Organizational Vision
uAspire* imagines a day when all young people have the opportunity to reach their full potential by graduating from college, regardless of their families’ financial resources or postsecondary experiences.
* Formerly known as ACCESS, uAspire changed its name in September 2012 to better align the organization’s name with its dual focus on helping students gain access to and succeed in college.
Organizational Overview
uAspire is committed to ensuring that all young people have the financial information and resources necessary to achieve their dreams of higher education. uAspire provides free college affordability advice and advocacy to students and families in Massachusetts and Miami, helping them to overcome the financial barriers to a postsecondary education. Since 1985, uAspire has provided financial aid advising to more than 60,000 students and families and has leveraged $220 million in financial aid over the last five years. Through strategic partnerships with high schools, community organizations and local universities, uAspire helps academically prepared students find an affordable path to – and through – a postsecondary education. uAspire is in the early stages of implementing a multi-faceted Growth with Quality Plan that will enable the organization to positively impact the lives of 1,000,000 students across the nation by 2017.
Position Summary
uAspire continues to experience tremendous organizational growth in Massachusetts (Boston, Lawrence, and Springfield) as well as across the country. The Development Manager position is an exciting opportunity for an individual who wants to play a key role in raising greatly needed funding and awareness for uAspire to support its program in Springfield. The Development Manager needs to be self-motivated, organized, and comfortable with deadline-driven writing. This position will be splitting its time between Springfield and Boston, and will report to the uAspire Director of Development whose office is in Boston.
The Development Manager will be responsible for a range of fundraising activities that will sustain and grow uAspire’s services specifically in Springfield (the uAspire Springfield Promise Program.) These activities include: grantwriting, donor and funder meetings, event coordination, marketing and communications. The Development Manager will also work closely with multiple departments at uAspire in both Springfield and Boston to produce high-quality grants and reports for foundation and corporate funders supporting our work in Springfield. He/she will take on additional writing projects – from press releases to other marketing collateral – that will advance the awareness of uAspire’s mission and impact in the Pioneer Valley.
The Development Manager will be the lead development professional at our Springfield site. With a goal of increasing support from individuals and foundations in Western Massachusetts, the Development Manager will work closely with the Development Director and Program Director to research and identify potential prospects, build new relationships, and sustain partnerships with current funders. One key new initiative that will be launched and run by the Development Manager, is a uAspire Springfield Promise Visitor’s Program. This program is aimed at making sure donors, and other key stakeholders have the opportunity to see our programs in action and fully understand the impact that uAspire is having on the future of the young people of Springfield.
This position’s time will be split between our Boston and Springfield offices. The exact split will be determined according to Springfield fundraising needs, and timing of collaborative projects with the rest of the Massachusetts fundraising staff. Tentative start date for this position is October 1.
Key Responsibilities
Springfield Fundraising
- Lead grantwriter for Springfield-based proposals and reports to institutional funders (foundation, corporate, etc). Research potential new funders in Springfield and Western Massachusetts. Develop and implement a strategic plan for single and multi-year development efforts
- Join Massachusetts Executive Director and/or Springfield Program Director on donor visits. Record notes from meetings with funders. Help develop strategies to secure and increase giving from donors.
- Coordinate 2-3 events that will take place in Springfield during the upcoming year. Secure venues for events, manage mailings and RSVP lists. Draft speaking program for events. Assign event duties to Springfield staff and select MA External Affairs staff.
- Support programmatic events in Springfield as needed.
- Serve as main contact for visitors program in Springfield. Reach out to key organizational stakeholders, corporate partners, state representatives, etc, to visit uAspire’s program in action.
- Ensure the evaluation of development activities and identify opportunities to improve results.
Writing
- Develop high-quality grant proposals and reports to institutional funders for our three Massachusetts sites. Collaborate with multiple departments (Program, Finance, Operations) to gather relevant data and information for proposals and reports.
- Draft press releases, marketing collateral, award nominations, and other external-facing documents. Write and update donation letters to be sent to individual donors.
- Administer Springfield’s social media (Facebook, Twitter) and local uAspire website. Post blogs on a regular basis and edit current web content as needed.
Other Responsibilities
- Collaborate with program staff across all uAspire sites in Massachusetts to gather data, updates, and other stories to use in all written collateral (i.e. proposals, press releases, marketing documents).
- Work with central finance staff to gather accurate budget and financial data for grant proposals and reports.
- Ensure data integrity by tracking relevant fundraising information (i.e. grant proposals, budgets, notes) in uAspire’s central Salesforce database.
Qualifications
- Excellent writing skills. Experience writing to diverse types of audiences in a variety of different styles. Willingness to learn how to write for new audiences. Prior grant writing experience required.
- The ability to work independently as well as a member of a statewide team. This requires a strong sense of personal accountability, and strong internal communication to keep colleagues informed and in sync with statewide activities.
- 2-4 years of fundraising experience preferred.
- Ability to manage multiple projects, both internally and externally. Proven ability to adhere to strict external deadlines.
- Highly organized with strong attention to detail. Strong project management skills. Ability to assign deliverables to colleagues and set deadlines internally.
- Strong relationship-building skills – both internally across departments, as well as with external partners and stakeholders.
- Experience with Salesforce a plus, but not required.
- Must have access to a car, as this position will require frequent travel to the Boston site. Travel stipend negotiable.
- Ability to work flexible hours that will include some early mornings and evenings.
- Belief in and adherence to uAspire’s Organizational Values – Student-Centered, Excellent, Dedicated, Collaborative, and Systems-Focused.
- Bachelor’s degree required.
Compensation
Salary commensurate with experience.
How To Apply
Applicants should submit a cover letter and resume to jobs@uaspire.org, Subject Line: Development Manager, Attn: Chris Minerd
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