Development Coordinator

After School Matters is a Chicago-based nonprofit organization that annually offers after-school and summer programs to nearly 19,000 Chicago high school teens to explore and develop their talents while gaining critical skills that will set them up for success in college and beyond.

Thirty years later, now known as After School Matters, our program has engaged more than 400,000 Chicago teens and is the nation’s largest and most successful provider of after-school and summer programs for high school teens. No other organization offers programs to high school students at the scale and quality that we do.

We offer paid apprenticeships led by professionals in the fields of arts, communications and leadership, sports, and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). Our nationally respected youth development model has been replicated in cities across the country and earned us the City Livability Award from the U.S. Conference of Mayors.

Programs take place at community locations throughout the city, including three ASM buildings: downtown at Gallery 37 Center for the Arts, the Michael and Karyn Lutz Center in Belmont Cragin, and the Pullman community at Gately Park.

Currently, After School Matters’ annual operating budget is approximately $35M and employs approximately 500 staff across the organization.

For more information, visit www.afterschoolmatters.org.


Summary of Position:
Reporting to the Development Manager, this entry level role is perfect for someone interested in starting a career in fundraising. After School Matters (ASM) believes that historically excluded groups belong in fundraising, and we are creating pathways to join and grow in the field. In this role, we’ll offer on-the-job training and find avenues for formal training, too. We’ll build on the relationship skills you’ve gained in other settings, like sales, marketing, or customer service, to launch your career in cultivating relationships with prospective donors and soliciting funds for programs.

The Development Coordinator is responsible for collaborating with the Development Manager and key development team members to cultivate, solicit, and steward individual donors and prospects. This individual plays a critical role by supporting and leading projects that help reach individual giving fundraising goals.

This is a full-time position. ASM alumni, interns, volunteers, instructors, and other community partners are encouraged to apply.


Major Duties and Responsibilities:

• Lead fundraising initiatives to help expand the individual donor base.
  • Manage and develop peer-to-peer fundraising initiatives including managing TEAM ASM, JustGiving, and Facebook fundraising.
  • Collaborate with the Development Manager on new prospect strategies for engaging the Chicago community and ASM family.
• Manage ASM’s quarterly multi-channel (direct mail, email, web etc.) appeal process including the Year-End Giving strategy.
  • Be the first copywriter on all appeals creating compelling and concise stories to produce the final product.
  • Coordinate and execute appeals by collaborating with the Marketing and Communications team.
  • Ensure ASM’s brand and overall marketing and communications strategy is used consistently and effectively through all assigned fundraising appeals.
• Manage the stewardship matrix, including donor activities to steward donors at a variety of financial giving levels. Perform administrative tasks, such as:
  • Create and save acknowledgement letters in Box (Microsoft cloud platform) and Raiser’s Edge (donor database).
  • Manage shared ASM email inboxes.
  • Manage and update marketing content for donor folders.
• Support ASM leadership, especially those who maintain a portfolio of individual donors, with donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship activities.
  • Conduct thorough research on current and prospective individual donors to prepare CEO, Chief Development Officer, and ASM leadership as needed for donor visits.
  • Process in-kind donations.
  • Assist in preparing donor proposals and reports.
  • Track and update Board and VIP donor information (such as birthdays and assistant names) with Executive Assistant to CEO on a quarterly basis.
• Support other members of the Development team as assigned:
  • Support the Chief Development Officer as needed with meeting prep, board decks, etc.
  • Assist on-site at fast-paced, high-profile fundraising events, and other events as needed.
  • Invoice event donors for our Annual Gala and Sneaker Ball.
  • Take on a variety of administrative projects and day-to-day tasks including mailings, assembly projects, and the creation and printing of name tags for events.
  • Collect past event information including data and pictures and produce additional event reports as needed/requested.
  • Support our Associate Board (attend meetings, cultivate relationships, etc.)
• Benchmark “best practices” to create standardized individual giving processes.
• Other duties as assigned.

Supervisory Responsibilities:

• None

Physical Demands:
The physical demands here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Must be able to sit and work at a computer for long periods of time.

Work Environment:
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job.  Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Position requires in-person 2-3 days a week and remote the remaining days.
• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is not exposed to weather conditions.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Strong written and oral communication skills.
• The successful candidate must be self-motivated, directed, and reliable, possessing excellent administrative skills and a proven ability to meet deadlines and analyze data.
• A strong team orientation, toward both internal and external constituencies is required.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree required and a minimum of 2 years fundraising experience preferred.
• Writing samples required (2-3, one of which must be a creative writing sample).
• Proficient in fundraising software (Raiser's Edge preferred), social media, Microsoft Office.
• Commitment to a mission-driven organization, ability to maintain donor confidentiality, and desire to advance the mission and vision of ASM is required.

Salary:
The salary for the Development Coordinator position is between to $50,000 -$55,000, depending on experience.


Additional Requirements:
Staff are required to provide proof of COVID-19 Vaccination or have an approved medical or sincerely held religious beliefs exemption prior to starting employment. If a medical or sincerely held religious belief exemption is approved, weekly Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) testing is required.


How to Apply:

• Apply by submitting a resume, cover letter, and application here

EEO:
After School Matters is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, ancestry, national origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, protected veteran status, military discharge status, age, marital status, parental status, or source of income.