Posted on August 15, 2012

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Developmental Director

826 Boston, a nonprofit youth writing center located in Roxbury, Massachusetts, seeks an energetic fundraiser to serve as its full-time Development Director.

826 Boston is dedicated to teaching creative and expository writing to underserved students ages 6 to 18, and to helping Boston Public School teachers inspire their students to write. Our high-impact programs are based on the understanding that great leaps in learning can occur with one-on-one attention, and that writing skills are fundamental to future success. 826 Boston is part of a national network of youth writing centers, founded by the award-winning author Dave Eggers, which was voted one of the top 30 companies to work for by Good Magazine. Since opening in 2007, 826 Boston has delivered its free youth writing and tutoring programs to over 7,000 students and has been recognized by The Boston Globe as one of the best places in the city to volunteer. 826 Boston’s youth writers have published their work in The New York Times, The Boston Globe, and in numerous award-winning 826 Boston books, including A Place for Me in the World, which was hailed as a “triumph of middle school education” by The Boston Globe. 826 Boston is an equal opportunity employer committed to being a multicultural organization. Candidates from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

Primary responsibilities:

• The Development Director (DD) is responsible for partnering with the Executive Director (ED) in establishing appropriate goals, timetables, benchmarks, plans and budgets for all fund-raising activities;
• Along with the ED, is responsible for engaging and supporting the 826 Boston Board of Directors in their 826 Boston fundraising endeavors;
• Develops an annual fundraising plan and fully utilizes it to drive decisions and actions by staff and the Board;
• Works with the Executive Director to cultivate new individual, corporate and foundation prospects and seek new funding opportunities;
• Ensures that personal visits with high level prospects and donors occur on an annual basis (in conjunction with the Executive Director);
• Plans and implements all phases of grant applications and sponsorship requests;
• Manages the writing of proposals, supporting documents, and other correspondence;
• Oversees the solicitation and acknowledgement process, creation and maintenance of records and database of funder information;
• Serves as a liaison to 826 Boston’s board advancement committee and guides its activities;
• Is responsible for all necessary fundraising reports for 826 Boston; and
• Provides other services as reasonably requested by the ED.

The DD candidate must be able to demonstrate they can:

• direct large-scale projects while managing the work of others;
• work and communicate well with others;
• solve problems quickly and creatively;
• engage and motivate key stakeholders;
• multitask with ease and precision;
• work independently and efficiently to meet tight deadlines;
• develop easy-to-use methods for tracking key financial data; and
• present user-friendly financial information to both internal and external stakeholders.

826 Boston is searching for a college graduate who:

• Possesses at least 5 years of experience in cultivating individual giving and is highly familiar with the Boston philanthropic landscape;
• Has extensive experience using Sales Force, or a comparable database, to track donor giving, and to retrieve and analyze information to advance fundraising efforts;
• Has written successful grants for nonprofit organizations;
• Is organized, detail-oriented, personable, and has multitasking ability;
• Has a strong work ethic and personal integrity;
• Is proactive, results-oriented, and willing to roll-up his/her sleeves to do whatever is necessary to ensure the success of the total development effort;
• Can thrive in a start-up organization with limited staff and resources; and
• Is looking to make his/her mark by helping to move the organization to a heightened level of fundraising expertise, activities and results.

Application Instructions

Applicants are encouraged to submit a cover letter, resume, three professional references, and a relevant professional writing sample (ie. a grant proposal or a donations appeal) to hiring@826boston.org to the attention of Daniel Johnson, Executive Director.