Development Associate

Organizational Background

At the Harmony Program, music changes lives every day. Through collective music-making, children from under-served communities explore new avenues and realize their full potential.

For over 18 years, the Harmony Program has distinguished itself by serving children in need, reaching them within their own communities, providing them with instruments and intensive, high quality musical training, and helping to develop in them the life skills that support their healthy development -- musically, academically, and socially. The Harmony Program also recruits and trains accomplished musicians as its teachers and provides them with formal professional development training, observation and evaluation, access to a network of their peers, and competitive compensation for their services, with the goal of instilling in them a long-term commitment to community outreach and education.

The Harmony Program is inspired by Venezuela's national youth orchestra system, "El Sistema." Committed to improving society through music, El Sistema has gained international acclaim for the breadth of its reach, the quality of its musicians, and the power of its positive influence on the young lives it touches. In the spirit of El Sistema, the Harmony Program emphasizes the influence of music-making on social development, encourages learning through ensemble playing, fosters a supportive community for program participants and families, and requires of all involved a high degree of commitment to daily music study.

Jobs, Duties, Responsibilities

The Harmony Program seeks a full-time Development Associate to assist its Director of Development on all fundraising activities. The Development Associate’s priorities include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Manage and maintain the CRM grants and donor database (Salesforce)
• Process gifts/grants/contributions/sponsorships, prepare gift receipts/letters, and utilize Salesforce to pull lists and reports; and maintain impeccable records to ensure accuracy for items such as the organization’s annual report, 990, and audits
• Manage and maintain the development calendar and be able to communicate deadlines and priorities to the Development Director and relevant staff
• Develop and implement a system for tracking of fundraising-related correspondences including outreach, donor meetings, donor- and prospect-related site visits, meeting follow-ups, grant applications, and gift receipts/acknowledgements, etc.
• Prepare drafts of grant applications (grant writing) that follow the specified guidelines for each individual opportunity, collect or create required attachments, and draft basic budgets for these applications
• Conduct prospect research to identify potential corporate, foundation, family foundation, and individual donors as well as municipal funding and government grant opportunities
• Draft and write grant, donor, and sponsorship reports; in a timely manner, collaborate with appropriate staff/team members to gather and synthesize data and information required for these documents
• Assist with social media, newsletters, and other marketing initiatives (content development, writing, minor video editing, and strategy, etc.)
• As needed, contribute to the development of donor cultivation and stewardship events; draft and edit event invitations, track RSVPs, and provide on-site support at events
• As needed, provide administrative support to the Development Director
• Perform additional job-related duties as needed

Requirements

Applicants should reside (or plan to reside) within a commutable distance to the Harmony Program’s office which is located in Midtown Manhattan. They should be able to perform office work during regular business hours of 9:00am-5:00pm Monday through Friday. The individual in this role should be willing to occasionally attend and/or assist at Harmony Program events that may occur during evenings or weekends, such as the annual gala, fundraising events/salons, and student performances at various locations throughout New York City.

Applicants should have the following qualifications:

• Bachelor’s Degree;
• 2-5 years of experience in prospecting and grant writing;
• Deep knowledge of and proficiency in CRM databases (experience with Salesforce preferred but not required, as experience with databases such as Raiser's Edge or DonorPerfect is applicable);
• Exceptional organizational and project management skills;
• Strong communication and writing skills;
• An ability to work efficiently, both independently and collaboratively;
• Solid computer skills, including CRM (Salesforce), Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, and PowerPoint (experience with Adobe Premier Pro or similar preferred but not required);
• A polite, positive, and professional demeanor, and a desire to grow professionally.

This is a full-time salaried position based in New York City. The annual salary range is $60,000 to $70,000 per year, depending on years of experience and expertise.