Development Associate

4250 Fairfax Dr #600, Arlington, VA 22203, USA
Posted on  

Job Description

Kakenya’s Dream seeks to empower and motivate young girls through education to become agents of change and to break the cycle of destructive cultural practices in Kenya, such as female genital mutilation and early forced marriage. These future leaders will improve their community, their nation, and the world. We challenge ourselves to come up with the best educational system for young African girls and we promise to share our models with others.

Dr. Kakenya Ntaiya is a leading advocate for girls’ education and empowerment. Surviving female genital mutilation and avoiding an arranged marriage as a child, Dr. Ntaiya went on to become the first woman from her community to go to college in the US. She founded Kakenya’s Dream to continue paving the way for the next generation of women leaders in her community.

Kakenya’s Dream is seeking a Development Associate to assist in executing our fundraising operations of $2.1M annually. Reporting to the Director of Development, this person works closely with the President, COO, program staff, and communications teams to ensure the organization achieves annual and multi-year fundraising goals. They must have superior organizational skills, excellent communication skills, and sound judgment, and should be interested in working in a fast-paced environment with highly motivated staff in a mission-focused organization.

Responsibilities

Individual Giving (20%)

  • Support and implement the organization’s development efforts by tracking, acknowledging and recognizing individual donors.
  • Serve as the primary relationship manager for donors in our Kuza Giving Circle starting at $1,250 - $10,000 annually, with a specific focus on upgrading donors to this giving range and beyond.  
  • Implement the organization’s fundraising appeals in print and online through electronic solicitations and communications, monthly giving and social media fundraising.
  • Support the cultivation process for the engagement of major donors and other prospects by the President, Director, and Board Members.
  • Manage peer-to-peer campaigns/crowdfunding efforts.


Foundations/Grant Management (20%)

  • Identify and conduct prospect research of new foundations that will support the organization’s operations and programs. 
  • Draft donor correspondence and grant applications/reports for the Director and President.


Development Operations (50%)

  • Manage the donor and communications database (Bloomerang). Develop proficiency with the system, including utilization of the database to improve or simplify processes and generate necessary reports.
  • Enter all gifts and other relevant donor information into the Bloomerang database. Process and record all matching gifts.
  • Produce timely acknowledgments for all gifts.
  • Support the Director in writing and executing fundraising campaigns (e.g., Spring Appeal, GlobalGiving matching appeal, Annual Appeal, etc.)
  • Support the President, Director, Board, and other staff in their own fundraising activities and donor stewardship.
  • Attend fundraising-related meetings with the President to ensure meeting notes are captured and action items are collected and assigned appropriately following meetings/events.


Events (<5%)

  • Work directly with the Director of Development to support logistics, planning and execution of all events as needed.


Other (<5%)

  • Conduct relevant research to bolster grant applications and for compelling communications.
  • Additional duties as assigned and needed. 


Requirements

  • Minimum of a Bachelor’s degree and 1-3 years of hands-on development/nonprofit fundraising experience.
  • Strong verbal, writing, editing and research skills and impeccable attention to detail.  
  • High level of proficiency with Microsoft/Google Applications
  • Previous experience working in fundraising databases (Bloomerang a bonus!)
  • Proactive, organized and energetic self-starter with the willingness to work hands-on to develop and execute a variety of fundraising and communications activities.
  • Must be able to work in a fast-paced environment with demonstrated ability to handle multiple competing tasks and demands.
  • Positive attitude, sense of humor and ability to work efficiently and effectively with a partially remote team.


Preferred

  • International experience or perspective, especially related to East Africa, education, violence against women/girls, and/or empowering girls

The position is based in Arlington, Virginia.

To Apply 

Please send your cover letter, resume, and a writing sample (preferably where you are the sole author) to jobs@kakenyasdream.org. Please title your subject line: “Development Associate, Your Name.” Unfortunately due to the volume of applications we receive, we are only able to respond to candidates that meet the job requirements. 


Kakenya’s Dream is an equal opportunity and affirmative action employer committed to providing equal employment opportunity to all persons without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, gender, marital status or sexual orientation.


For more information, please visit us at www.kakenyasdream.org.