Development Coordinator

The Schuylkill Center for Environmental Education seeks a passionate and energetic Development Coordinator, a fundraising professional, to join our small but growing team to assist in our fundraising efforts to forward our mission and bring the Center’s fundraising efforts to the next level. This is a part-time salaried position that reports to the Director of Development.

To Apply

Please send a resume and cover letter to Caroline Linz, Director of Development, at caroline@schuylkillcenter.org.

Description

The Development Coordinator plays a crucial role in advancing the organization's fundraising efforts and maintaining strong relationships with donors, members, and supporters. This role involves crafting compelling fundraising appeals, managing social media and email campaigns, and ensuring effective communication with stakeholders. The ideal candidate will be a skilled writer with experience in fundraising and communications, capable of managing multiple tasks and projects to drive donor engagement and support.

This position will collaborate with the Director of Development in the development, maintenance and implementation of the Center’s annual fundraising strategy. The candidate will be a development professional with proven experience securing the support and engagement of individual donors, corporations, and the Board of Directors. This position is responsible for identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual gifts related to the organization’s fundraising goals and overall vision.

The candidate should be a strategic thinker with at least three (3) years of fundraising experience. They should be a confident verbal and written communicator, and demonstrated results in annual fund and major gift solicitation, membership, and donor events. The candidate should also have a strong work ethic, be self-motivated, organized and detail-oriented and approach their work with a sense of dedication to the Center’s mission.

Duties and Responsibilities

1. Fundraising Appeals:

• Develop, write, and edit persuasive fundraising appeals, including letters, direct mail pieces, and online campaigns.
• Create engaging content that communicates the organization’s mission, impact, and funding needs.
• Collaborate with the development team to plan and execute targeted appeal strategies.
• Coordinate, write and personalize membership/donor mailings and acknowledgments.

2. E-Blasts, Email Campaigns and Social Media Management:

• Collaborate with the Communications department to develop key messages and storytelling to enhance the Center’s brand and support fundraising efforts
• Create and manage development specific content for the organization’s social media platforms (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn).
• Develop and implement social media campaigns to increase visibility, engagement, and donor support such as “Giving Tuesday.”
• Monitor social media channels, respond to inquiries, and engage with members and donors.
• Design and write content for e-blasts and email newsletters.
• Segment email lists and develop targeted messaging to various donor and member groups.
• Analyze email campaign performance and use insights to improve future communications.

3. Donor and Member Communication and Management:

• Maintain and update donor and member databases with accurate contact and engagement information.
• Manage inquiries from donors and members, providing exceptional customer service and support.
• Work closely with fellow staff and board members to coordinate donor and institutional funder visit and cultivation/stewardship efforts
• Coordinate and manage donor recognition and stewardship efforts, including thank-you letters and impact reports.
• Manage and execute the member Gear Borrowing Program.
• Utilize Salesforce as the primary tool to keep a record of and plan for donor and institutional funder identification, qualification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship

4. Donor Cultivation and Stewardship

• Assist the Director of Development with Board of Directors and Advisory Committee communication, cultivation and stewardship
• Help advance a Culture of Philanthropy across the organization and Board of Directors
• Work on other Development related duties as they are assigned to you by the Director of Development. (Possibilities could include new virtual events, data mining, donor research, portfolio review, budgeting, campaign planning, etc.)
• Support the Center in all ways to maximize opportunities for philanthropic support in the community.

5. Event Planning/Implementation

• Lead planning and execution of bi-annual fundraising event, house parties, in-person/virtual donor experiences, and other special donor and institutional funder events (creating/maintaining guest lists/RSVPs, guest follow-up, manage host committees, and silent auction).
• Ensure participation from current and prospective major donors and institutional funders at fundraising events.

6. Administrative Support:

• Assist in organizing and coordinating fundraising events and campaigns.
• Provide administrative support to the development team, including scheduling meetings, preparing reports, and tracking fundraising progress.
• Ensure all fundraising materials are accurate, up-to-date, and aligned with organizational branding.

Education, Experience, and Expected Competencies

• Bachelor’s degree in related field such as Communications, Creative Writing, English, Business Administration or Non-Profit Management with at least five (5) years of relevant work experience.
• Minimum of 2-4 years of experience in development, fundraising, communications, or a related role.
• Ability to analyze data and generate actionable insights.
• Proficiency and experience with a fundraising database, especially Salesforce.
• Mastery of the full suite of Microsoft and/or Google computer programs.
• Strong relationship-building, verbal, and written communications skills.
• Experience in a nonprofit or fundraising environment.
• Proficiency in social media platforms and email marketing tools (e.g., Mailchimp).
• Strong organizational and project management abilities.
• Ability to work collaboratively with a team and independently manage multiple projects.
• Demonstrated experience and success in soliciting and securing gifts of $10,000 and above is preferred.

Physical Demands/Work Environment

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The employee is also regularly required to stand, walk, and use hands and arms to operate general office equipment (PC, telephone, file cabinets, copier, fax machine, and printer). The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to low.

Compensation

This is a part-time salaried position with a full range of benefits, including vacation, health, dental, vision, and retirement. Salary is commensurate with experience.

The Schuylkill Center is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate based on race, color, gender, religion, national origin, or sexual orientation. We value a racially, ethnically, and culturally diverse work community and we strongly encourage applications from people of all backgrounds.