Development Manager

Cascadia Wildlands Seeks a Development Manager

Location: Based in Eugene, Oregon
Reports to: Executive Director
FTE and salary: .75 FTE (30 hrs)/week – $42,000-$45,000/year
Benefits: health, vision, and dental insurance; 20 vacation days/year; 3% retirement plan match; three months paid family leave; paid sabbatical after five years; flexible schedule; and more
Priority application deadline: Sunday, May 19, 2024, open until filled
Start date: by July 1, 2024

DEVELOPMENT MANAGER POSITION

The Development Manager is Cascadia Wildlands’ first dedicated development staff; we are excited to have this person bring fresh ideas and help level up our fundraising, relationship building and other development work. The Development Manager will work with the Executive Director (ED) and the Membership and Operations Manager (MaOM) to achieve annual fundraising goals and increase partnerships and giving to Cascadia Wildlands.

The Development Manager’s primary duties are: overseeing the success of our annual Wonderland Auction and other fundraising events; facilitating donor appeal letters and other direct fundraising campaigns; supporting our grants program with writing, editing and researching; cultivating existing and generating new individual and business supporters; and help execute planned giving efforts.

Qualifications 

The Development Manager must have excellent organizational, communication and interpersonal skills, as well as the ability to prioritize tasks in a dynamic setting. Qualified candidates must be able to demonstrate the following:

• Experience planning fundraising events, notably auctions
• Experience writing letters of inquiry, grants and reports, and with the grantmaking foundation landscape
• A knack for building partnerships and relationships with supporters and businesses
• Strong writing and editing skills and an ability to convey complex topics with clarity and brevity
• Proficiency in EveryAction contact database software or similar platform
• Proficiency with WordPress, Microsoft Office applications, Google and other common office software
• Familiarity with Canva, InDesign or other design software

APPROXIMATE BREAKDOWN OF THE DEVELOPMENT MANAGER POSITION

Fundraising events (45%)

• Oversee production of annual December Wonderland Auction
• Coordinate event sponsorships
• Lead procurement of live and silent auction items
• Utilize Greater Giving auction software
• Establish ticketing via EveryAction software
• Coordinate with venue and event vendors
• Organize donor house parties
• Set up music and community fundraisers
• Plan other inspiring supporter events

Grant support (25%)

• Maintain grant calendar
• Prospect new grantmaking foundations
• Edit and submit letters of inquiry, grants and grant reports with ED

Business and individual membership (25%)

• Develop and grow business membership program with MaOM
• Execute donor retention and new member strategies with MaOM
• Layout and print May and November fundraising appeals
• Layout and print August annual report
• Set up donor cultivation meetings with MaOM and ED
• Expand Legacy Giving program with MaOM and ED

Maintain and expand organizational profiles (5%)

• Guidestar/Candid
• 1% for the Planet
• Charity Navigator
• Benevity
• Research and incorporate new workplace and giving platforms

CANDIDATES MUST HAVE

• A passion for wild places, wildlife, and grassroots movements for change
• A firm commitment to public interest advocacy and environmental justice and building a more diverse, equitable and inclusive environment in the office and in the larger conservation community
• An ability to form meaningful relationships with diverse constituencies
• A commitment to building organizational camaraderie by creating personal connections with supporters, community members, and supporting fellow staffers in their work
• An understanding of the principles of Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion and a willingness to continue to learn and grow
• A high emotional intelligence and willingness to communicate needs and concerns
• Readiness to work in a collaborative team environment with an emphasis on learning and group accountability

ABOUT CASCADIA WILDLANDS

Cascadia Wildlands is a 26-year-old, non-profit conservation organization working to defend and restore Cascadia’s wild ecosystems in the forests, in the courts, and in the streets. We envision vast old-growth forests, rivers full of wild salmon, wolves howling in the backcountry, a stable climate, and vibrant communities sustained by the unique landscapes of the Cascadia bioregion. Over 8,000 members and online supporters across the country help sustain our organization and movement for change.

The primary strategies we employ to achieve our conservation goals are grassroots organizing, policy development and reform, and litigation. Recent successes include stopping plans to privatize the 93,000-acre Elliott State Forest; halting the proposal to build the 230-mile Pacific Connector Pipeline and Jordan Cove LNG Project in southern Oregon; cancelling reckless, proposed timber sales on state and federally managed public land; and helping facilitate the recovery of the gray wolf and other imperiled species across the Pacific West; and ending coyote-killing contests on public land in Oregon.

Cascadia Wildlands is a community-based organization, and we place a strong emphasis on the well-being of our employees, our relationships with the community, and our role in the greater environmental movement. We vociferously oppose discrimination against any person based on their background, place of origin, ethnicity, race, gender, ability, sexual orientation, religion, and belief or non-belief systems. We believe that Cascadia — and nature as a whole — is for everyone. In pursuit of our mission, we work with a broad range of individuals and organizations.