Development Officer

Role: Development Officer

An experienced fundraiser who wants to strengthen our community of supporters and move resources to grassroots movements.

The Development Officer will join the Managing Director and Senior Development Associate in driving our fundraising efforts. The position requires a dynamic individual with a passion for social justice, excellent communication skills and a proven track record in fundraising. The ideal candidate will have a grounding in traditional fundraising strategies while being open to creating new and out-of-the-box ideas with the goal of widening our community of donors. In collaboration with the team, the Development Officer will develop and implement fundraising strategies, manage donor relationships, and oversee fundraising events and campaigns. 

North Star Fund is a social justice fund that supports grassroots organizing led by communities of color in New York City and the Hudson Valley. We organize people across race and class to give in support of social justice movements. We also offer year-round programming to help organizers build and sustain their work. 

This position is full-time, exempt. The Development Officer reports to the Managing Director of Development. This role will regularly coordinate their work with other North Star Fund staff.

Responsibilities

The Development Officer position is a balance of individual responsibilities and shared ones. This person will manage some of the core pieces of North Star Fund’s fundraising. The person in this role will be responsible for building trusting relationships with a wide range of community members. They'll also work with other team members to advance development team projects. Responsibilities are:

Planning and Strategy Development

• Collaborate with the Managing Director of Development to support and execute annual fundraising strategy (whose key components are individual donors and foundations).
• Support the board on fundraising strategies, as needed.
• Collaborate on the development of annual goals and budgets to achieve growth and retention targets.

Major Donor and Institutional Fundraising

• Maintain and expand current supporter base while overseeing donor prospect research and cultivation.
• Develop and manage innovative solicitation campaigns, including year-end appeals, to engage new individuals within the region’s philanthropic community.
• Develop and oversee donor prospect research and cultivation.
• Maintain a detailed fundraising calendar with clear deadlines, in collaboration with the Development Team.
• Coordinate the submission of grant proposals and grant reports (and accompanying materials for both).
• Write and submit compelling grant proposals and reports to secure funding.
• Collaborate with our Donor Organizing Team to support strategy for new and existing donors to ensure optimal donor journey.

Independent Portfolio Management

• Successfully manage a portfolio of donors and prospects at various levels. 
• Support the executive director in their portfolio management.
• Work with the Development Team to lead all individual giving efforts, including appeals, proposals, and fundraising events, in support of and in coordination with centralized development efforts.

Donor Outreach and Stewardship

• Oversee donor outreach communications, and lead engagement with major donors and foundations including periodic updates, mailings and acknowledgments.
• Plan and supervise donor events as needed to enhance donor involvement in North Star Fund activities.
• Create strategies that positively and respectfully engage donors and solicit gifts from individuals with diverse backgrounds, interests and experiences.

Events Management

• Work with the Development Team and Donor Organizing Team to design donor engagement events. 
• Facilitate conversations around brainstorming and implementing event plans and concepts.
• Support the coordination of webinars, online events and in-person events. 
• Collaborate with internal and external teams to manage annual fundraising events (such as our signature community gala) including stewardship of current and prospective sponsors, vendor management and related tasks.

Supporting Strong Organizational Culture

• Contribute to a safe, healthy, collaborative, and productive team culture.
• Attend and contribute to internal staff and team meetings as well as retreats when needed.
• Engage in and help to shape the organization's strategic planning. 

Required Skills

• At least three to five years of experience in development, with a focus on individual giving
• Extensive knowledge and understanding of best practices in individual giving, including cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies
• Experience with grant writing and event management
• Proficiency in project management, precise with good attention to detail, and able to quickly understand and remember details about donors and projects to which they are assigned
• Well-organized, capable of establishing priorities, juggling multiple relationships and tasks, and meeting deadlines
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills 
• Excellent reading comprehension and analytical skills
• Strong organizational abilities with a collaborative approach to all parties that reflects our values
• Strong interpersonal skills with the ability to build and maintain relationships with a diverse range of stakeholders
• Experience managing cross-department work and teams outside of formal reporting lines
• A collaborative and flexible working style
• Deep social justice values and a demonstrated commitment to the practice of racial justice, inclusion, and community-driven change
• Fluency with related concepts around intersectionality, structural, institutional, and internalized racism 
• Proficiency with standard office software (such as Word, Excel or Google Worksuite), video conferencing platforms (Zoom or Meet), and internal communications platforms (Slack, Microsoft Teams)
• Familiarity with data management systems (Salesforce or Airtable)

Desired Skills 

• Excellent facilitation and presentation skills 
• Knowledge of grassroots organizing led by communities of color 
• Resilience, flexibility, humility, self-awareness, and a sense of humor

Physical Requirements 

Must be able to work at a computer screen for several hours a day. Must be able to meet with a wide range of people, including grantee organizations and North Star Fund supporters, in person and/or via video conferencing. Occasional evening and weekend events as needed. Light lifting for in-person events may be required, but accommodations will be made as necessary for the safety and well-being of all employees. 

Compensation 

The salary for this position is $96,186 in accordance with North Star Fund’s compensation structure. North Star Fund offers generous benefits that include 100% premium paid for medical, dental, and vision insurance; a 403(b) retirement plan with an employer contribution, a work-from-home stipend, flex-time, vacation and holidays. A full list of benefits is available for review by finalists for the position.

Additional Information 

North Star Fund uses a 32-hour work week for full-time employees, with normal work days running Monday through Thursday. Evening and weekend work is sometimes required. We currently use a hybrid work model: we work from home and have an office in midtown Manhattan. We have not yet set a date for a return to our physical office for in-person full-time work. 

Residency 

All staff are required to periodically attend in-person meetings and events in New York City and the Hudson Valley. Applicants must live in the Hudson Valley or New York City or be within a one-hour commute to these areas. 

How to Apply

Please share a resume and a cover letter that shares your interest in the role. As part of the application, please submit a sample of a fundraising campaign that you’ve worked on, and explain the nature of your work on the sample. More info and application instructions are at www.northstarfund.org/jobs.

Please no calls or emails. We appreciate all submissions, but please be advised that our capacity allows us to only respond to those best qualified for the position.   

Priority will be given to applications received by March 6, 2025. 

North Star Fund is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate against applicants based on race, religion, color, disability, medical condition, legally protected genetic information, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, gender identity or expression, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth or related medical conditions), age, veteran status or other legally protected characteristics.

North Star Fund is firmly committed to equity and diversity and to the recruitment and retention of people from backgrounds traditionally excluded from philanthropy, including Black, Indigenous and people of color, women, LGBTQ people, elders and people with disabilities.