Development Associate

About Us

Tzedek DC is a public interest center headquartered at the University of the District of Columbia David A. Clarke School of Law with a second office in ward 8. Found in 2016, Tzedek DC’s mission is to safeguard the legal rights of DC residents with low incomes dealing with often unjust, abusive, and illegal debt collection practices, as well as other consumer protection problems like credit reporting issues, identity theft, and predatory lending. Tzedek DC provides direct legal services for DC residents with debt issues, advocates for fairer policies nationally and in the District of Columbia, and conducts community-based financial empowerment programs. Tzedek DC has been recognized as “one of the best” nonprofits in the Greater Washington region.

We value diversity and strongly encourage applications from people of color, people with disabilities, bilingual and bicultural people, people from immigrant communities, people of all genders, veterans, and LGBTQ community members. For further details, see www.tzedekdc.org.

About the Role

The Development Associate will help ensure Tzedek DC is able to secure, track, and steward the funding needed to meet or exceed its annual philanthropic revenue goals and implement its programs. The Development Associate will take the lead for managing back-of-house/behind-the-scenes development systems including ensuring timely and excellent gift processing and acknowledgment. In addition, the Development Associate will be a thought partner to the Director of Development (DOD) and Assistant Director of Development (ADD) in working to execute the annual development plan, including the necessary campaigns, donor stewardship efforts, prospecting, and project management.

The ideal candidate will have strong problem-solving and troubleshooting skills, eager to support Tzedek DC in achieving revenue goals, executing fundraising efforts, and be the front-line contact for all things Salesforce. This person should be efficient at handling multiple priorities, working efficiently, and taking initiative.

The Development Associate can expect her/his/their work to include:

Development Support (70%)

Gift Processing and Donor Stewardship

• Ensures smooth, easy experience for online donors
• Processes all off-line donations in a timely fashion
• Ensures that all donors receive a gift and tax acknowledgment within 48 hours to one week
• Supports the execution of Tzedek DC’s donor stewardship plan (prompts DOD and Executive Director (ED) when needed)

Fundraising Support

• Supports the DOD by project managing annual appeals
• Conducts prospect research on individual major donors and corporations
• Ensures all prospect research, meeting notes, and forward-facing tasks are recorded and assigned in Salesforce
• Prompts the DOD, ED, and ADD on upcoming tasks relevant to donors’ individual cultivation plans
• Supports the creation of development collateral

Fundraising Event Support

• Supports the DOD in the development and implementation of strategies for prospect management and event donor engagement
• Follow up with secured sponsors to gather assets and provide information
• Follow up and invoicing for pledges and sponsors
• Coordinate RSVPs and manage event-related technology platforms
• Assists the DOD with all logistical aspects of EWDJ including, but not limited to, vendor management, host committee, volunteer coordination
• Collaborate with the ADD on program book, invitations, and other event collateral
• Assists with carrying out post-event activities including but not limited to debrief meetings, recognition of key constituents, financial reporting, and data transfer
• Ensures all stewardship of host committee members, sponsorships, in-kind gifts, and other event-based revenue

CRM Management

• Salesforce manager: responsible for establishing, monitoring, and supporting Tzedek DC staff on standard operating procedures (SOP) and use protocols within the system to maintain a high degree of data integrity and hygiene
• Ensures connected systems are synced and data is flowing seamlessly and regularly
• Works closely with the DOD, ED, and ADD to ensure all real-world interactions with donors and partners are accurately recorded in the system
• Creates and manages campaigns to track and distinguish various appeals’ performance

Data Reporting and Evaluation

• Processes weekly, monthly, and annual data reporting out of Salesforce
• Designs, updates, and maintains donor reports to support the DOD and ED’s evaluation and action-planning efforts
• In conjunction with the accountant, supports monthly revenue reconciliations

Communications Support (30%)

• Support the ADD in gathering stories for use in marketing and development communications
• Assists the ADD in managing production of all electronic and print collateral including, but not limited to, social media, e-newsletters, the organization’s website, press release writing, and fundraising collateral
• Clearly and effectively draft dynamic, reader-friendly, and high-quality writing free of typos, jargon, and lackluster prose
• Work on list exporting, cleaning and segmentation for campaigns and other communications
• Monitor social media channels daily to track engagement, identify relevant conversations, and flag opportunities or mentions that warrant a timely and strategic response
• Track and analyze digital communication metrics (e.g., email open rates, click-through rates, social media engagement) to assess performance, identify trends, and inform future content strategy.

About You

To be maximally successful in this role, you need to be:

• A stickler for details and quality
• A creative thinker willing to test out new ideas
• A strong self-motivator
• An exceptional communicator
• Dedicated to data and systems and ready to utilize Tzedek DC’s systems to project manage all development work for the team
• A caretaker of sensitive information about donors, volunteers, and the Tzedek DC community

You need to have:

• 2-3 years in nonprofit fundraising and/or fundraising systems
• A sincere commitment to Tzedek DC’s mission
• CRM experience REQUIRED; Salesforce experience strongly preferred
• Experience with CRM software integrations
• Innate interest in fundraising
• Ready and adept communicator in both casual and formal scenarios
• Natural self-starter who sees the work, does the work, and shares the work

About Location, Compensation and Benefits

• Hybrid: One to two days per week in one of our Washington, DC offices and in-person development meetings in DMV area
• Health, group life, and dental insurance. Monthly wellness reimbursement.
• 403B plan after year of service
• Paid time off
• Professional development provided
• The salary for this role is $55,000-$65,000