Organization and Mission:
The Massachusetts Adoption Resource Exchange (MARE) finds adoptive homes for children and teens waiting in foster care. MARE develops public awareness and recruitment programs to inform the public about the children who wait, support families in pursuing adoption from foster care, and facilitate matches of adoptive families. MARE specializes in the recruitment of adoptive families for teens, children of color, sibling groups, LGBTQ+ identified youth, and those with complex medical and developmental needs. MARE’s values of innovation, compassion and collaboration are at the core of our services to children and families, our organizational culture and our community engagement. We are looking for a passionate individual to join our team of champions for youth in foster care as we look towards continued expand our fund development and community outreach efforts.
Position Summary:
The Development and Community Engagement Associate furthers the agency’s mission by providing administrative, event planning, communications and community outreach support to the Development and Communications/Public Relations departments. The Associate serves as the primary administrator for the donor management system and is responsible for tracking and acknowledging all gifts. The Associate serves as the coordinator for the production of waiting child professional photos and videosnapshots and secures media placements of child profiles.
The ideal candidate will have most of the following Qualifications:
The Development & Community Engagement Associate will have many of the following qualifications:
- Minimum of three years of relevant development, communications and/or event planning experience
- Experience working in a non-profit, mission driven organization
- Bachelors Degree
- Excellent verbal and written communications skills
- Strong relationship building skills, including comfort engaging directly with donors, stakeholders, volunteers and community partners
- Exceptional organizational skills and ability to balance multiple cross-departmental tasks concurrently
- Track record of successful project management and follow through
- Experience with data management, data entry and reporting (experience with Salesforce preferred)
- Proficiency in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook and social media platforms
- Commitment to contributing to a workplace culture of diversity, equity and inclusion
- Mission-driven and share’s MARE’s urgency for finding permanency for all children and teens in foster care, through innovation, compassion and collaboration.
- MARE actively seeks to broaden the diversity of our team to best reflect the populations we serve and encourages BIPOC individuals and those with lived experience in the child welfare system to consider applying, even if all of qualifications are not met.
Specific Job Responsibilities/Duties:
Development (60% of role)
- Process and track all incoming donations (online, checks, ACH and Stripe), including making deposits and reconciling cash logs and online platforms with Salesforce on a weekly basis
- Serve as Salesforce administrator and work to enhance accuracy and efficiency of donor management system, manage integrations and enhancements
- Work with Development Director and Executive Director to ensure all gifts are acknowledged in timely and personalized manner
- Contribute to creation and implementation of calendar of donor engagement and solicitation
- Coordinate mailings of campaigns including annual appeal and annual report and manage organization’s incoming and outgoing mail on routine basis
- Research grant opportunities in collaboration with Development Director to identify new funding sources, and support grant writing efforts where needed
- Provide support for fundraising events such as the annual Walk/Run for Adoption and Golf Tournament, including participant registration and communications, volunteer recruitment and management, solicitation of sponsorships and raffle prizes, and on-site logistics
Communications and Community Engagement (40% of role)
- Support community engagement and public relations special events, including planning, communications and on-site logistics
- Contribute to copywriting for fundraising appeals
- Manage MARE online store including mailing, tracking and payment processing
- Coordinate community volunteers and interns for professional photo and videography production, and special events
- Liaise with Child Services staff to identify photo and video requests and track through timely completion; send communications approved kids report
- Keep volunteer and community partner information up to date in relevant database
- Coordinate placement of Waiting Child Profiles with media partners across the state
- Review and edit child profiles and updates on website, keep website current with events, job postings, staff bios, etc.
- Assist with social media, scheduling posts and responding to comments
- Support community engagement programs including The Neighborhood and creating new strategies to enlist support for MARE’s mission
- Provide overall administrative and operational support to members of the leadership team as needed
Workplace and Benefits:
MARE has a remote/in-person hybrid model for ongoing work with a minimum of one day per week in-person at MARE's Newton office. A valid driver’s license, periodic access to a car, and ability to work occasional evening and weekend hours is required.
MARE offers employees a comprehensive benefits package including:
- Flexible, family-friendly working hours
- Generous paid vacation (4+ weeks), holidays (12), and sick time
- Medical and Dental Insurance
- Life and Accidental Death and Dismemberment Insurance
- Long Term Disability
- 403(b) pre-tax savings plan, with 3% salary match after one year of service
Apply here.