Fundraising and Community Engagement Assistant

Fundraising and Community Engagement Assistant, Center for Wildlife- Dynamic and unique wildlife conservation medicine and environmental education center seeks full-time, highly organized and relationship focused fundraising professional. This is an exciting time to join our team, as Center for Wildlife has emerged as one of the leading non-profits in our field in Northern New England, and is in the last phase of a $10M transformational capital campaign and facilities expansion. With an established and diversified fundraising strategy, we're seeking a candidate looking to grow with our team. Center for Wildlife's strategic fundraising and development program places emphasis on storytelling, authentic connection, seeking new prospects along with cultivating, stewarding and engaging lasting relationships with individuals, businesses, and private foundations.  

Responsibilities

Under the supervision of the Development Director, responsible for the following: 

A. Earned Income and Special Events 30%

1. Create content and implement marketing and promotion for earned income to ensure monthly goals are met, utilizing CFW’s established messaging and brand guidelines
2. Conduct booking, invoicing, tracking and follow up for onsite rentals
3. Point of contact for all corporate and individual onsite rentals
4. Develop, coordinate and organize content, activities, staffing, and fundraising opportunities for special events throughout the year as assigned 
5. Maintain and create strategic partnerships and outreach opportunities with nonprofits and businesses 
6. Grow and maintain list of preferred vendors 
7. Assist Development Director in engaging staff and board with organization-wide fundraising events and initiatives 
8. Conduct tours for individual and business prospects 
9. Ensure all rental spaces and public areas are maintained and ready for viewing in conjunction with the Education & Outreach team

B. Donor Relations and Community Engagement 30%

1. Provide support to Development Director for all fundraising activities including annual giving, endowment, major gifts, legacy gifts, capital campaigns, grants, special projects, fundraising events, social media, and other fundraising solicitations as required 
2. Assist ED and DD in conducting research and create strategies to identify, prioritize, cultivate, solicit, and recognize new donors and prospects with a focus on businesses
3. In collaboration with Education and Outreach team, serve as point of contact for tabling events and partnerships with businesses and other organizations
4. Grow and maintain list of business supporters and prospects
5. Provide support with donor mailings including scrubbing data, vendor communications, mail merge, and formatting

C. Social Media 20%

1. Manage earned income, membership and community engagement content and posting schedule for all of Center for Wildlife’s social media platforms. Content should include: patient and/or ambassador highlights, clinic and education program initiatives, donor and business spotlights, upcoming events, and funding opportunities 
2. Ensure Center for Wildlife’s messaging is consistent across all social media platforms 
3. Work with clinic and education teams to highlight and secure in-kind donation needs

D. Organization Promotion and Materials 10%              

1. Utilizing established messaging, priorities, and branding guidelines, design and implement marketing materials for earned income opportunities and signature events 
2. Engage donors in education and clinic program events and content 
3. In collaboration with the Marketing and Outreach Coordinator (MOC) update the website with donor recognition, fundraising goals/drives, and ensuring updates and consistency across pages
4. Stock front lobby with relevant donor cultivation and membership materials
5. Manage adoption and membership promotion, packaging, and mailings as necessary
6. Assist Development Director with design and creation of appeals and newsletters specifically monthly appeals to animal admission constituents and a monthly newsletter to CFW members
7. Support ongoing education and medical clinic PR, and assist with operating or capital campaign PR as needed 

E. Organization-Wide Support, Duties, and Expectations 10%

1. Seek out professional development opportunities in order to keep up to date on best practice
2. Attends meetings and participates on CFW committees as necessary
3. Support and foster positive work culture
4. Assists in the adherence to CFW policies and procedures
5. Assists in the implementation of CFW strategic plan and initiatives
6. Recommends initiatives and changes to improve quality and services for CFW in areas of responsibility
7. Identifies and determines cause of roadblocks or issues; presents recommendations for improvement of established processes and practices; initiates and implements plans to solve problems for daily and ongoing tasks
8. Works with other areas to coordinate workflow and activities to insure a seamless operation 
9. Maintains contact with stakeholders and solicits feedback for improved services 
10. Prepares progress reports, informs supervisor of project status and deviation from goals; prepares activity reports for management guidance  
11. Ensures completeness, accuracy, and timeliness of all operation functions
12. Remaining up to date with organizational policies, protocols, messaging, and handbook
13. Maintaining a growth mindset and being active in critical thinking and problem solving processes with coworkers
14. Establishes rapport with diverse range of staff, interns, volunteers, and constituents
15. Maintains dignity and self-control in difficult situations
16. Research and remain current on wildlife natural history, ecology, and CFW statistics and philosophy 
17. Performs regular self-assessment, communicates and verbalizes roadblocks and any impacts to team members and supervisors without prompting
18. Assists staff in other areas as needed; all other duties as required

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will have a bachelor’s degree, excellent communication and negotiation skills, attention to detail, along with a collaborative and entrepreneurial drive. Experience should include 1-2 years of development work including non-profit fundraising events and promotion, corporate and private functions, vendor and media management. Work in the environmental field is a plus. To perform this job successfully, an individual must be able to perform each essential duty satisfactorily. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The requirements listed below are representative of the knowledge, skills, and/or ability required:

1. Experience working in a small/medium sized non-profit organization
2. Ability to maintain professionalism and positivity in a fast-paced and goal-driven environment
3. Proven ability to follow instructions and organization policies/ protocols along with desire to prioritize organization’s priorities over personal preference
4. Highly organized with ability to multitask
5. Ability to work independently and collaboratively
6. Highly skilled in greeting visitors/members or fielding phone/email inquiries, determining nature of business and directing to appropriate staff person
7. Able to give accurate and detailed information to members/ donors
8. Ability to assimilate information, tailoring donor asks and benefits to individual, business, or foundation’s interest
9. In-depth knowledge of typing correspondences, reports and other documents
10. Proven record of positively engaging callers on the telephone, giving relevant information to callers and routing calls to appropriate individual
11. Demonstrated ability to schedule appointments and meetings
12. Adept at compiling and typing statistical reports and charts
13. Computer: Extremely proficient in Microsoft Office (especially Word, Outlook, and Excel); experience with donor software and record-keeping (specifically Blackbaud Altru is a plus); basic graphic design, video and marketing applications such as Canva, Vimeo, Adobe Creative Suite and Constant Contact
14. Communication: Able to work and converse efficiently with all levels of colleagues, clients and other external contacts; experience working with non-profit volunteers a plus
15. Demonstrated attention to detail
16. Excellent time management skills and ability to meet deadlines without external prompting
17. Ability to self assess and communicate roadblocks along with solutions to supervisor and peers
18. Exceptional interpersonal skills