Invisible Children’s Development Team has one mission: to let our supporters know how much we love them. This department is all about relationships, connection, and engagement. Right now, this team of talented individuals is looking to fill the Associate Director of Development position, so we sat down with Jill, our Director of Development, to spell out exactly what we’re looking for in a potential candidate. Now all you have to do is say yes.
Who are the current players on your development team and what do their jobs entail?
Joanna (Engagement Team Manager) leads the Engagement Team in responding to donor inquiries and connecting them to our mission. Catherine (Development Communications Manager) oversees the communication to our current donors, as well as overseeing our work on grants and sponsorships. Bryan (Development Associate) oversees our cultivation and stewardship initiatives for our supporters through face-to-face engagements, special fundraising campaigns, and data management. Jill (Director of Development) works with our Board of Directors, Advisory Council, staff and volunteers to make every donor experience amazing – including major gifts, corporate sponsors, foundations, one-time and recurring donors, and fundraising event participants.
L-R: Catherine, Joanna, Bryan, and Jill
What has been the most impressive project that the Development Team has worked on?
The Development Department rocked the experience of our donors at IC’s 2013 Fourth Estate Summit, a four-day event on UCLA’s campus with 1,400 students coming together from 27 countries. Through special events, like introducing our monthly donors to members of our Africa Team in a secret reception, to helping and supporting all the participants in setting up their fall fundraising campaign webpages, to making each and every guest at our VIP Founders Party feel the energy and excitement of our youth-for-youth movement. The team nailed it. For four days straight. Boom.
For those looking to fill the new position, what would a typical day as the Associate Director of Development look like?
Drinking coffee. Researching new donors. Making phone calls to supporters. Drafting our next fundraising email campaign to our donor segments. Lunch. Making notes for our new video for our next fundraising event invitation. Setting meetings with donors. Project managing our end-of-year campaign strategy. Sending out real-time updates to our major donors.
Complete these sentences:
The ideal candidate for the ADOD job would be someone who…
Is well-versed in the fundamentals of fundraising, is entrepreneurial, finds joy in discovering the motivation of why people give to IC, thrives in an environment of taking action to meet goals and objectives, and gets energized by making others feel special.
The top 3 things this person would love about working for Invisible Children would be…
1. Seeing their career as a craft, not a task.
2. Being inspired that every project is directly furthering our cause of ending Africa’s longest-running war.
3. Thriving in a fast-paced, creative environment with limitless opportunities.
And of course, we must play a round of Word Association. I say something, and you say the first thing that comes to your mind.
Staff meetings: Credit is given away, not received.
Coffee: Lifeblood
Fourth Estate Members: Rockstars that support our mission every month. Opposite of “slacktivists”.
Uganda: I heard it’s in central Africa.
CEO Ben Keesey: Math nerd turned dream-actualizing-world-changer. And plays the bag pipes.
Office culture: Remember your freshman year dorm? It’s like that, with no RA’s.
Development Department: New and growing department where you can infuse your talents and personality to take the experience of our donors to the next level.
Goal: Bringing the joy of Oprah’s audience members to everyone we meet.
Think people should hear about this?