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Development Associate 🔥


ORGANIZATIONAL OVERVIEW

About Us and Our Philosophy 

Breakthrough Greater Boston (BTGB) is a transformative college access and teacher training program. BTGB offers six years of academic enrichment and college preparation to middle school and high school students with high potential but limited opportunities. Simultaneously, BTGB recruits, trains and inspires a diverse cohort of high achieving college students to become the next generation of urban teachers. Leveraging a Students Teaching Students model, BTGB provides engaging, tuition-free academic programming during the summer and after school. Our students gain the skills and motivation to succeed in rigorous high school courses and, ultimately, in college. Meanwhile, our teachers gain hands-on experience, research-based training and coaching from professional educators. 

Over the past eight years, 94% of our graduating students have matriculated to college, and 82% of them have persisted through their undergraduate years. On average, more than 70% of our graduating teachers have gone on to pursue careers in education. After two decades of success at our original Cambridge site, BTGB embarked upon a significant program expansion and opened a second site in Boston in the summer of 2013 and a third site in Somerville in 2018. As an independent 501c3 nonprofit, Breakthrough Greater Boston is part of The Breakthrough Collaborative, a national educational movement working to improve educational outcomes for youth across 25 U.S. cities.  

With a deep commitment to our mission, BTGB operates with the highest standards of integrity and best practices, while also enjoying the ability to be innovative and flexible to meet the evolving needs of our students, families and teachers. Our team is diverse, high-performing and dedicated. We continue to build an organizational culture that emphasizes our core values for every member of our community: 

Spirit: We cherish and embody the youthful energy and spirit of our students and teachers 

Continual Learning: Everyone in our community has something to learn and something to teach 

Team Together: We all chip in to accomplish whatever is needed for our teammates and the broader organization 

Student Centered: Our students are our first priority and our decisions center around what benefits our students 

Equity and Opportunity: We value diversity of identity, background and thought. We treat everyone with dignity and respect 

Excellence in Everything: We maintain high expectations for ourselves 

Breakthrough Greater Boston encourages individuals of all backgrounds to apply for this position, and we do not discriminate on any basis prohibited by applicable law. We celebrate the diversity of our world and our community, and we seek to build a team that reflects that diversity in every way. We welcome and encourage all qualified applicants who share that same vision, as we wish to engage all those who can contribute to our work and this mission.


THE OPPORTUNITY

BTGB is currently seeking a motivated and professional Development Associate to play a critical role in the organization’s development function as we expand our reach, programmatic impact and the funding base necessary to support such growth. The Development Associate will be someone who has exceptional project management and communication skills, is highly detail oriented, takes tremendous pride in their work and strives for excellence. They will be excited about making a real impact in people’s lives, enjoy new challenges and be eager to help extend the impact of BTGB’s work to more students and teachers. The Development Associate will report to the Director of Development and Partnerships and also work closely with the Executive Director and Program Team.


POSITION OUTCOMES

A successful Development Associate will:

  • Become knowledgeable about Breakthrough Greater Boston’s programming and be able to tell a compellingly story about the impact of the organization; partner with members of the Program team to stay current and fluent on all successes, impact data, and programmatic innovations.
  • Support in the creation and execution of a more formalized and strategic major gifts program
  • Support donor cultivation and stewardship activities and events such as print and online appeals, our annual Breakthrough Gala and smaller tailored donor experiences.
  • Assist with the writing and design of development and marketing communications across multiple print and digital platforms to a variety of external audiences.
  • Maintain and provide analysis of all individual giving data in the organization’s database, eTapestry, including regularly updating information that’s essential to managing donor and partner relationships.

YOUR CONTRIBUTION

In this exciting role you will be responsible for a variety of critical development and communication responsibilities including:

Donor Stewardship and Solicitation

  • Research and identify individual prospects, particularly major donors
  • Assist with developing the strategy, managing the logistics and executing all activities for major donor engagement opportunities including individual meetings, tailored small events, as well as BTGB’s three annual events: the Breakthrough Gala in May (a large fundraiser), Celebration in August (a student and family event) and Breakthroughs in Education in December (a content-based cultivation event)
  • Support engagement of Breakthrough’s individual giving circles and specialized audiences: The Educators’ Circle (major donors), The Legacy Circle (planned giving), Trustees for Life (former board members), Board of Directors and others
  • Support the Executive Director, Board of Directors and others with their major donor cultivation efforts (arranging meetings, providing background research, sending communications)

Communications

  • Support strategic donor outreach and communications including annual appeals, regular correspondence with major donors and coordination of site visits
  • Manage annual communications to individual donors via social media, email, print mailings and BTGB’s website
  • Support the management of BTGB’s branded collateral, including organizational one pagers
  • Create a strategy and system to send segmented communications to major donors based on areas of interest and more

Data Management

  • Take primary responsibility for maintaining individual donor records and running reports in the organization’s development database, eTapestry
  • Guide the organization in determining the most efficient and effective methods for major donor tracking, including accurate categorization of giving preferences and oversight of moves management
  • Analyze fundraising data so that BTGB can make informed decisions on prospects and strategies

YOUR BACKGROUND AND QUALIFICATIONS

As the incoming Development Associate, you will possess many, though perhaps not all, of the following characteristics and qualifications:

  • At least three years of relevant work experience; direct experience with fundraising
  • Exceptional written and verbal communication skills, including experience interacting with internal and external parties
  • Ability to work on multiple projects, adjust quickly to shifting priorities, meet deadlines, exercise good judgment and handle high-pressure situations
  • Outstanding organization skills and high attention to detail
  • Flexibility and adaptability with a strong work ethic and an entrepreneurial spirit
  • Ability to take initiative and anticipate potential project complications or needs before they arise
  • Energetic, enthusiastic and interested in learning within a fast-paced, fast-growing organization
  • Strong computer skills that includes experience with donor databases (eTapestry preferred), Microsoft Office, social media platforms, design software (such as InDesign) and Wordpress.
  • Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required
  • Experience in educational settings a plus
  • Fluency in Spanish, Haitian Creole, Portuguese, Amharic, Bengali or Somali a plus
  • Candidates of color and those from low-income backgrounds are strongly encouraged to apply

HOW TO JOIN OUR TEAM

If you are interested in learning more about how your passion and experience can help Breakthrough meet its mission and grow its impact, please submit your resume and a thoughtful and targeted cover letter outlining how your skills and experience meet the qualifications of the position and stating how you heard about this opportunity. Applications can be submitted to Emma Samler, Director of Development and Partnerships, at jobs@btgbmail.org.


Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. Learn more about Breakthrough Greater Boston at www.breakthroughgreaterboston.org.

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