual dignity and unifies across generations and differences
• Support and inspire a new generation of activists to advance social justice

We’re not just raising money. We’re building a movement. We are building a museum that will power the activism of a rising generation and re-engage the fight for our right to live authentically in safety. With the creation of this Museum, we state clearly, and for future generations, that queer history is American history.

For more information about The American LGBTQ+ Museum, please visit the website.

Development Associate Position

We're looking for a Development Associate who’s ready to improve efficiency across fundraising strategies — someone who thinks about how to make their team more effective.

This role will oversee many areas of service: project/system management, event coordination, marketing/communications, customer service, problem solving, among other areas. As a start-up organization, our team oversees multiple responsibilities.

What You’ll Do

• Keep our development engine running. You’ll manage the logistics/schedule, data analysis/evaluation, and communications that power our fundraising efforts — ensuring precise task management, data accuracy, and open accountability through immediate actions and long-term planning.
• Be the first point of connection. Whether it’s a donor or guest, you’ll represent our organization with professionalism and warmth, helping ensure high donor retention rates, and responding to external requests promptly.
• Help us show up in the world. You’ll support the creation of fundraising materials, assist with website and social media updates, and create content for our campaigns and appeals.
• Support events that inspire. From behind-the-scenes planning to day-of execution, you’ll bring care and precision to events that cultivate and steward our donors.
• Steward the data that matters. You’ll manage our donor database with accuracy, process gifts, generate reports, provide timely prospect research, and ensure we’re learning from the numbers — all while honing your skills in a culture that values growth and collaboration.
• Be a trusted right hand. You’ll support the development team and Executive Director with the coordination and follow-through that make them effective on the front line.
• Help us leverage the board. You’ll help us ensure that our highly connected board is in sync with our development team.

The Details

Annual Giving

• Coordinate the Executive and Development Staff’s major gift portfolio activity, supporting portfolio meetings administratively, updating the portfolio, recording moves management touch points, preparing touchpoint resources, and proposal writing.
• Collaborate with the development and communications team to plan the annual giving calendar and themes.
• Assist in scheduling and coordinating multi-channel campaigns (email, direct mail, social media, etc.).
• Support the development campaigns and appeals, including drafting donor appeals, bi-weekly acknowledgment letters, campaign emails, and membership welcome packages and renewal notices.
• Coordinate and deliver membership benefits (e.g., swag, event invites, access codes). Support member stewardship through personalized outreach or perks.
• Track member sign-ups, renewals, and expirations, and maintain updated member info
• Review campaign performance metrics (open rates, response rates, revenue, retention, conversion rates).
• Compile impact stories, quotes, and data for use in appeals and campaign materials.
• Pull, clean, and segment donor and member lists for targeted appeals.
• Maintain and update our online giving platform, QGiv, including coordinating donation forms, campaign landing pages, and giving options.
• Support the creation of donor recognition lists or wall displays, if applicable.
• Create summary reports for internal team meetings or board updates.

Events

• Manage logistics, timelines, vendors, accessibility needs, and budgets for major donor events and cultivation gatherings, ensuring a seamless and welcoming experience.
• Manage guest experience, oversee invitation lists, RSVPs, and donor briefings, serving as a point of contact for VIPs, board members, and major donors before, during, and after events.
• Support donor tours and behind-the-scenes experiences.
• Support invitations, confirmations, on-site materials, and post-event stewardship, ensuring donor-facing communications reflect the Museum’s voice, values, and mission.
• Record attendance and insights in the CRM, support reporting and follow-up, and identify opportunities to deepen donor relationships based on event participation.

Corporate Sponsorship

• Coordinate the corporate sponsorship portfolio activity of the frontline fundraisers, leading portfolio meetings, updating the portfolio, strategizing on moves management touch points, preparing touchpoint resources, and proposal writing.
• Support the fulfillment of corporate sponsorship benefits, including both brand marketing and employee engagement activities.
• Monitor weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual data to achieve goals on prospects managed, donor touchpoints, and proposals submitted.

Grants

• Support the logistics of our grant portfolio by helping us produce winning applications and reports.
• Support the relationship building with our grantmakers by coordinating meetings and visits.

Development Operations

• Implementing policies, systems, and procedures, with a special emphasis on professionalism and ethical standards, for soliciting, acknowledging, tracking, and reporting gifts.
• Maintain all development technology, including the CRM, email system, museum website, and online giving tool. Ensuring correct tagging of donor types, campaign history, and segmentation attributes, and managing automations.
• Track Development collateral and office supplies, including stationery, brochures, pledge cards, and other physical materials
• Tracking expenses and coordinating VIP and vendor/partner relationships.
• Ensure and inform adherence to brand guidelines and best practices.
• Provide support and resources across departments to help advance operations at large.
• Respond to reasonable inquiries and requests from the Board of Trustees.
• Reconcile revenue and expenses on a weekly/monthly basis.
• Scheduling for all individual and institutional donors, and managing the Chief of Development’s calendar.
• Assist in creating and updating collateral, fundraising materials, reports, and publications.

This is for you if:

• You’re not just looking for a task list — you’re looking for purpose. You want your attention to detail and love of systems to fuel something bigger than yourself.
• You believe that behind every great donor experience is thoughtful infrastructure. Clean data, clear processes, and well-timed messages aren’t just logistics — they’re how relationships are built.
• You’re energized by the rhythm of fundraising — appeals, renewals, acknowledgments, reports — and you know that consistency is its own kind of magic.
• You love a good spreadsheet and a good story. You can toggle between the back end and the front lines, knowing both are essential to doing this work well.
• You don’t wait to be told what’s broken — you notice, you fix, and you improve. You get satisfaction from making things run smoother than they did yesterday.
• You see donor lists and think about segmentation. You see an email campaign and think about deliverability. You see a gift come in and think: “How can we say thank you in a way that sticks?”
• You’re collaborative by nature. You like being the person others can count on — to follow through, follow up, and bring ideas to life.

ADA Notations

• Regular sitting, standing, walking, climbing stairs, balancing, crouching, stooping, and communication (talking/hearing).
• Occasional lifting/moving up to 30 lbs.
• Vision requirements include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.
• Noise conditions range from quiet to moderate noise.

Reporting Relationship

This position reports to the American LGBTQ+ Museum’s Chief of Development and has no direct reports.

Compensation + Benefits

This is a full-time, salaried position at $86,814 annually and comes with a generous benefits package. Salary is non-negotiable per the Museum’s pay equity policy.

Location + Travel

The American LGBTQ+ Museum’s offices are currently located at 45 West 36th Street, New York, NY 10018.

This position may be eligible for a hybrid work schedule with two to three days in the office and two to three work-from-home days.

Some travel is expected, including in-person board meetings, some partnership meetings and museum events.

Workdays are generally Mon-Fri with some evening and weekend hours expected.

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Equal employment opportunity and having a diverse staff are fundamental principles at the American LGBTQ+ Museum, where employment and promotional opportunities are based upon individual capabilities and qualifications without regard to race, color, ethnicity, religion, gender, pregnancy, sexual orientation/affectional preference, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, marital status, citizenship, disability, veteran status, or any other protected characteristic as established under law.

Submission Instructions

Applications can be submitted to devo-hr@americanlgbtqmuseum.org with the subject line “Development Associate.” Inquiries and nominations of qualified candidates may also be sent to this address. All applications will be held in confidence.

Review of applications will begin immediately and continue until the successful candidate has been selected.

Applicant must be proficiently fluent in English.