Research Assistant Position Jobs in Hamden, CT (NOW HIRING)

The Part-time Fund Development Research Assistant provides operational, research, database, donor stewardship, and financial support to both the Fund Development and Finance departments. This position assists with donor relations, fundraising initiatives, gift processing, tax acknowledgment communications, prospect research, database management and updates, financial reconciliation support, and departmental operations.

The ideal candidate is highly organized, detail-oriented, and possesses strong communication, administrative, and analytical skills, including experience or exposure to grant writing, donor stewardship, financial reporting, gift entry, donor correspondence, and development research.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

Fund Development Support

• Provide administrative support to the Fund Development team, including scheduling meetings, preparing correspondence, and maintaining calendars.
• Assist with fundraising campaigns, donor stewardship activities, special events, appeals, and development initiatives.
• Assist with conducting prospect and grant research to identify potential funding opportunities, corporate sponsors, and community partnerships.
• Conduct basic prospect research and assist with maintaining donor and corporate contact information to support development strategies and relationship management.
• Assist in preparing grant applications, reports, supporting documentation, and donor communications.
• Draft, proofread, and edit letters, reports, presentations, donor acknowledgments, tax acknowledgment letters, and development materials.
• Generate donation acknowledgment letters and tax receipts in a timely and accurate manner.
• Coordinate donor mailings, including preparation of donor mailing lists, mailing materials, and donor reports.
• Serve as primary Gift Entry Administrator for the Raiser's Edge donor database, including basic gift entry, gift tracking, and data accuracy review.
• Assist with donor database management, corporate contact updates, gift tracking, data maintenance, and recordkeeping.
• Maintain accurate donor, prospect, and corporate records through ongoing data updates and database integrity practices.
• Track Probate gift processes and related documentation.

Administrative Support

• Provide administrative support to the Finance team for audits, Form 990 preparation, reconciliations, and other departmental tasks.
• Support cash receipt reconciliations by producing product sales and retail shop reports.
• Assist with grant and restricted gift coding to ensure proper financial tracking and reporting.
• Support Raiser's Edge and Financial Edge reporting and reconciliation processes.
• Collaborate with departments to support grant and restricted gift financial reporting requirements and deadlines.
• Maintain confidentiality regarding donor, financial, personnel, and organizational information.
• Support cross-functional collaboration with finance, marketing, membership, and program teams as needed.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications

• Associate's or Bachelor's degree in Business Administration, Communications, Nonprofit Management, Finance, English, or a related field preferred.
• Minimum of 2 years of administrative experience, preferably within a nonprofit, fundraising, finance, or development environment.
• Experience or familiarity with grant writing, grant research, donor relations, gift entry, donor database management, or financial reporting preferred.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite, particularly Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
• Experience with Raiser's Edge NXT, Financial Edge NXT, or similar CRM/database systems preferred.
• Strong organizational skills with exceptional attention to detail and data accuracy.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Ability to manage multiple priorities, deadlines, and confidential information.
• Ability to work collaboratively with various departments and stakeholders.

Additional Requirements

• Become a registered member and maintain membership with GSUSA.
• Occasional statewide travel may be required.
• Ability to work flexible hours, including occasional evenings, as needed.
• Typical workdays: Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Part-time role: 18 hours per week
• Professional demeanor representative of Girl Scouts of Connecticut policies and standards.
• Valid Connecticut driver's license required.
• Commitment to supporting diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives throughout the organization.

Physical Requirements

• Ability to sit and/or stand for extended periods of time.
• Ability to lift, carry, push, pull, or move objects up to 20 pounds.
• Ability to work in a professional office environment utilizing standard office equipment.