Development associates are skilled communicators who generate financial resources for their organizations by applying for grants, writing fundraising letters, planning events, and cultivating strong relationships with potential donors and institutions.

What Does a Development Associate Do?

Development—also known as fundraising or institutional advancement—is essential to the life and goals of any nonprofit organization. It's how these vital institutions acquire the funds to make repairs, improvements, and expansions, or simply to continue operating. Skilled communicators and analysts, development associates work in a variety of ways to generate financial resources for their organizations. Some job duties include the following:

• Writing fundraising appeals and acknowledgment letters
• Processing donations and entering fundraising data into the department’s database of choice
• Researching and applying for grant opportunities
• Coordinating and planning cultivation and fundraising events
• Managing volunteers at events
• Performing prospect research and analysis
• Cultivating individual donors through phone follow-ups and in-person conversations

A development associate at a smaller organization might be involved in every aspect of the organization's development activities. At larger organizations, however, the development department tends to be broken into several distinct tracks: institutional giving (i.e., grants); individual giving (i.e., donors); event planning; database management and analysis; and prospect research.

Work Life Balance

Development associates usually work conventional business hours in an office setting. However, those who specialize in events may work more flexible schedules and late nights, and may travel for the job. There is also an expectation that development associates, no matter their role, try to attend events at other local nonprofits, both to support peers and as a form of research.

Community

Development associates are creative, personable, and detail-oriented individuals with strong written and verbal communication skills. They are capable of crafting fundraising appeals, acknowledgment letters, grant applications, and event plans that say something new while matching the company’s brand and the target audience—and without crossing the line into cliché or tastelessness. Development associates also possess strong organizational, multitasking, and information-management skills, which help them keep a handle on the sensitive information that passes through their hands. 

Finding Work

Both experience within the field and strong writing skills are unquestionably valuable to employers, but in a job about sharing and eliciting enthusiasm for an organization, there's no substitute for passionate belief in the organization's importance. Aspiring development associates should start by researching local nonprofits to find one they feel excited about, and then check for open positions. Even if no openings are posted, it's often worth reaching out; the combination of a strong résumé with a cover letter that demonstrates one's passion—and the ability to make that passion contagious—can turn heads and open doors.

Professional Skills

• Grant writing
• Oral and written communication
• Marketing
• Database systems
• Event planning
• Mathematics

Interpersonal Skills

Development associates are creative, personable, and detail-oriented individuals with strong written and verbal communication skills. They are capable of crafting fundraising appeals, acknowledgment letters, grant applications, and event plans that say something new while matching the company’s brand and the target audience—and without crossing the line into cliché or tastelessness. Development associates also possess strong organizational, multitasking, and information-management skills, which help them keep a handle on the sensitive information that passes through their hands. 

Industries

• Film, Video, and Television
• Technology
• Video Games
• Advertising
• Artist Services
• Music and Audio Tools
• Radio and Streaming Music
• Recording Industry
• Health and Wellness
• Theater
• Live Music
• Opera
• Dance
• Orchestra, Chorus, and Band
• Education
• Arts Administration
• Journalism
• Church and Worship

Top US Cities for This Role

• Los Angeles
• San Francisco Bay Area
• New York City
• Boston
• Nashville