Development Associate

Make the Road New York (MRNY) builds the power of immigrant and working-class communities to achieve dignity and justice through organizing, policy innovation, transformative education, and survival services. Make the Road New York operates community centers in Bushwick, Brooklyn; Jackson Heights, Queens; Port Richmond, Staten Island; Brentwood, Long Island and White Plains, Westchester County. With a membership of 27,000, MRNY tackles the critical issues facing our communities, including workplace justice, tenants’ rights, immigrant rights and civil rights, TGNCIQ justice, public education, health care access, and immigration reform. (TGNCIQ = transgender, gender non-conforming, intersex and queer).  MRNY is a newly unionized workplace, currently negotiating its first Collective Bargaining Agreement.

MRNY is a multi-service organization.  Our member-led organizing committees -- which work on the issues named above -- implement strategies to combat shared problems, and develop leadership and the capacity for civic participation. We also provide an array of high-quality bilingual services: We offer English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL), Spanish-language literacy, computer literacy, citizenship preparation, and in-school and after-school youth programs. We have a robust legal program that offers direct representation across a spectrum of practice areas, including employment law, immigration law, housing and benefits, and TGNCIQ civil rights; we also take on impact litigation as a strategy for achieving broad change. Our health program offers facilitated enrollment into health insurance programs and SNAP benefits, a community health worker home visit program, nutrition education and emergency food pantries, health care navigation, and more."

The Development Department is a 10-person team that supports the Make the Road NYs work fundraising from individuals, private foundations, and government sources. The individual donor team, under the umbrella of the Development Department, leads fundraising from individuals ranging from grassroots supporters to major donors. They develop relationships with donors through mass communication, tailored outreach, large in-person events, small online events and more, and raise critical unrestricted funds for the organization.

Current Opening:

The Development Associate will drive forward and implement MRNY's events and small to medium sized donor strategies to increase unrestricted money, including coordinating event and donor relations logistics, appeal communications, and overall fundraising. The Associate will also be responsible for financial processing for their portfolio of donors and backing up the rest of the team, ensuring timely donor correspondence, and maintaining accurate and updated donor records. S/he/they will work closely with senior staff, be part of a fast-paced development department and report directly to the Events and Donor Relations Manager.

Key Responsibilities but not limited to:

• Assist in planning and executing fundraising campaigns and events that meet or exceed the organization’s unrestricted fundraising goals
• In collaboration with the Donor Relations and Events Manager, develop and coordinate special events (house parties, donor site visits, corporate receptions, annual Gala, etc.) including overseeing outreach, logistics, communications, materials, and fundraising to meet event goal
• In collaboration with the Donor Relations and Events Manager, increase the number of individual donors giving below $5,000 and the level of giving through identification, cultivation and solicitation to meet the financial goals of the department; and develop and execute a strategy to sustain this expanded base of annual individual donors and monthly givers
• Provide backup to senior program staff in their individual and event fundraising efforts, including drafting tailored communications for senior staff 
• Ensure regular, personalized, and timely communications with donors and prospects
• Lead the creation of digital and print materials to support donor communications including thank you notes, invitations, updates to MRNY website copy etc. 
• In collaboration with the Donor Relations and Events Manager and the Communications Team, develop and oversee donor communication and appeals strategy, including drafting language, setting up emails in our CRM Pardot, leading approval processes, managing creation of donor materials and online campaigns, and coordinating logistics for mail appeals
• Research, create, and manage donor profiles in our Salesforce database, identifying giving history, capacity, relevant personal information (giving history, interests, etc)

Requirements:

• Eligible to work in the US 
• Required to be fully vaccinated with an FDA approved COVID-19 vaccine prior first day of employment
• 2-3+ years of relevant fundraising and/or events coordination experience for a nonprofit
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to represent the organization with donors as well as interface with all levels of staff while maintaining flexibility and tact
• Self-starter with strong organizational skills and unrelenting attention to detail
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize and complete assignments under strict deadlines with minimal supervision
• Proficient in Microsoft Office Suites and fundraising databases, preferably Salesforce. 
• Commitment to social justice and experience working in a multicultural and multi-ethnic work environment
• Bilingual English/Spanish (preferred)

Job Competencies:

• Self-starter with strong organizational skills and strong attention to detail
• Be highly professional and team oriented with a passion for excellence and eagerness to help the department meet our goals.
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize, and complete assignments under strict deadlines with minimal supervision in a fast paced environment.
• Ability to work under pressure required.
• Have a working knowledge of spreadsheets, Microsoft Office suite, and using a database (ideally Salesforce) to run reports.
• Flexible work schedule, some evenings or weekends required
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• High level of accountability and initiative; needs to be a self-starter and eager to do team work to support the organization as a whole

Salary and Benefits:

Starting salary is based on a scale set by a democratically-elected personnel committee and will depend on factors such as experience and education. MRNY offers an excellent benefit package including health insurance, 401K, and generous paid vacation, sick, personal days. The salary range for this position is from $58,174 to $68,174.

How to Apply:

Please attach your resume and cover letter and submit all documents to the Make the Road New York career center.

Make the Road believes that social change is best achieved through grassroots community-based organizing that flows directly from and engages the community demanding the change. As a membership-based organization, we are committed to providing equal employment opportunities regardless of race, color, ancestry, religion, sex, national origin, sexual orientation, age, citizenship, marital status, disability, gender identity, criminal history, or Veteran status. We strongly encourage those from historically excluded groups to apply.