Development Specialist
Washington
The Opportunity
Please consider joining our team! Reach Out and Read Northwest, an affiliate of the national Reach Out and Read program, reaches 200,000 families annually across Washington and Oregon, distributing over 330,000 books through 3,200 medical providers in over 400 clinics. Our focus is on serving underserved communities, where 62% of the children we reach are from low-income families, 42% identify as children of color, and 21% speak a home language other than English. Together, we contribute to the broader impact of the organization, which serves 4.6 million children across the country and distributes over 7.7 million books annually.
The Development Specialist is an early-career fundraising professional who brings strong writing and editing skills and thrives on collaboration. After an initial onboarding period, they will take on a significant share of our grant writing, drafting proposals and reports for review by the Associate Director of Development, while keeping deadlines on track, maintaining Salesforce data, and ensuring funders are thanked and stewarded well.
The Development Specialist reports to the Associate Director of Development and works closely with program team members coordinates with Regional Executive Director serving as an integrator who helps teams share information and meet funder commitments. As the Development Specialist grows in the role, they will have opportunities to take on more of the grant cycle, build relationships with funders, and develop their own portfolio over time.
Your Key Responsibilities Will Include
Grant Writing and Reporting (50%)
Work alongside the Associate Director of Development to learn our programs, funders, and proposal library, then grow into drafting the majority of foundation and corporate proposals and reports
Write and edit grant proposals, adapting existing templates and boilerplate and translating program impact into clear, compelling, funder-aligned narratives
Coordinate the grant reporting process: gather program and financial information from colleagues, prepare drafts, and ensure interim and final reports are submitted accurately and on time
Maintain and update proposal templates, boilerplate language, and resource documents, including visually engaging materials created in Canva or similar tools
Support prospect research and funder qualification as requested
Grant Project Management and Collaboration (30%)
Manage the Northwest grants calendar, planning weeks ahead so applications, deliverables, and reports are on track well before deadlines
Track grant requirements, deliverables, and timelines in Asana, keeping teams informed and following up with the right colleagues for content and approvals
Help prepare agendas and materials for biweekly development team meetings
Enter and maintain grant and donor data in Salesforce, ensuring accuracy and alignment with National standards
Run recurring Salesforce reports, such as monthly or quarterly pipeline and grant status reports, to support team planning
Clearly communicate grant requirements and restrictions to leadership and finance, and submit backup materials promptly
Donor Stewardship and Acknowledgement (20%)
Facilitate donor and funder acknowledgment, ensuring gifts and grants are thanked promptly and personally
Prepare materials and briefings for stewardship and cultivation meetings led by the Associate Director of Development and Executive Director, and join select funder meetings to learn and inform upcoming proposals
Draft follow-up applications and communications that result from these opportunities
Support additional development projects as requested
Qualifications and Experience
There are innumerable ways to learn, grow, and excel professionally. We respect this commitment to growth when we review applications and take a broad look at the experience of each applicant. We want to get to know you and the unique strengths you will bring to the work. We will honor your…