Community Development Officer Jobs in Oregon (NOW HIRING)

SMART Reading, the state's largest volunteer-based nonprofit literacy organization, is looking for an energetic, creative, and experienced fundraising professional to join our development team based in Portland.  

When you join SMART Reading, you join a team that shares your commitment to making this important work happen. As Development Officer, Community Giving, you will be part of our statewide development team with a primary focus on the Portland Metro area. Your work will center on identifying, cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding mid-level individual donors (gifts ranging from $500 to $9,999), leading donor retention efforts, directing affinity-based community campaigns, and building a robust philanthropic pipeline by engaging SMART's extensive network of volunteers, alumni, and community champions.

The ideal candidate will have a passion for connecting people to a mission they care about, strong relationship-building instincts, and the energy and drive to meet ambitious fundraising goals. You will be cultivating donors, leading campaigns, managing events, and playing a key role in SMART's donor retention and volunteer-giving strategies.

If that's you, here's what we can offer:

• An important mission and purpose that affects the lives of kids throughout Oregon. SMART Reading engages volunteers to strengthen literacy skills and encourage a love of reading with newborns through 13-year-old students by reading one-on-one with students and restoring used children's books that will be given to kids.
• A team of equally committed, passionate, and dedicated individuals.
• Maximum time "in the field" - to engage people in our work.
• An opportunity to put your creativity and ideas to good use (We've got great systems but we're always interested in improvement).
• A supportive and caring team.
• An organizational culture that values team, plays to the strengths of its members, works to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion, be an anti-racist force in the community, and is tirelessly devoted to serving "our kids" well.
• A great compensation & benefits package!

Position Summary: This position is a member of a multi-person team located in Portland and responsible for the identification, cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of donors to SMART Reading. The primary responsibilities of this position are:

1. Effectively identify, cultivate, solicit, and steward donors and prospects within the identified portfolio focus area: annual individual giving & mid-level donors.

2. Manage and implement campaigns focused on the identified portfolio: currently includes direct mail, monthly giving, peer-to-peer fundraising, and affinity giving campaigns).

3. Create and distribute stewardship materials for communicating with current and new funders, including regular written updates and invitations to SMART Reading events.

4. Create and manage events, both cultivation and solicitation, as applies to the identified portfolio.

5. Maintain and ensure up-to-date record keeping in Raiser's Edge, logging contact reports with donors, and regularly update proposal entry and donor pipeline. 

Here are the "must-have" requirements of our ideal candidate:

• Personal character that guides the ethical practice of development work
• Exceptional interpersonal and written communication skills
• High degree of personal accountability
• Commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion 
• Ability to work independently and with a team
• Strong project/campaign management skills 
• Excellent organizational skills and attention to detail
• Strong computer skills, including Microsoft Ofce and Google products
• Ability to work in-person from the Portland Metro Office. 
• Four years of development and fundraising or related experience, preferably with the portfolio focus identified for this position (we will consider folks with less than four  years of experience, and the compensation would reflect the experience level)

Bonus skills (preferred but not required):

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent combination of education, work experience, and/or lived experience (minimum 4 years).
• 4+ years of nonprofit development experience
• Experience with Raiser's Edge NXT
• Demonstrated success in annual and mid-level fundraising and managing a large portfolio of individual donors (gifts ranging from $500 to $9,999)

Application Process: Please submit a resume and cover letter that tells us the following:

1. Specifically, state how you meet our description of an ideal candidate based on the requirements outlined above;
2. Your experience and commitment to equity; 
3. List the bonus skills you do or do not have, outlined above; and 
4. Your ability to work from the Metro Portland office 

This position will remain open until filled. We will review applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled, but will place priority on applications received by August 7, 2026. 

Selected applicants will be invited to move forward to both virtual and in-person interviews. For our finalist, we will ask for 3 professional references, preferably from previous employers. In addition, we will want to verify employment history. The background check will begin only after we notify the applicant of our intent to make a job offer. 

Important Note: People of color, people living with disabilities, veterans, and individuals from marginalized communities are strongly encouraged to apply. 

The position is currently vacant, and we would like to have the selected candidate begin as soon as possible.

Compensation and Benefits: 

1. Salary: $60,000 to $65,000 annually, depending on experience
2. Cell Phone Reimbursement: $50 monthly (additional $600 annually)
3. 401(k) Retirement: Employer match of up to 3% of your salary
4. Paid Time Off/Vacation: PTO is accumulated biweekly, totaling four weeks annually
5. Office Closures: Two paid weeks off - one in July and the second in December for employee rest and rejuvenation time 
6. Employer-paid Health Benefits: Medical, Dental, Vision, Life, AD&D, and LTD 
7. Paid Holidays: Nine paid holidays that can be used on scheduled holidays or as floating days, used according to personal beliefs and obligations
8. Paid Supplemental Medical Leave: Cumulated biweekly, totaling two weeks annually, and carried over to earn up to eight weeks

A full benefit package outline will be provided if selected for an interview.  

SMART's Commitment to Equity: As an early literacy program focused on helping children succeed with reading and learning, SMART  can't ignore that deep racial, cultural, social, and economic inequities in our country and state make it harder for some children to succeed compared to others. SMART's vision is an Oregon in which every child can read and is empowered to succeed, and we are making equity a top priority. As part of this,  we particularly seek staff members, volunteers, and board members whose personal or professional background gives them a unique perspective to further SMART's work in serving children of color and children from other marginalized groups.

To learn more about SMART Reading, please visit www.smartreading.org