Development Associate – Los Angeles

Reading Partners is changing the education landscape. We are a leader in working to solve the literacy crisis in our country by leveraging community volunteers in under-resourced schools. Our diverse and expansive volunteer base provides one-on-one tutoring to students twice weekly, and our program is proven to help children master the reading fundamentals they need to unlock their potential as successful, happy and confident readers in school and in life. Our people are our heartbeat and our greatest resource; we are all passionately rallied around our mission to help children become lifelong learners by empowering communities to provide individualized instruction that works. Join our stellar team leading the charge to deepen our impact and expand our service. Watch this video to learn more about Reading Partners.

The high level:

The Development Associate (DA) is part of a team of relationship builders working together to support Reading Partners’ strategic growth plan through fundraising and streamlined development operations. The Development Associate’s main role is to support the achievement of regional fundraising goals in close partnership with the local development team by driving development operations. Reporting directly to the Los Angeles Executive Director, the Development Associate supports a variety of development team initiatives, is heavily involved in prospecting, research, grant writing, and event support, and ensures smooth departmental operations. The Development Associate may manage a small portfolio of relationships. The Development Associate is a highly collaborative, detail-oriented, and avid relationship builder who is hungry to gain a great deal of exposure to many areas of fundraising in a high-growth nonprofit. 

What you’ll do:

Drive regional development operations and provide administrative support by…

• Overseeing and leveraging Salesforce donor database to record and track deadlines, meeting notes, and funder information.
• Producing reports and data that are used by the development team and Executive Director to drive streamlined communication internally and with board

Support all external revenue activities to meet or exceed ambitious fundraising goals for the entire region.

• Lead on all writing for fundraising and external relations activities for the region including meeting briefs, letters, follow-up correspondence, updates, acknowledgments, reports, grants, proposals, newsletters, and more.
• Conduct a high volume of prospect research to identify and qualify foundation, corporate, and major gift prospects.
• Support all shared development team responsibilities including board and committee meetings, annual mailings, site visits, etc.

Other duties as needed. 

How you’ll do it:

Development Operations Management:

• Demonstrate a growing ability to conduct research, to prospect, and to drive ongoing development efforts in rapidly growing organizations particularly in Los Angeles 
• Lead on a high volume of operational needs for the development department including grant writing, meeting brief creation, donor cultivation tracking, event planning, prospect research, and data aggregation. Manage data entry in Salesforce for 200+ constituents. 
• Demonstrate a strong detail orientation, a strong drive for accuracy, and the ability to manage projects independently, and as part of a team. Execute all work in a highly organized, analytical, and data-driven manner. Demonstrate the ability to prioritize, problem-solve 

Relationship Development & Collaboration: 

• Establish highly collaborative relationships with all team members in the region.  Work closely with portfolio managers to ensure accurate, timely, and compelling interactions with donors. Work closely with the national accounting team on grants management and reporting. 
• Demonstrate a hunger to learn, grow, support, and add great value. Regularly seek to understand all aspects of our model to convey externally. Boast an entrepreneurial spirit and actively seek to deepen current donor relationships and forge new ones. Demonstrate excitement to steward and leverage relationships to support regional growth.

Communication:

• Effectively write high-quality donor communications that demonstrate deep knowledge of our program and promote our mission. Demonstrate the ability to write customized and compelling grant reports, proposals, and letters of intent. Through exceptional writing, serve as an ambassador of Reading Partners. 
• Quickly establish credibility when promoting Reading Partners to external audiences. Demonstrate a high degree of comfort and poise with donors, corporations, and prospects. 

About you!

You’ll be successful in this role if you:

• You have 1+ years of increasing responsibility in development or related role 
• Are an exceptional, persuasive, and persistent communicator verbally and in writing
• Are achievement-oriented
• Have a high degree of comfort with Salesforce or other fundraising databases
• Can prove eligibility to work in the U.S. legally
• Boast a deep belief in our mission
• Root your work in our core values

Bonus Points if you:

• Have experience working in the launch phase of projects or programs
• Are an AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, or other national service alum/alumna 

What we offer:

Reading Partners offers the full package – great benefits, a great place to work, and the opportunity to have a glowing and growing career. 

• We offer a competitive salary commensurate with experience. This is a full-time, non-exempt, hourly position. Pay starts at $23.00 per hour.
• We offer a comprehensive benefits package, including medical, dental, vision, disability, life insurance, flex spending accounts, generous paid time off, commuter benefits, an Employee Assistance Program (EAP), and currently a 403(b) match option.
• We offer an exciting and dynamic culture, and we commit to investing in and supporting our amazing people to grow their careers with us.

The other things you need to know:

• Travel: This position travels regularly throughout Los Angeles. This position may also involve occasional travel to Reading Partners’ National Headquarters in Oakland, CA. We will follow safety protocols set by the Greater Los Angeles area. We may modify our travel schedules and expectations accordingly.
• Typical Physical & Mental Demands: Requires prolonged sitting with some bending, stooping and stretching, and eye-hand coordination and manual dexterity sufficient to operate a keyboard, telephone, photocopier, calculator and other office equipment.  Requires normal range of hearing and eyesight to communicate with volunteers and staff. Also requires flexibility to readily adapt to a changing environment.

What’s Next?

If you’re interested in joining our Reading Partners team, please submit the following application materials to our online job posting:

• A cover letter describing your interest in Reading Partners and how your past experience has prepared you for this role. Please include your salary needs. 
• Resume