Development Associate

Onward Injury Law; United States; Remote; USD 45,000 - 65,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading non-profit organization is seeking a full-time Development Associate dedicated to enhancing and supporting a growing major gifts program. This role involves database management, donor communication, and the strategic planning of fundraising initiatives, making it ideal for organized individuals with strong project management skills. Candidates committed to equity-informed fundraising practices who thrive in team settings are encouraged to apply.

Qualifications

• Familiarity with data entry and reporting in CRM systems.
• Experience in donor relations and fundraising environments.
• Ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects.

Responsibilities

• Oversee database administration and ensure data integrity.
• Manage donor communication and gift processing tasks.
• Coordinate fundraising events and donor relations activities.

Skills

Attention to detail

Project management

Communication

Interpersonal skills

Data analysis

Education

Experience with CRM databases

Experience with Microsoft Office suite

Tools

Salesforce

QuickBooks

Asana

Job description

DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATE JOB DESCRIPTION

POSITION OVERVIEW

The ACLU of Montana is hiring a full-time Development Associate to enhance and support a growing major gifts program. This position reports to the Director of Philanthropy and is ideal for someone who thinks critically, thrives on working with data and systems to inform strategy, and has a strong eye for detail. An interest in equity-informed fundraising practices, a love of learning, and an ability to operate within a high-performing team environment are keys for success in this role.

The Development Associate will handle the day-to-day operations for the development team, helping to streamline processes and boost the department's effectiveness and precision. Core responsibilities include managing and optimizing the donor database, processing contributions, ensuring prompt and accurate donor acknowledgments, assisting with donor research, and contributing to revenue tracking and planning.

This role also acts as the lead coordinator for system improvements and special projects such as donor mailings, smaller-scale events, and data analysis initiatives. Top candidates will be highly organized, strong communicators with excellent interpersonal and project management skills, and capable of managing multiple priorities independently and collaboratively. A proactive, solution-oriented mindset is essential to support both team cohesion and long-term development objectives.

We recognize that potential candidates with identities that have been historically excluded from the fundraising field may be less likely to apply for jobs unless they meet every one of the qualifications described in the job description. If you believe that you could excel in this role, we encourage you to apply.

ABOUT THE ACLU OF MONTANA

The ACLU of Montana Foundation “ACLU of Montana” (founded in 1972) is an affiliate of the national ACLU (founded in 1920) and operates as a private, non-profit organization. We are the state’s largest and most influential civil rights organization. Our current top priorities are Indigenous Justice, criminal legal reform, 2S-LGBTQIA+ rights, and voting rights. We work on a range of additional issues including reproductive justice, immigrants’ rights, freedom of speech and religion, and informational and digital privacy. The ACLU of Montana envisions a fair, equitable, and free Montana that welcomes and celebrates diversity of all kinds. In our Montana, everybody is treated with dignity and respect and has equal access to rights and freedoms.

The ACLU of Montana maintains a friendly work environment, with a current staff of 11 distributed across the state. We co-create a supportive organizational culture, with flexibility and consideration of personal needs and circumstances. To learn more about the staff and work of the ACLU of Montana, please visit http://aclumontana.org.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES

Database Administration, Gift Processing, and Data Analysis
Oversee all tasks related to data quality and integrity, and the maintenance of accurate constituent records in the donor database.
Ensure timely gift processing and acknowledgments on a weekly basis, including communication with donors, finance team, and donor database.
Prepare monthly, quarterly, and annual reports that use data to evaluate development department progress toward goals.
Collaborate on monthly, quarterly, and annual income reconciliation between Salesforce (donor database) and QuickBooks (accounting software) with the finance team.
Play a leadership role with annual income reconciliation with National ACLU, finance team, and annual audit requests.
Assist with any donor database needs to support all stewardship, event, and solicitation mailings done within the affiliate.
Participate in weekly and monthly National ACLU development learning communities and ad hoc training opportunities to keep informed of best practices, trends, and opportunities for program improvements.

Portfolio Management
Execute strong project management of quarterly portfolio strategy meetings, including leading process of organizing a high volume of tasks for roughly 125 donors across three portfolios.
Serve as the department point-person for annual portfolio reset process with National ACLU, and portfolio assignment decisions on a quarterly basis following department strategy meetings.
Run and analyze monthly task reports for out-the-door fundraisers (Director of Philanthropy and Executive Director).
Draft donor and prospect strategy memos for front-line fundraisers, including elements of prospect research.
Ensure accurate and timely data entry following interactions with donors.
Gather technical information (financial statements, budget, board/staff list, etc.) required for grant applications. Work in collaboration with staff leading grant work to ensure timely management of grant reports and proposals.
Support the Director of Philanthropy with Philanthropy Council activities, including coordinating calendars, helping to craft meeting agendas, learning to lead prospecting conversations, and converting ideas to clear action plans.
Assist in the coordination of meeting and travel logistics for the out-the-door fundraising team.

Donor and Member Relations
Update content of gift acknowledgement letter on bi-monthly basis.
Respond to high-volume, basic donor inquiries via email and phone.
Conduct monthly donor qualification phone calls to gain experience in front-line fundraising, steward prospective major donors with a touch-point, and identify possible new donors to include in portfolio work based on a variety of key metrics.
Lead all project management and significant tasks (including some limited writing of compelling copy) for periodic development department Zoom events and orchestrate the development department components of organization-wide events.

Staff Teamwork and Collaboration
Collaborate with other departments of the ACLU of Montana, as necessary, to support legal, policy and organizing work, communications and storytelling, grant proposals and funding opportunities, administrative tasks, and other related work.
Ensure all administrative tasks are completed in a timely and accurate manner, including, but not limited to, travel and other expense reimbursements, timesheets, and other related financial and personnel documents.
Actively engage with the ACLU of Montana team through regular staff meetings, continuing racial equity and inclusion work, professional development opportunities, occasional retreats, and periodic committees.
Attend periodic ACLU functions.
Assist in other duties as assigned within the scope of these responsibilities.

Competency and Commitment to Racial Equity
The ACLU of Montana is committed to, and engaging in, ongoing racial equity work with an emphasis on anti-racism and anti-colonialism. As a staff member, you will be asked to commit, contribute and engage in the following ways:
Demonstrate commitment to building or deepening understanding of equity, in which racial equity and anti-racism and anti-colonialism are centered.
Engage with the issues of institutional and structural racism and bias and their impact on underserved and underrepresented communities.
Embrace self-learning and reflection through optional racial employee resource group conversations, activities, and support.
Within the scope of the position, understand, explore, and utilize concepts such as structural racism, settler colonialism, anti-Blackness, Indigeneity, restorative justice, gender bias, whiteness, and other related topics:
To confront how race impacts supervisory relationships, team dynamics, organizational culture and how biases impact our individual and/or teamwork.
To engage in honest, thoughtful conversations about racial equity through a restorative justice approach that accepts feedback openly, non-defensively, emphasizing learning and healing, while balancing accountability.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

The following experiences are integral to meeting job responsibilities. Please be sure to identify and highlight these in your application and throughout the hiring process. We deeply value lived experience in addition to any professional, volunteer, or coursework experience related to the items described below. If you have very strong skills in one area, but fewer skills in another area, you are encouraged to apply and share your plan for building an individual personal development plan that grows and complements your existing skill set.
Expertise using any Customer Relationship Management (CRM) database, or large data-set, for data entry and reporting purposes;
Significant experience working with various softwares, including, but not limited to PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Canva, Slack, and Asana (or similar systems);
Exceptional skill with project management, specifically working within a team advancing toward a larger goal;
Exceptional attention to detail and accuracy;
The ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects simultaneously and meet deadlines;
Commitment to good customer service, confidentiality, and accuracy of sensitive records;
Must be available for periodic weekend and evening responsibilities;
Commitment to building and deepening understanding of equity, in which an anti-racism and anti-colonialism lens are centered.
Understanding and willingness to engage with the issues of institutional and structural racism and bias, and their impact on underserved and underrepresented communities.

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
The following experiences are particularly valuable - please be sure to address these in your resume or cover letter. We encourage you to apply even if you do not have these qualifications.
Experience and working knowledge of Salesforce and/or Blackbaud;
Experience working closely in, or with, a fundraising department (in a professional or volunteer capacity), including a non-profit or political campaign context;
Experience working with a senior member of a management team, managing multiple demands and changing priorities;
Experience with events management, or support of events;
Familiarity with philanthropic trends in Montana’s different geographic regions and/or specific donor communities, such as high net-worth donors of color; and
Knowledge of and values alignment with contemporary movements in the philanthropic sector, such as decolonizing wealth, community-centric fundraising, and more.