Development Associate, Donor Services

AFS-USA is part of a worldwide network of AFS partner organizations that work together to advance global education and foster meaningful connections across cultures. As the network’s largest partner, AFS-USA works to increase the global competency of U.S. citizens by providing a variety of international and intercultural learning experiences to individuals, families, schools, and communities.

We are proud of our Staff from our national office in New York City as well as home offices across the county, who collaborate with our more than 2,000 AFS-USA Volunteers to deliver high quality programs and global education resources. These include immersion-based study abroad experiences in over 40 countries worldwide; opportunities to host foreign AFS exchange students; and global learning workshops and curricula for educators, schools and businesses. 

AFS-USA is seeking a Development Associate who will have a direct impact on our fundraising activities and donor experience. The Development Associate will play a central role in handling donor communications, from sending acknowledgement letters and receipts to performing a customer service role with inbound queries. They will also assist in creating best practices for data integrity at the organization and research for our donor portfolios, events, communications, and other purposes. Reporting to the Director of Development, the Development Associate will be part of a dynamic fundraising team that raises more than $2M annually from individuals, foundations, and corporations through direct communications, events, direct mail, online, major, and planned gifts and in other ways.

The successful applicant will have knowledge or experience of gift processing and acknowledgements, managing data import and entry, data quality initiatives as well as a passion for providing donor care. They should be able to demonstrate excellent analytical, organizational, communication and problem-solving skills.

DUTIES/RESONSIBILITIES: 

Donor Services

• Act as a primary point of contact for inbound email and telephone queries from donors and prospects, dealing with them independently or forwarding to the relevant team members as necessary.
• Oversee the donor acknowledgement process, including email acknowledgments and written acknowledgements to $1,000+ donors.
• Record donor queries in the database as necessary.
• Assist with annual scholarship reports for all named scholarship donors, working with other team members.
• Research and communicate with AFS-USA Alumni and assisting with special events designed for alumni outreach and cultivation.

Data Integrity

• Assist with the updating of donor records in the database and run regular data reports to ensure all data as accurate as possible.
• Proactively highlight areas for improvement in the database
• Assist the Development Manager in providing ad hoc data queries to other team members.

Donor Research

• Support the major donor portfolio by compiling research on current and prospective donors.
• Assist in the moves management of Ambassadors Circle members and top prospects, by tracking renewal timelines, and contributing to special reports and mailings.
• Provide other administrative support, as assigned.

QUALIFICATIONS AND SKILLS:

• 2 years’ experience working with the Raiser’s Edge databases.
• Salesforce experience.
• Ability to process gifts and ensure timely acknowledgements.
• Experience in a donor/customer service role and a passion for providing exemplary service.
• Demonstrated attention to detail.
• Donor research experience a plus
• Ability to work under pressure to meet deadlines during key fundraising campaigns.

WORK EXPECTATIONS:

• Development Associate works remotely from the NYC area or in the AFS-USA's NY officer (preferred); US remote considered. Monday to Friday , 9AM to 5PM Eastern. 

COMMITMENT TO DIVERSITY:

AFS-USA is committed to maintaining a culture of diversity, inclusion, and equity.  We welcome employees from all backgrounds to ensure that we have the best, most creative and diverse talent on our team.

NON-DISCRIMINATION:

AFS-USA is committed to a work environment in which all individuals are treated with respect and dignity. AFS-USA prohibits all forms of unlawful discrimination, harassment and retaliation, including behavior which targets an individual or group based on perceived or actual characteristics, such as but not limited to: race, color, religion, creed, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth and related medical conditions), national origin, age, disability, military service, veteran status, marital status, partnership status, sexual orientation, familial status, gender identity, gender expression, transgender status, genetic predisposition or carrier status, alienage, citizenship status, caregiver status, status as a victim of domestic violence, sex offense or stalking, unemployment status, status as a certified medical marijuana patient or any other legally protected classification.