The Garden State Initiative (GSI) seeks a full-time Development Associate to advance GSI’s mission by cultivating new and existing donor relationships, completing daily fundraising activities, and achieving short- and long-term development goals.  The Development Associate may work from the organization’s Harding, NJ, (just south of Morristown) office or remotely within the state of New Jersey but work at GSI’s office at least one day a week.

The Development Associate will be responsible for building and maintaining a strong development program in a “start-up” environment. The Development Associate will have the opportunity to put his or her imprint on the organization and will be expected to work closely with the President and others to grow the organization in size and influence.

More specifically, the Development Associate’s main responsibilities will include:

• Implement a Development Plan – work with the President to set and achieve annual, quarterly, and monthly development goals and outcomes
• Donor Identification – identify high net-worth individual donors and foundation prospects, both in and outside of New Jersey
• Donor Relations – initiate and maintain meaningful relationships with donors and prospects, ensuring that partners are brought into the life of the organization
• Direct Mail – manage direct-mail efforts, including writing and facilitating the creation of direct-mail letters and packages, managing data entry in Salesforce and mailing lists, and coordinating with printers and other vendors
• Database Management – oversee the entry and upkeep of all donor, prospect, and constituent information in Salesforce
• Grant Maintenance – manage all aspects of grant activity, including the identification of grant opportunities, writing grant proposals, and fulfilling all grant requirements
• Event Coordination – oversee a limited number of small fundraising events
• Follow-Up – make follow-up phone calls to all new donors, prioritize and provide calendar support for the President’s outreach to major donors, and provide quick turnaround on all thank you letters, handwritten notes, and receipts to all donors
• Messaging – ensure that all development communications are consistent with all other communications of the organization

Qualifications
The ideal candidate will have a strong commitment to GSI’s principles and mission, as well as experience in development, ideally in a policy research organization. The successful candidate should demonstrate a track record of proactive fundraising skills and habits, and the willingness to strive for and attain aggressive development goals.

The Development Associate will also receive training and guidance from State Policy Network development experts. This mentoring will allow the Associate to learn about critical fundraising strategies and techniques; and, as a result, excel more quickly and efficiently.

Qualified applicants will possess the following:

• 1-3 years of fundraising experience preferred, ideally in a free-market nonprofit setting
• Experience with individual donors and foundations
• Ability to handle multiple projects efficiently and meet deadlines
• Entrepreneurial spirit and self-starter mentality
• Relationship building skills and an outgoing personality
• Excellent communication skills, in particular, writing skills
• A passion for economic freedom and implementation of policy that can advance free markets, individual liberty, and limited government
• Familiarity with or connection to New Jersey is preferred
• Experience with Salesforce (or similar database)
• Ability to travel to meet with donors and participate in development-related activities

Application Process:

Interested candidates should submit the following materials in one PDF file with your full name in the file name:

• Résumé
• Cover letter – this should include salary requirements and a thoughtful explanation of the applicant’s philosophical interest in the organization

Please include “Development Associate, GSI--[Your Name]” in the subject line of your email.

Materials should be emailed in one PDF document to Ben Shelton, Senior Consultant of American Philanthropic: bshelton@americanphilanthropic.com

While we thank all applicants in advance for their interest in this position, we are only able to contact those to whom we can offer an interview. No phone calls please.