Salary: $26.44 per hour (approximately $55,000 annually based on a full-time, 40-hour workweek)
The Development Associate provides administrative, operational, and donor stewardship support to the Development Department while helping strengthen relationships with donors, supporters, volunteers, and community partners. This position plays an important customer-facing role in supporting fundraising efforts, providing excellent donor care, ensuring timely donor acknowledgments, maintaining accurate donor records, coordinating stewardship activities, and assisting with development projects and events.
This role serves as a key administrative resource for the Development team, providing exceptional customer service while supporting donor communications, gift processing, data integrity, reporting, and fundraising initiatives. The Development Associate works collaboratively across departments to ensure a positive donor experience and contributes to the organization's philanthropic goals.
The position requires exceptional organization, attention to detail, professionalism, and the ability to manage multiple priorities in a fast-paced nonprofit environment. While many responsibilities are administrative in nature, the role also supports special projects, process improvements, stewardship initiatives, and departmental operations that advance fundraising success.
This role is ideal for someone who enjoys building relationships, supporting mission-driven work, providing exceptional customer service, and contributing to the success of a collaborative fundraising team.
Our Core Values:
1- Hell, Yeah!
2- Be Kind
3- Do What You Say
4- Forward Focused
5- Loose & Wiggly
6- Drop the Mic
Youll thrive in this role if you.
Enjoy communicating with people especially over the phone
Stay organized, pay close attention to detail, and take pride in keeping records accurate.
Don't mind repetitive administrative tasks and understand that consistency and accuracy are important.
Enjoy working as part of a collaborative team and are willing to jump in where needed.
Care about making a difference and want your work to support a mission-driven organization.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities:
Administrative Support & Project Coordination
Provide administrative support for Development leadership and fundraising initiatives
Assist with planning and execution of fundraising campaigns, stewardship projects, and departmental initiatives
Coordinate mailing projects, donor communications, and printed materials
Assist with preparation of newsletters, donor mailings, and fundraising collateral
Maintain organized records, calendars, files, and project documentation
Support department meetings, scheduling, and administrative workflows
Donor Stewardship & Donor Relations
Prepare and distribute daily donor acknowledgment letters and related correspondence
Coordinate tribute, honor, and memorial giving activities
Respond professionally and promptly to donor inquiries received by phone, email, and other communication channels
Process donations received by phone
Identify opportunities to strengthen donor recognition and engagement
Support donor stewardship events and recognition activities
Assist with fulfillment of donor communications and stewardship materials
Gift Processing & Database Support
Assist with accurate donor and gift records within Salesforce and other fundraising systems
Record donor interactions, communications, and stewardship activities
Maintain accurate electronic and physical donor files
Ensure donor information remains accurate, complete, and confidential
Project Management
Manage assigned projects and administrative initiatives from planning through completion while keeping department leadership informed of progress, priorities, and significant issues.
Assist with developing, updating, and maintaining department procedures, templates, and documentation
Support implementation of new systems, processes, and operational improvements
Exercise sound judgment while prioritizing competing assignments and meeting deadlines
Cross-Functional Collaboration
Work collaboratively with Development, Finance, Communications, Volunteer Services, and other departments
Provide exceptional customer service to internal and external stakeholders
Support fundraising events and organizational initiatives as assigned
Promote professionalism, confidentiality, and positive relationships with donors, volunteers, and teammates
Perform additional duties as assigned to support departmental and organizational priorities
Required Qualifications
High school diploma or equivalent
Minimum one year of administrative, customer service, nonprofit, fundraising, or related experience
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Exceptional attention to detail and organizational skills
Excellent customer service and interpersonal skills
Ability to manage multiple priorities while meeting deadlines
Proficiency with Microsoft Office applications
Ability to learn Salesforce or similar CRM/database systems
Ability to work independently while contributing effectively as a member of a collaborative team
Demonstrated professionalism, discretion, and commitment to confidentiality
Passion for the mission of the SPCA of Wake County
Preferred Qualifications
Associate's or Bachelor's degree
Experience working in nonprofit development or fundraising
Experience using Salesforce or donor database systems
Experience supporting donor stewardship, gift processing, or fundraising operations
Experience coordinating projects or administrative initiatives
Experience with mail merge, reporting, and donor communications
Work Environment
This role operates primarily within a collaborative nonprofit office environment and involves frequent interaction with donors, volunteers, staff, vendors, and community partners. Responsibilities include office-based administrative work, donor communication, event preparation, and occasional support at fundraising and community events. This role also requires working around and interacting with animals, including cats, dogs, and small pets.
The position requires maintaining professionalism, confidentiality, and responsiveness while managing multiple priorities and supporting time-sensitive fundraising activities. Regular onsite presence is required to facilitate collaboration, donor support, administrative operations, and departmental projects.
Physical Requirements
Ability to consistently perform onsite responsibilities at the SPCA of Wake County Resource Center and other organizational locations as needed
Ability to remain stationary and work at a computer for extended periods of time
Ability to communicate effectively in person, by phone, and through electronic communication methods
Ability to occasionally move materials weighing up to 15 pounds
Ability to participate in in-person meetings, donor interactions, stewardship activities, trainings, and organizational events
Ability to handle, organize, prepare, transport, and distribute physical donor materials, files, mailings, deposits, cash receipts, and fundraising documents in accordance with internal financial controls, including policies requiring physical presence and coordination with another designated teammate to maintain separation of duties
Ability to support operational and administrative tasks requiring physical presence, including compliance documentation, donor correspondence, event preparation, and cross-functional team support
Ability to occasionally travel locally for donor meetings, events, banking, notarization, or other development-related activities
Benefits:
- Medical and Dental: Employer pays 90% of employee coverage (full-time)
- Insurance includes wellness, dental, vision, life, mental health care, prescriptions, emergency & urgent care, chiropractic care, and physical therapy
- Telemedicine options, 24/7 access to virtual health & wellness care and virtual behavioral health care
PAID TIME OFF
- All part-time and full-time staff receive paid time off.
- Paid Holidays - 9 paid holidays per year (full-time)
- Vacation Time - 10 paid vacation days per year (full-time)with scheduled increases at milestone anniversaries of hire date
- Sick Time - 6.5 paid sick days per year (full-time)
FINANCIAL
- Healthcare: Flexible Spending Account
- 401k Plan
- Coastal Federal Credit Union Membership
- 20% discount on pet adoptions and in SPCA Wake retail store
OTHER
- Bereavement time off
- Federal & State Leave of Absence options
Disclaimer
This job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed. It is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties, responsibilities, or qualifications. Responsibilities may change based on organizational needs.
Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable qualified individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions of this position, consistent with applicable federal, state, and local laws.
Only the most qualified candidates will be contacted for interviews. No phone calls or emails, please well have our people call your people.