Job Description:

Position Title: Development Associate

Position Type: Full-Time

FLSA Classification: Non-Exempt

Division: Museum Relations

Department: Development

Reports to: Director of Development

Compensation Range: $21.20 - $26.49 per hour

Date Reviewed: 7/14/2024

 About Crystal Bridges:

Crystal Bridges is a museum of American art located in Bentonville, Arkansas. We explore the unfolding story of America by actively collecting, exhibiting, interpreting, and preserving outstanding works that illuminate the American heritage and artistic possibilities. Founded by Alice Walton in 2005, the museum opened in 2011 and is a public, non-profit charitable organization with free admission.

Position Summary:

Reporting to the Director of Development, the Development Associate serves as lead writer for revenue generating activity including formal proposals and funding requests, graphic presentations, impact reports, appeals, and gratitude communications. The Development Associate will also serve as the lead project manager to gather assets and content for the philanthropy newsletter. The Development Associate may collaborate with prospect research to develop donor profiles and grants management on grant applications. The Development Associate will organize materials that foster collaboration and document activity, as appropriate, in the fundraising CRM.

Principal Responsibilities:

Resource Development (30%)

• Manages, writes, and organizes all stages of funding proposals for assigned funders and prospects including outreach, introduction and letters of inquiry, formal proposals, presentations, and other materials.
• Works collaboratively with development team agency program, evaluation and finance staff in the development and submission of proposals, reports and grant budgets.
• Cultivates new private and public sector funders by arranging site visits and other engagement opportunities with development director and leadership.

Stewardship and Communication (30%)

• Gathers impact report content including analytics and performance stats, images, testimonials, and financial information.
• Compiles information, synthesizes, and writes draft impact reports for team review and comment; makes timely edits, organizes delivery to funders, and manages impact report log.
• Serves as lead to gather assets and content for the philanthropy newsletter and drafts copy based on the editorial outline.

Administrative Support (30%)

• Supports the Director of Development with stewardship of funders and other duties related to resource development.
• Organizes and manages electronic files of all fundraising documents (proposals, reports,     letters, etc.)
• Organizes materials for proposal templates and manages compliance for funding support.
• Manages acknowledgements and collaborates with departments for charitable gift receipts, acknowledgements, and pledge reminders.
• Participates fully in staff and supports the organization’s community and fundraising events.
• Other duties as assigned.

Development Team Collaboration (10%)

• Embraces and adopts the ideals of the Inclusion, Diversity, Equity, and Accessibility (IDEA to foster diversity, inclusion, and tolerance within the museum and to influence policy.
• Understands and proactively supports cross-functional relationships and the importance of collaborative work that capitalizes on opportunities for teamwork.
• Supports alignment to achieve successful completion of department expectations and deliverables to achieve activity and revenue goals.

Qualifications and Skills:

Minimum Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in business administration, communication, marketing, or related field.
• 3-5 years of experience in grant granting, proposal development, preparation, and writing, including budget preparation and submission to individuals, corporations, and foundations.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills.
• Proficiency with MS Office suite (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, Teams, and Outlook); as well as Canva.
• Proficiency in fundraising CRM i.e. Razor’s Edge, Salesforce, Tessitura, Donor Perfect, etc.
• Strong administrative and organizational skills; attentive to details; able to manage multiple tasks and meet deadlines.
• Strong project management skills, with the ability to drive complex, multi-faceted projects forward to deliver results on time.
• Ability to accept and synthesize constructive critique of work.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Experience working in a nonprofit setting.
• Working knowledge of AP writing style.

Physical Demands and Work Environment:

The physical demands and work environment characteristics described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this position. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

• Physical demands: In the work environment described below, position requires work at a desk, utilizing a computer and a telephone for prolonged periods of time, good eye/hand coordination, bending and stretching for filing, and physical stamina to lift a minimum of 25 pounds to a height of at least three feet for file and materials storage as appropriate for the demands of the office. Visual acuity to review written materials is required for this job.
• Work will be performed in an office environment and museum spaces. The noise level in the museum work environment is usually low to moderate.