Location
Kalamazoo, MI | United States
Job description
Development Specialist
Public Media Network is seeking an exceptional candidate to join our team as Public Media Network's Development Specialist at this time of strategic growth.
About Public Media Network:
Public Media Network strengthens our community by helping people use the power of media as a vehicle to inspire positive social or civic change. Unlike corporate media, Public Media Network builds and shares the power of media with individuals and organizations in the community. Public Media Network serves as an alternative channel of media production and distribution that facilitates active participation for all. People equipped with media tools and access can play a vital role in our community, now more than ever. Working at the intersection of technology, media, video journalism, documentary storytelling, and civic media, people can create civic change and transform lives through media. Join the team and help your neighbors use media to inspire and inform others.
The Opportunity:
This is an opportunity to join a growing fund development team to help support the future of community media in Greater Kalamazoo. The Development Specialist's primary focus will be proposal and report writing, prospecting and research of funding opportunities, coordinating with Public Media Network's teams to understand needs and programming, and effectively communicating Public Media Network's mission, programming, accomplishments, and needs to external audiences in both verbal and written form.
Responsibilities include, in collaboration with the Development Director: Broaden donor base through foundation and government grant writing, corporative giving, donor recruitment and retention, digital fundraising, and events planning.
Responsibilities & Activities:
Grant Writing (75%)
- Write, review, and edit foundation, government, and corporate grant proposals and reports, funder emails, and other grant-related materials (one-pagers, information summaries, program briefs).
- Work closely with program staff to gather data, client stories and program news to prepare compelling narratives for funder audiences.
- Conduct prospect research on foundation, government, and corporate funders and prepare briefing documents; attend pre-proposal conferences and other informational sessions.
- Develop and maintain fundraising calendars of LOIs, proposals, and report deadlines.
- Help cultivate relationships with new foundation and corporate funders in collaboration with the Development Director, including thank you calls, email communication, updates, tours, and other opportunities for funder engagement.
- Research trends in the field to support team learning, coordinate stewardship of existing foundation donors, and identify and strategize around private fund sources to meet annual fundraising goals.
Individual Giving, Corporate Sponsorships, and Fundraising Events (20%)
- Assist with individual donor and corporate sponsor engagement activities, including donor and sponsor research, cultivation and stewardship.
- Create and launch donor campaigns, peer-to-peer fundraising; and corporate sponsorships in collaboration with the Development Director.
- Manage planning and various aspects of donor-focused events.
- Coordinate aspects of digital fundraising campaigns and marketing communications for fund development.
Systems, Processes, Administration (5%)
- Assist with fundraising operational systems including donation processing, tracking, and acknowledgement.
- Assist with maintenance of Public Media Network's donor database.
- Help maintain all department files, systems, and processes.
- Schedule, coordinate, and participate in external and internal meetings as requested.
- As needed, assist with volunteer, visibility, and community engagement opportunities throughout the year.
- Other responsibilities as assigned.
Skills Required
- A passion for community media that provides an intentional, community-centered approach to producing local media that services a clear civic purpose.
- 1 to 3+ years of grant writing experience.
- Exceptional writer, storyteller, and communicator; ability to see "big picture", think strategically, and translate strategy into goals and actions. Ability to write clear, structured, articulate, and persuasive proposals.
- Ability to manage multiple strategic writing projects and deadlines in a fast-paced, results-oriented work environment, while maintaining a very high bar for quality.
- Strong editing skills and attention to detail.
The How: Keys to Success!
- Community-First Orientation: Your job is to put the community first in helping to address their information and communication needs to improve the community. View your work as supporting the whole and integral to the effectiveness of our content and engagement programs.
- Positive Attitude and Flexibility: Approach work with a spirit of yes; strike a positive tone; push work forward through obstacles and adapt quickly as things change, which they inevitably will. Be willing to jump in and help where needed.
- 100 percent follow-through: No dropped balls! Stay on top of tasks and follow-up items and general areas of work; consistently meet deadlines with high professional standards.
- Community: Value the need for community and work to relate to others, embrace different perspectives, and learn from each other. Support others in their work to foster a safe environment for the development and expression of ideas.
- Equity: Work to identify and reduce potential barriers in our work; acknowledge that we have systemic biases; look for ways to address inequity in media; recognize there will always be unfinished business.
- Have fun: Approach your work with a fun and energetic attitude; be authentic and show excitement for the work and ideas around community media that serves a clear civic purpose. Energy and enthusiasm are contagious and will create a more positive environment for all.
- Accountability: Operate with integrity and in an ethical and open manner. Recognize you have a duty to Public Media Network’s mission and role in serving the community.
Accountable to: Development Director
Status: Full-Time, Non-exempt
Compensation: $17 - $22 per hour; paid time off; medical, dental, and vision insurance; paid holidays , and parking.
Job tags
Salary
$17 - $22 per hour
