Development Officer

YMCA
Salary
$82,784.00
$86,944.00
How to Apply
Apply Online
Resumes Accepted Until
Come join us in the beautiful Pacific Northwest
Job Description

Position Summary:

The Development Officer is responsible for cultivating, soliciting, and stewarding individual, corporate, and foundation donors in support of the YMCA’s mission and programs. Assigned to specific branches, this role plays a vital part in advancing strategic fundraising efforts, increasing annual and major giving, and building strong, lasting donor relationships. The Development Officer works closely with Y leadership, association and branch staff, volunteers, and program teams to strengthen the culture of philanthropy within their branch community and across the YMCA organization.

 

Key Responsibilities
·        Manage a portfolio of current and prospective donors with a focus on mid-level and major gifts.

·        Develop and implement donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies to grow philanthropic support across annual, capital, and endowment priorities.

·        Identify and qualify new major gift prospects through research, internal tools, and collaboration with YMCA leadership and colleagues.

·        Coordinate and participate in donor meetings, events, tours, and recognition efforts across the association.

·        Prepare compelling donor communications, including proposals, impact reports, acknowledgment letters, and updates aligned with strategic goals.

·        Maintain accurate donor records and engagement activity in the YMCA’s donor database; monitor fundraising metrics and contribute to reporting for leadership and the board.

·        Collaborate with marketing and program teams to align fundraising messaging with YMCA mission, programs, and community impact.

·        Provide leadership and support for assigned campaigns and events (e.g., Community Campaign, Future Leaders Bash, planned giving), including volunteer recruitment, training, and engagement.

·        Travel to branch locations for donor visits, strategic meetings with staff, and guided impact tours.

·        Represent the YMCA in the community to enhance visibility, build relationships, and strengthen engagement.

·        Support the overall goals of the Financial Development team and contribute to other fundraising and strategic planning efforts as assigned.

Qualifications

·        Bachelor’s degree or equivalent professional experience

·        Minimum of 4 years of experience in fundraising, with a focus on individual donors

·        Proven track record of securing five-figure gifts and managing a donor portfolio

·        Strong relationship-building skills, with demonstrated success in donor cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship

·        Excellent written and verbal communication skills; able to engage effectively with donors, volunteers, and stakeholders at all levels

·        Highly organized and self-motivated, with strong time management, decision-making, and prioritization skills

·        Ability to work independently and adapt to changing priorities and deadlines in a fast-paced environment

·        Demonstrated ability to learn and effectively use CRM systems and fundraising technologies; experience with donor databases preferred

·        Tech-savvy, with the ability to quickly adopt and apply new tools and platforms

·        Maintains confidentiality with professionalism and discretion

·        Must have reliable transportation for travel to branch locations and the Association Office

Essential Functions

Physical and Mental Demands:  The physical and mental demands described here are representative of those that must be met by employees to successfully perform the essential functions of this job.  

Physical Demands: 

While performing the duties of this job, employees are regularly required to sit, walk and stand; talk or hear, both in person and by telephone; use hands repetitively to handle, feel or operate standard office equipment; reach with hands and arms; and occasionally lift up to 25 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision, distance vision and the ability to adjust focus.

Mental Demands:

While performing the duties of this job, employees are regularly required to use written and oral communication skills; read and interpret data, information and documents; analyze and solve non-routine and complex problems; may use math and mathematical reasoning; observe and interpret situations; learn and apply new information or skills; perform highly detailed work on multiple, concurrent tasks; work under intensive deadlines with frequent interruptions; and interact with members, staff, volunteers, and others encountered in the course of work, some of whom may be dissatisfied individuals.

Working Conditions:  The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Typically interaction with others is busy, constant and occasionally interruptive. Work may be demanding at times. May require ability to work irregular hours. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Job descriptions represent a general outline of job duties, functions and qualifications. They are not intended to be comprehensive in nature. In addition, jobs evolve over time and therefore their description may not reflect the precise nature of the position at a given point in time.

Cause-Driven Leadership Competencies

Mission Advancement: 

Accepts and demonstrates the Y’s values
Demonstrates a desire to serve others and fulfill community needs
Recruits volunteers and builds effective, supportive working relationships with them
Supports fundraising
Collaboration: 

Works effectively with people of different backgrounds, abilities, opinion, and perceptions
Builds rapport and relates well to others
Seeks first to understand the other person’s point of view and remains calm in challenging situations
Listens for understanding and meaning; speaks and writes effectively
Takes initiative to assist in developing others
Operational Effectiveness: 

Makes sound judgments, and transfers learning from one situation to another
Embraces new approaches and discovers ideas to create a better member experience
Establishes goals, clarifies tasks, plans work, and actively participates in meetings
Follows budgeting policies and procedures, and reports all financial irregularities immediately
Strives to meet or exceed goals and deliver a high-value experience for members
Personal Growth: 

Pursues self-development that enhances job performance
Demonstrates an openness to change and seeks opportunities in the change process
Accurately assesses personal feelings, strengths, and limitations and how they impact relationships
Has the functional and technical knowledge and skills required to perform well; uses best practices and demonstrates up-to-the-date knowledge and skills in technology