Development Manager

For 46 years, Avenues for Justice (AFJ) has diverted thousands of justice impacted young people, ages 13 – 24, across New York City from a punitive criminal justice system to our community-based support program designed to help them lead successful lives. In addition to our core program of court advocacy, we provide our HIRE Up enrichment services on a hybrid platform at our Harlem and Lower East Side Community Centers for workforce training, education, mental health wellness and mentoring. AFJ works with 600+ Participants each year who are justice impacted. On average, 94% of our Court-involved Participants are not reconvicted within three years of enrollment to our program.

Overview of the Position: The Development Manager will support the Executive Director and AFJ’s Development Consultants in implementing corporate, foundation, government, special events and individual funding strategies. They will be responsible for writing high-quality and compelling correspondence, letters of inquiry, proposals, and grant reports for institutional funders, managing the proposal writing process, maintaining a comprehensive monthly foundation tracker and identifying new mission-aligned prospects. Additionally, the Development Manager will support the Executive Director in evolving Avenues for Justice’s approach to raising $3.5 million through a combination of major gifts, individual donations, corporate sponsorships, foundation and government grants, and special events. The Development Manager will manage a small fundraising team charged with increasing revenue and in-kind support to fulfill the organization’s mission.

ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Researches, identifies, and cultivates new donor prospects, performs high-quality and strategic prospecting.
• Gathers grant information internally and through market research. Prepares draft and final proposals, letters of inquiry, reports, correspondence, and other accompanying materials, including budgets and financial attachments.
• Works with the Executive Director, development consultants and program staff to develop persuasive proposal strategies, narratives, and language for new programs and initiatives.
• Creates and maintains a robust and accurate grant proposal template to streamline the grant writing process at Avenues for Justice.
• Maintains an accurate grants calendar, tracking all grant deliverables and timelines. Ensures that all institutional gifts and activities are properly entered in the AFJ tracker and database.
• Interacts with funders via email, phone, and in-person(as needed) to develop and deepen relationships through formal and informal touchpoints and stewardship.
• Works with the Executive Director and development consultants to enhance fundraising operations and special events.
• Assists the Executive Director and the development team in the development and creation of all press materials, publications, including press releases, publications, annual report, and weekly newsletter/blog.
• Works with Communications and Data Specialist in generating visibility for the organization's messaging initiatives through AFJ’s website, weekly newsletter/blog and social media platform.
• Promotes visibility and support through ongoing networking with funding sources, government agencies, and other potential corporate partners as assigned by the Executive Director.
• Writes and maintains all donor reports, monthly and quarterly fundraising reports, and budget modifications--- reconciling with bookkeeper.
• Assist the Executive Director and development consultants in supporting all Board of Director, Board committee and Advisory Council activities, including sending out meeting notices, developing agendas, development and program reports; monthly board correspondence updates and preparing supporting materials.
• Works with development team and event planner in all fundraising initiatives, including grant writing, special events, holiday/end-of-year appeal, Giving Tuesday, planned individual giving campaign, donor cultivation and acknowledgement.

• Supports the Junior Board's efforts, such as cultivation events, fundraisers, and other initiatives that help to raise the organization’s profile.
• Arranges and preparing for visits from individual donors and institutional funders.

This list of duties and responsibilities is not to be all-inclusive and may be expanded to include other duties or responsibilities that management may deem necessary from time to time.

QUALIFICATIONS

1. Commitment to our hashtags of #ServicesNotCells and #JobsNotJails. Our goal is to keep youth and young adults out of prison through a three-fold mission to: 1. Intervene to divert and reclaim young people from lives of crime.
2. Provide an overloaded court system a reliable alternative to incarceration.

Make New York City a safer place for everyone.

• 5-8 years of nonprofit fundraising, development and program experience is highly desirable.
• Bachelor's degree required. Master’s degree preferred.
• Donor database experience is required.
• Excellent prioritization and organization skills and a proven ability to manage multiple projects under tight deadlines.
• Excellent written communication skills with the ability to connect to a variety of audiences and key stakeholders.
• Superior interpersonal skills, engaging professionally with colleagues, donors, and community members.
• Respect for confidentiality of donor information and a strong sense for donor ethics.
• Proven strength in administration, financial management, program development, board support, special events, public relations, social marketing, technology and fundraising is required.
• Is passionate about and committed to working in the nonprofit sector.
• Strong computer literacy in Word, Excel, Salesforce, QuickBooks, etc. Knowledge of Word Press is strongly preferred.
• Spanish fluency is a plus.

Full time, Monday-Friday schedule; with virtual/remote work flexibility, some occasional evening work and weekend work will be required.

All full-time employees receive an excellent benefits package including health and dental insurance, a 401k retirement plan, sick and paid vacation time per year.

• Spanish fluency is a plus.