Development Manager – South Carolina

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 Manager is part of a team of fundraisers and relationship builders working together to support Reading Partners’ mission and strategic growth plan. The Development Manager’s main roles are to: 1) achieve the regional fundraising goals, in close partnership with the local development team, by a) writing community and national grants, and b) managing fundraising campaigns/activities, internal development operations and a portfolio of relationships that s/he cultivates and stewards effectively 2) Lead regional communications providing clear, consistent and compelling messages to volunteers and donors 3) drive operations internally for events, donor/tutor communications, and collaborates with the Development Special Projects Associate (DSPA) to ensure excellent data management and operations. Reporting directly to the Development Director, the Development Manager is a self-starting, highly collaborative, goal-oriented, and driven relationship builder, who is excited by both higher-level strategy and on-the-ground operational work.

What you’ll do:

Creatively drive fundraising within each funding stream to effectively implement and manage campaigns and other fundraising activities:

• With consultation from the Development Director, initiate and create the overarching strategy/goal several months in advance of the campaign/activity
• Write all grant proposals, letters of intent, and reports for all funding sources demonstrating high-quality writing skills
• Create a project team and provide guidance/support to team members, managing meeting details and ensuring project goals are met
• Develop a detailed timeline of specific activities, identifying the date due and person responsible
• With input from the team, create collateral materials, direct mail letters and a campaign donation page to support each fundraising activity
• Working with social media team members, oversee the creation of a social media plan that complements fundraising activities
• In close collaboration with the development team, support all external revenue activities to meet or exceed annual fundraising goals for the region.
• Support the region in raising 30% of upcoming fiscal year revenue in the previous fiscal year

Each year, manage a portfolio of institutional and individual relationships to reach regional fundraising goals.

• In collaboration with the Development Director, create an overarching plan to identify and engage with local businesses and their leaders for sponsorship and foundation support
• Using DonorSearch as a tool, serve as the primary relationship manager for <$1,000 donors and tutor donors with a focus on strategic prospecting, cultivation and stewardship activities
• Identify new $5,000 and below institutional donors and actively renew giving levels of portfolio funders
• Working with the Development Director, create individualized stewardship plans to effectively manage relationships with portfolio donors
• Implement stewardship plans by scheduling meetings (to include Development or Executive Director and/or board members) with existing and new institutional and individual donors
• Propose and develop creative touchpoints for portfolio donors
• Oversee development systems and track progress against goals in Salesforce
• Plan and facilitate donor site-visits to local reading centers to represent our program in action

Ensure regional communications are clear, consistent, and compelling

• Effectively write high-quality volunteer and donor communications that demonstrate deep knowledge of our program and promote our mission. Through exceptional writing, serve as an ambassador of Reading Partners
• Quickly establish credibility when promoting Reading Partners to external audiences, demonstrating a high degree of comfort and poise with tutors, donors, corporations, and prospects
• Regularly deliver convincing messaging and tailored experiences, demonstrate a genuine joy in connecting with volunteers, donors, and all external stakeholders
• Provide support to the Community Engagement team in the implementation of comprehensive, informative and compelling tutor communications for the recruitment and engagement of prospective volunteers, tutor donors and community partners
• Provide guidance and support to the team managing our social media accounts and online presence to ensure a positive brand

Provide direct supervision to the Development Special Projects Associate (DSPA), and drive regional development operations:

• Provide guidance to the DSPA to ensure that the calendars are consistently up-to date for grants/proposals/reports, communications, and board/committee meetings 
• Project manage all event logistics, providing guidance and support to the DSPA for his/her role
• Oversee development systems and track progress against goals in Salesforce, auditing data integrity on a regular basis
• Analyze data and produce reports to drive streamlined communication internally and with board/committee members and funding sources
• Support the DSPA in setting up/sending reminders about board/committee meetings and producing high-quality minutes and a board member handbook

Other duties as needed

How you’ll do it:

Strategic Planning:

• Demonstrate an ability to work collaboratively with the Development Director and other team members to develop strategic fundraising plans, create action steps, and mobilize stakeholders to achieve fundraising goals. Support the Development Director to build sustainable plans to maximize market opportunities, meet goals, and significantly grow funding. 

New Revenue Generation:

• Demonstrate a proficient ability to conduct research, to prospect, and to drive ongoing external development efforts in the community. Demonstrate excitement to steward and leverage relationships that result in meeting or exceeding target fundraising goals. Boast an entrepreneurial spirit and actively seek to deepen current donor relationships and forge new ones.

Team Collaboration:

• Positively collaborate with the development team to meet and exceed aggressive fundraising goals through effective development operations. 
• Work together to deliver 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 entry.

Communication:

• Externally, demonstrate the ability to genuinely promote Reading Partners and our mission through a variety of strategies. Provide excellent customer service to donors, volunteers and partners. Have a high level of comfort with public speaking and with crafting mass communications. Be able to differentiate communication depending upon the audience.
• Internally, set up strong systems for communication and messaging, tailor communication to audiences, and contextualize messaging. Demonstrate a strong aptitude for effective communication, remotely and in person, with direct reports, stakeholders, and other Reading Partners staff. Be able to conduct difficult conversations with grace and ease.

Relationship Development:

• Leverage existing relationships and build new transformational relationships in the community. Establish highly collaborative cross-functional relationships, and work effectively with all stakeholders for both organizational fundraising and communications. Celebrate wins with all stakeholders.
• Internally, establish highly collaborative relationships with all team members. Demonstrate a hunger to learn, grow, support, and add great value to Reading Partners, including our REDI work. Regularly seek to understand all aspects of our model and priorities to convey externally.

Project and Operations Management:

• Demonstrate a strong detail orientation, accuracy, and ability to develop compelling reports and communications to be used internally and externally. Execute all work in a highly organized, analytical, and data driven manner.
• Create innovative solutions in the face of competition for resources, time, etc. with a high degree of adaptability and flexibility.  Anticipate challenges and/or questions, and proactively execute solutions. Understand larger strategic priorities and make measurable progress against these larger goals. Be able to make quick, sound, and on-the-fly decisions that consider all stakeholders. See the bigger picture and also drill down to smaller details to connect the dots. 

About you!

You’ll be successful in this role if you:

• You have 3+ years of increasing responsibility in a development or related role
• Are an exceptional and persuasive communicator in writing and verbally
• Project management skills with a focus on meeting deadlines
• Are achievement-oriented and have a demonstrated track record of achieving aggressive fundraising goals
• Have database management and creative design experience and high level of comfort with MS Office, Google Apps, social media platforms
• Have flexibility and adaptability in work style and schedule, including some evening time
• Hold a Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent experience
• Can prove eligibility to work in the U.S. legally
• Boast a deep belief in our mission
• Root your work in our core values
• COVID-19 vaccination is required unless a medical or religious accommodation is requested and approved. Please review our Vaccination Policy.

Bonus Points if you:

• Are an AmeriCorps, Peace Corps, or other national service alum/alumna
• Have a high degree of comfort with Salesforce or other fundraising databases
• Have experience working in launch or growth phases of organizations
• Experience work in education or literacy

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, exempt, salaried position. The salary for this position is at $62,000 annually.
• 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 within the local region. This position may also involve occasional travel to Reading Partners’ National Headquarters in Oakland, CA.

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