Development Manager - South Carolina

at  Reading Partners

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 OTHER THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW:

• This role is an in-person role reporting to the Reading Partners South Carolina office Monday - Friday each week.
• 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 YOULL 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 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 focused team members in the Community Engagement department 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
• 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 the 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

Drive regional development operations:

• Ensure that the calendars are consistently up-to-date for grants/proposals/reports, communications, and board/committee meetings
• Project manage all event logistics
• Oversee development systems and track progress against goals in Salesforce, auditing data integrity regularly
• Analyze data and produce reports to drive streamlined communication internally and with board/committee members and funding sources
• Send reminders about board/committee meetings and produce high-quality minutes and a board member handbook

Other duties as needed

HOW YOULL 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.

Youll 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 Bachelors degree and/or equivalent experience
• Can prove eligibility to work in the U.S. legally
• Demonstrate a commitment to race, equity, diversity, and inclusion in your leadership.
• Display a deep belief in our mission and root your work in ourcore values.
• Ability to prove eligibility to work legally in the U.S. and that you are at least 18 years of age