Development Associate

Who We Are:

GlassRoots sparks change and enables growth in individuals and communities through the  transformative power of glass art. Building skills, igniting creativity, inspiring confidence and  impacting economic vitality 

GlassRoots is a 23-year old art and education center, located in Newark’s newly-designated  Arts and Education District in Downtown Newark. Last year we reached over 5,000 individuals  through field trips, artist residencies, afterschool clubs, classes for adults, teambuilding,  community events, and more. A list of current GlassRoots programs can be found on our  website: www.glassroots.org. 

GlassRoots is growing and will expand to a larger space in 2025 (nearly 10,000 square feet!).  This will double the current location's square footage while staying rooted in the Newark  Downtown community and the founding principles of expanding arts access for the BIPOC  urban community in which we reside. The expansion will allow us to build a new facility with  new equipment, expand our programming, and solidify GlassRoots as an anchor arts center in  northern New Jersey serving the entire region.  

Our new Development Associate will be an integral member of the team that brings these programs to life every day in our studios. 

Who You Are: 

As the Development Associate for an arts and education non-profit, you will be supporting  and helping to grow our fundraising and business development lines. 

This is a role for a highly-organized multi-tasker who is excited to pursue a career in the arts  and/or nonprofit management. The position includes opportunities for growth. As you become  expert at the administrative and logistical tasks, you will have the opportunity to become more  involved in strategic planning, business development and writing. 

What You’ll Do: 

In this position, you will focus on two areas of growth for GlassRoots: fundraising (contributed  income) and business development (earned income). 

Fundraising: 

Record Donations 

One of the main tasks of the Development Associate is to maintain a record of donations in our  CRM system. You will work with the Development Director and the organization’s finance team,  if necessary, to enter gifts, update records, run reports and track stewardship and cultivation  activities. You will also be responsible for producing and overseeing donor communications in a  timely manner. 

Track Fundraising Campaigns and Events 

Development Associates will assist in organizing fundraising events, overseeing logistics for  mailings and creating and submitting internal reports to management and finance. 

Research Funding Sources 

Working with other team members, the Development Associate will identify and report about  sources of donations for nonprofit organizations. This will include researching foundation,  corporate and government funding programs for which Glassroots would be eligible. 

Provide Administrative Support 

The Development Associate will provide administrative support for gift processing and  acknowledgements, grants and reporting, and event preparation, as needed. 

Business development (commissions): 

You will join a team that includes the Director of Business Development, Director of Marketing  and Communications, Studio Manager and GlassRoots artists. You will play a new and integral role to organize and build out the processes for our expanding business line of artist-made  awards and commissions. In this position you will: 

• Act as a liaison between the commission's sales representative and the studio  production team. 

• Maintain production schedules and communicate the fabrication timeframes with staff. • Manage fulfillment processes, including invoicing, packing, and shipping logistics. • Manage Shopify, our sales platform. 

• Organize and maintain commissions showroom and storage area, work room, and  inventory of glass items and packing supplies. 

• Prepare and maintain client files, including orders, production notes, photos of awards,  and presentations when available. 

• Participate in weekly commission meetings. 

• Manage inventory and ordering of production supplies, packaging and shipping supplies,  materials and equipment needed to complete commissions. 

What you will bring:

• Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
• 2+ years experience in arts administration, arts education or nonprofit administration.
• Fluency in data management software, including a CRM platform and Excel/Google Sheets
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office and Google Suite applications, including Word and PPT
• Ability to articulate concepts to a team
• Strong time management skills 
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Attention to detail
• Organization and motivation