SALARY: $60-70,000 yearly (+ Benefits)
SCHEDULE: Full time (with some evening and weekend commitments)
JOB LOCATION: 1406 NE 50th St. #202 Seattle WA 98105
ABOUT SEATTLE EDUCATION ACCESS:
Seattle Education Access (SEA) provides higher education advocacy and opportunity to people struggling to overcome poverty and adversity. Many of our students have been homeless; others are immigrants, foster youth or single parents. What they all share in common is a strong motivation to complete their education, coupled with a lack of adequate resources to achieve their goals. We provide our students with the financial and social resources they need to excel academically, as well as personalized, compassionate, respectful academic advising and advocacy. As a result, our students are succeeding in college and leaving poverty behind, preparing to give back to society as professionals and leaders.
Seattle Education Access has undergone a tremendous amount of growth over the past five years, growing from serving fewer than 100 students to serving over 500 in 2012, and from a staff of 1 to 8 full-time staff (plus several part-time and intern positions). We have a strong commitment from many foundations, with several large multi-year grants and contracts in place, and a growing individual donor base. Seattle Education Access is currently 65% foundation, 30% individuals and 5% corporation funded.
Our current strategic plan for development focuses on increasing individual and corporate funding, while maintaining strong foundation support. We have committed funds for staff training and memberships, and as an organization we have a strong commitment to ongoing education.
GENERAL PURPOSE OF THE JOB:
The Development Director will plan, direct, and coordinate Seattle Education Access’s funding from private foundations, as well as to develop new sources of income from individuals, events, and governmental grants, among others. Seattle Education Access has a strong fundraising Board of Directors with several committees dedicated to supporting the Development Director. As the leader for all fundraising efforts of the organization, the Development Director is one of the key leaders in the strategic planning of the organization.
Under the primary supervision of the Executive Director, the Development Director will be responsible for the following tasks:
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
Regular duties include the following. Other duties may be assigned. On an on going basis:
Fund Raising – Develops and grows individual donor base, cultivates major gifts, and manages in-kind donations. Organizes individual donor campaigns (e.g., major donors, direct mail, etc.). Organizes solicitation drives for pledges of ongoing support from individuals, corporations, and foundations. Establishes short and long-range goals for unrestricted funding sources and enlists support from members of institution staff and board. Strategizes and orchestrates methods of approach to institutional donors. Researches and pursues public and private grant sources (agencies, corporations and foundations) to identify sources of restricted and unrestricted funding. Manages grant calendar and supervises corporate and foundations grants. We have a grant writer on staff that the Development Director will supervise.
Major Gift/Donor Support – Produce major donor, board and special category solicitations/
Development & Public Relations – Supervises all development and public affairs matters, particularly the creation of various communications such as the annual report, general boilerplate, general presentations, government relations, executive correspondences and speaking opportunities. Manages general content for website.
Financial Reporting & Management – Maintain accurate accounting of all income and expenditures, investments and banking. Interface with Treasure and supervise Bookkeeper to fulfill information requests and maintain reporting accuracy. Supervises completion of all employment and annual taxes.
Event Planning – Plans and maintains annual and other fund raising events, providing leadership to staff, board and other volunteers. Secures sponsorships, marketing, and partnership opportunities. The Board of Directors has an events committee to support these efforts.
Database and Records Management – Maintains paper and electronic records of contributors and grants. Maintain security and quality controls. Generate queries, reports, exports and any other collection data as needed. Manage any related vendors. Supervision/mentoring of data entry interns. Seattle Education Access currently uses Salesforce with Common Ground (CRM) and Vertical Response.
QUALIFICATIONS:
• Bachelor’s degree or higher
• Significant direct fund raising experience, especially individual giving and donor cultivation
• Proven track record of achieving revenue targets of $1,000,000 or more annually
• Strong commitment to education
• Positive attitude, high energy and an effective, flexible and positive approach to teamwork
• Extremely self-motivated and self-managing; works well under pressure and able to handle several projects at one time
• Strong leadership skills
• Goal-oriented, and highly productive; significant initiative and follow-through
• Strong verbal communications skills, attention to detail, and demonstrated ability to write clearly and persuasively
• Demonstrated ability to think strategically and thorough understanding of strategic development
• Demonstrated ability to prospect, cultivate, and manage new individual donors
• Good partnership building and event planning skills
• Proven management and leadership capabilities
• Comprehensive understanding of all components of a diversified funding base
• Strong computer and database program knowledge and skills
• Past volunteer and/or work experience with marginalized populations a plus
• Ability to work well in multicultural teams and with diverse populations
The successful applicant will be solely responsible for planning and implementing the organizations development efforts with the support of its Staff, Board of Directors, committees and other key volunteers. The applicant should work well in multicultural teams and with diverse constituencies. The applicant’s personal and professional values should be strongly aligned with the mission and values of Seattle Education Access, and s/he should demonstrate a strong commitment to education. S/he will be self-motivated, work well under pressure and be able to handle several projects at one time. S/he will have good judgment and a sense of humor.
APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS:
In order to be considered for this position, please submit the following three items.
1. Cover letter describing your qualifications, your interest in the position, and how you will be able to help SEA realize its mission, vision, and values.
2. Current résumé.
3. Three references. One from a previous supervisor required. One from a professional contact that can speak to your work ethic and values highly recommended.
Submit your application electronically to apply@seattleeducationaccess.org. Only complete applications will be considered.