Development Associate

The Healing Place; Wilmington (NC); On-site; USD 40,000 - 60,000; Full time

Job summary

The Healing Place in Wilmington, NC seeks a Development Associate to support fundraising, donor relations, communications, and event activities. You will help maintain accurate donor records, assist with campaigns, and craft engagement materials to advance our mission of supporting recovery.

Ideal candidates are organized, detail-oriented, and passionate about nonprofit work. This role involves occasional evenings or weekends for events and local travel as needed, with opportunities to

Qualifications

• Experience in fundraising, grant writing, nonprofit development, communications, or administrative support.
• Strong writing, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• High attention to detail and organizational abilities.
• Confidentiality and professionalism with sensitive information.
• Familiarity with donor databases such as DonorPerfect is a plus.
• Ability to multitask and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.

Responsibilities

• Prepare thank-you letters, donor updates, and engagement materials.
• Maintain donor data, gift entries, and reporting in the donor database.
• Generate monthly development reports and assist with data cleanup and segmentation.
• Support annual fundraising campaigns, including Giving Tuesday and special appeals.
• Assist with grant preparation and data gathering for program success stories.
• Maintain a grants calendar and update grant reports as required.
• Conduct donor/prospect research to support major gift strategy.
• Provide event and campaign support: guest lists, logistics, and setup/breakdown.
• Create donor communications and promotional materials, ensuring brand consistency.
• Collaborate with program staff to gather impact data and stories for development use.
• Represent The Healing Place at community events and support other mission-driven tasks.

Skills

Fundraising

Grant writing

Communications

Administrative support

Donor relations

Data entry

Tools

DonorPerfect

Microsoft Office

Job description

Position Overview

The Development Associate supports the mission of The Healing Place of New Hanover County by assisting with fundraising, donor relations, communications, and event support. This role is essential in helping the organization build meaningful relationships with donors, maintain accurate giving records, and execute development initiatives that strengthen financial sustainability. The ideal candidate is detail-oriented, organized, and passionate about supporting individuals on their recovery journey.

Key Responsibilities

Donor Stewardship & Relations

• Support stewardship efforts by preparing thank-you letters, donor updates, and engagement materials.
• Assist with donor recognition, acknowledgments, and maintaining regular communication with supporters.
• Help identify donor interests and track donor interactions to support cultivation efforts.

Database & Administrative Management

• Maintain accurate donor data, gift entries, and reporting within the donor database.
• Ensure timely gift processing and generate monthly development reports.
• Assist with data cleanup, segmentation, and analysis for fundraising campaigns.

Fundraising Support

• Help execute annual fundraising campaigns, including year-end giving, Giving Tuesday, and special appeals.
• Assist with grant preparation and research by gathering program data, success stories, and organizational information.
• Maintaining a grants calendar and organizing/updating grant reports as needed per grant requirements.
• Conduct basic donor or prospect research to support major gift strategy.

Event & Campaign Assistance

• Provide support for fundraising events and community engagement activities.
• Coordinate event logistics such as guest lists, materials, volunteer coordination, and day-of setup and breakdown.
• Assist in creating event-related communications and promotional materials.

Marketing & Communications Support

• Help create content for newsletters, social media, and donor communications.
• Gather client success stories, program highlights, and photos (with appropriate permissions).
• Ensure brand consistency in all messaging and materials.

Collaboration & Mission Support

• Work closely with program staff to gather impact data, stories, and updates for development use.
• Represent The Healing Place of New Hanover County at community events as needed.
• Support other administrative or mission-driven tasks as assigned by the Director of Development.

Qualifications

• Experience in fundraising, grant writing, nonprofit development, communications, or administrative support.
• Strong writing, communication, and interpersonal skills.
• High attention to detail and strong organizational abilities.
• Comfortable handling sensitive information with confidentiality and professionalism.
• Familiarity with donor databases such as DonorPerfect is a plus.
• Ability to multitask and meet deadlines in a fast-paced environment.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite and basic marketing tools preferred.
• Passion for the mission and values of The Healing Place of New Hanover County.

Work Environment

• Occasional evening or weekend hours required for events and campaign activities.
• Ability to lift up to 20-25 pounds for event setup is helpful.
• Local travel may be required for meetings or community events.