Development and Marketing VISTA - PAID Opportunity

Idaho Youth Ranch; Idaho; On-site; USD 16,000 - 20,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Modest living allowance

Health coverage option

Childcare assistance (if eligible)

Non-competitive federal employment eligibility

Professional development opportunities

Job summary

A nonprofit focused on youth services is seeking a Development and Marketing VISTA to enhance organizational capacity across influencer marketing, event planning, and grant readiness. This role will involve developing systems, creating documents, and building frameworks that support fundraising and capacity-building efforts. Ideal candidates should be strategic thinkers with excellent writing skills, comfortable in research, and organized in managing multiple projects. A passion for youth mental health and community impact is essential.

Qualifications

• Ability to create systems and toolkits for others.
• Strong writing for various communication needs.
• Experience with social media marketing or grant writing is preferred.

Responsibilities

• Conduct landscape research for influencer marketing.
• Develop event planning workflows and standardized templates.
• Build a centralized grant research database.

Skills

Strategic thinking

Writing skills

Research and analysis

Nonprofit development interest

Social media marketing

Organization & multitasking

Passion for youth mental health

Education

Bachelor's degree or relevant experience

Job description

Every child is born full of promise, and every child deserves a promising future.

The Idaho Youth Ranch has been helping good kids on a dangerous path find promising futures for more than 60 years, with youth programs and services through the state. We offer emergency shelter, residential care, substance abuse treatment, job readiness training, alternative education, adoption services, family counseling, and more for at-risk kids and their struggling parents and families. No matter what a child is up against, the Idaho Youth Ranch can help. Every kid who comes to us faces their own unique challenges and issues. So we adapt our services to meet their needs, instead of the other way around. The Idaho Youth Ranch approach is to intervene early, when our help can do the most good; treat the whole child, not just one symptom; and finish the job by sticking with each kid as long as they need us.

Our work would not be possible without generous donations from people like you. Thanks to our donors and our statewide network of 29 thrift stores, we can help kids and families effectively and immediately even if they can’t afford the entire cost of care. Whenever you make a cash donation, shop at one of our stores, or donate items we can sell, you become part of our promise to Idaho’s kids. Thank you!

Location

Idaho Youth Ranch – Emerald Site | Boise, Idaho

Service Term

Approximately one year (start date TBD – confirm with AmeriCorps program officer)

Schedule

Full-time

Focus Area

Capacity Building

Living Allowance

Biweekly, plus a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award upon completion

About Idaho Youth Ranch

Idaho Youth Ranch has spent more than seven decades helping Idaho’s most vulnerable youth and families find hope and healing. From residential treatment and outpatient counseling to equine therapy and a beloved network of thrift stores, Idaho Youth Ranch provides a continuum of care for youth and families in crisis. This VISTA role sits at the intersection of marketing, fundraising, and grant strategy—building the organizational capacity that fuels every program we offer.

Position Summary

The Development and Marketing VISTA will build long-term organizational capacity across three critical areas: social media and influencer marketing (~40%), event and donor development (~30%), and grant readiness (~30%). This is not a maintain-the-status-quo role—you’ll create scalable systems, documented playbooks, and reusable tools that strengthen Idaho Youth Ranch’s ability to raise funds, tell its story, and sustain mission-critical programs long after your service term ends.

Important Note

This is a capacity-building role focused on creating sustainable systems and infrastructure—not a direct-service or administrative support position.

What You’ll Do

Marketing & Influencer Partnerships (~40%)

You’ll conduct landscape research to map influencer categories aligned with sustainability, thrift culture, youth advocacy, and mental health awareness, then design a comprehensive Influencer Engagement Framework covering eligibility criteria, partnership tiers, messaging guidelines, and brand alignment standards. From there, you’ll develop outreach templates, onboarding materials, partnership agreement templates, and content expectation guides that staff can use independently. You’ll also build an internal tracking system for influencer prospects and performance metrics, create a campaign planning calendar aligned with organizational priorities, and compile everything into a formal Influencer Partnership Manual for long-term sustainability.

Events & Donor Development (~30%)

You’ll develop standardized event planning workflows, master checklists, and documentation toolkits—including budget templates, vendor comparison matrices, risk assessments, and post-event evaluation frameworks—for Idaho Youth Ranch’s recurring fundraising and community engagement events. On the donor side, you’ll design stewardship frameworks outlining communication cadences, recognition tiers, and engagement pathways, and draft reusable templates for thank-you letters, follow-up emails, and sponsorship acknowledgments. You’ll also build a tracking structure that maps donor and sponsor engagement stages, research new funding sectors, and compile all materials into a Development Systems Playbook.

Grant Readiness & Writing Support (~30%)

You’ll conduct grant landscape research to identify funding opportunities in youth mental health, trauma-informed care, youth homelessness, workforce development, and related areas, then build a centralized grant research database with standardized evaluation criteria. You’ll create reusable narrative libraries—organizational history, program descriptions, theory of change, impact statements, and boilerplate language—along with program-specific case statement templates. Finally, you’ll develop a grants tracking calendar and workflow system, a data compilation framework for outcome metrics, and a comprehensive Grants Process Guide covering everything from opportunity identification through submission readiness.

Ideal Candidate

• A strategic thinker who loves building systems and toolkits that other people can pick up and run with.
• Excellent writing skills—you’ll draft everything from influencer scripts to grant narratives to donor thank-you letters.
• Comfortable with research, analysis, and organizing complex information into clear, actionable formats.
• Experience with or strong interest in social media marketing, nonprofit development, or grant writing.
• Organized, self-motivated, and able to manage multiple workstreams with overlapping timelines.
• Genuine passion for youth mental health, community impact, or the nonprofit sector.
• Bachelor’s degree preferred but not required; relevant experience and enthusiasm matter most.

VISTA Member Benefits

• Modest living allowance paid biweekly, plus a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award upon completion.
• Health coverage option, childcare assistance (if eligible), and choice of end-of-service stipend or additional education award.
• Non-competitive eligibility for federal employment for one year after service.
• Professional development, networking, and mentorship within a mission-driven organization.