Development Officer

Title: Development Officer

Location: Chicago, IL

Status: Full-Time, Non-Exempt, Hybrid

Reports to: Senior Director of Development, ASP of Chicago

Salary range: $56,000-$65,000/annualized

Job Summary

The Development Officer is a key member of the Development Department for All Stars Project of Chicago, focused on growing philanthropic partnerships to support youth and underserved communities. This position executes the ASP of Chicago’s Annual Campaign and Foundation-related solicitations. Chicago’s Annual Campaign (produced by ASP’s national fundraising team) is our broadest fundraising campaign, touching thousands of supporters annually in person and via mail, email, phone, and social media and inviting them to join our President’s Committee. This person will be the frontline fundraiser of our complex donor outreach components of the annual campaign (including the coordination and messaging for phone outreach, mailings, emails, and acknowledgments) as well as special events designed to give donors experiences with the All Stars youth development programs and opportunities to interact with youth in the programs. The Development Officer will be a direct solicitor developing the All Stars Project’s grassroots base of individual donors, with a focus on donors at the $50-$2,500 level.

The Development Officer will drive, manage, and support the diverse activities that make up our development program, including operational, production, and database support for major special events, producing cultivation and stewardship events in partnership with other members of our team to introduce and involve supporters with All Stars programs and youth. They will also produce other communications and department projects as needed.

The position is a hybrid role and requires some in-person attendance in the ASP of Chicago regional office.

Job Responsibilities

• Lead Chicago’s Annual Campaign, raising $150,000+ annually, including the production of mailings, emails, and phone campaigns.
• Manage a portfolio of 50-75 donors. Design and implement cultivation and solicitation activities, focusing on bringing people to the President’s Committee $1,000 giving level. Cultivate and steward supporters who contribute at the $50-$2,500 level.
• Participate in national phone shifts during peak fundraising seasons.
• As a member of the national Foundations team, manage Chicago foundations work, including developing proposals and grant reports, tracking deadlines, and pursuing new opportunities.
• Partner with Chicago team members to produce and organize special cultivation meetings and events: including cocktail receptions, tours of the Chicago Hub, All Stars Talent Show visits, and hands-on volunteer days for supporters.
• Coordinate fundraising initiatives, including annual campaign mailings, email solicitations, and special event leadership campaigns.
• Support communications calendar and create communications materials including monthly newsletters, social media content, and other general materials as needed.
• Support sales directing efforts for national and local benefit events.
• Support quarterly board meetings and prepare written, verbal, and visual presentations for partner meetings.
• Manage donor stewardship and gift acknowledgment programs.
• Manage the development department budget.
• Prepare and traffic new gifts and pledges.
• Complete additional tasks as assigned by the Senior Director of Development.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree or equivalent experience required
• Two-four years of non-profit experience in fundraising, preferably in individual giving, annual fund, or donor relations
• Interest in learning and participating in the All Stars Project model of involvement philanthropy in support of All Stars youth development approach
• Passion and commitment to working with youth and poor communities
• Strong verbal and written communication skills
• Strong interpersonal skills and the ability to interact and communicate professionally with individuals at all levels of the organization
• Highly detail-oriented, organized, and motivated
• Strong intellectual curiosity
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced entrepreneurial environment
• Superb administrative skills including the use of MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook; knowledge of AirTable preferred.
• Flexibility in schedule; some evenings and weekends are required for special events or other activities during peak season
• Knowledge of Raisers Edge or other equivalent database programs
• Ability to occasionally lift up to 10 pounds, carry, or move objects to set up for meetings, events, workshops, etc.
• Access to reliable transportation is required to attend offsite meetings, events, workshops, partner meetings, etc.

About All Stars Project

The All Stars Project, Inc. (ASP) is a national nonprofit organization whose mission is to transform the lives of youth from poor and underserved communities using the developmental power of performance, in partnership with caring adults, giving everyone the opportunity to grow. While the ASP’s afterschool programs include hip-hop talent shows, training in theatre and the arts, and programs where we partner with the business community to help young people create a professional performance, we are doing so much more – we are building community and imagining possibility.

Founded in 1981, the ASP operates in five locations across the United States (New York, New Jersey, San Francisco Bay Area, Chicago and Dallas). The ASP is primarily privately funded, with two-thirds of our support coming from individuals.

All Stars Project of Chicago

The ASP of Chicago, launched in 2007, now reaches more than 5,000 youth annually on the south and west sides of Chicago and has raised more than $16 million in private funding. In 2016, ASP of Chicago embarked on a comprehensive expansion campaign – an important element of which is a visionary strategic growth initiative to establish a “Hub” for Afterschool Development in downtown Chicago. In March 2023, ASP of Chicago opened its’ new “Hub” – a home that welcomes young people from poor and underserved communities, non-profit partners, and business leaders to collaborate on how to collectively create a new Chicago.