Job Description: Development Associate
About Us: The Aggieland Humane Society provides humane care and placement for homeless and abandoned animals, promotes the human-animal bond, and promotes responsible pet ownership to enhance the quality of life for the people and animals in our community. Our vision is to become a leader among animal welfare organizations. We offer progressive, lifesaving programs and services, including animal sheltering, community spay/neuter, TNR, animal transfers, foster care, outreach events, volunteering, community food pantry, and more. Aggieland Humane Society is the municipally contracted animal shelter for the City of College Station and for Brazos County.
Position Specifics: Title: Development Associate
Reports to: Development Director
Status: Full-Time, Non-Exempt
Compensation: $16.00/hour
Schedule: 8 AM - 5 PM, Monday-Friday, with occasional weekends or holidays.
Summary: The Development Associate supports the daily operations of Aggieland Humane Society's fundraising program, with primary responsibility for gift processing, donor acknowledgments, donor database accuracy, and routine activities within the organization's donor management platform. This position ensures gifts are recorded accurately, donors are thanked promptly, and donor records remain complete and reliable. The Development Associate also provides routine donor service and stewardship, supports fundraising activities, and assists with maintaining adoptable pet content and collecting stories that demonstrate donor impact.
General Duties:
Uphold the Aggieland Humane Society Code of Conduct and follow organizational policies and procedures at all times.
Maintain a professional, courteous, and service-focused demeanor when working with donors, community members, volunteers, board members, and staff.
Enter gifts promptly and accurately in the organization's donor management platform, including the appropriate funds, campaigns, appeals, gift types, and other required coding.
Complete the daily donor acknowledgment process, including generating, reviewing, printing, preparing, stamping, and mailing acknowledgment letters.
Process tribute and memorial gifts and prepare related notifications accurately and compassionately.
Maintain accurate donor records, including contact information, household relationships, communication preferences, giving history, returned mail, and address updates; identify and resolve duplicate or incomplete records.
Track recurring gifts, pledges, donor follow-up needs, gift documentation, and other assigned activities within the donor management platform.
Assist with routine gift reconciliation and communicate discrepancies, unusual gifts, potential major donors, and sensitive donor concerns to the Development Director.
Respond to routine donor calls, emails, and questions and provide welcome, acknowledgment, and stewardship communication to assigned new, recurring, annual, or lapsed donors.
Support the data, mailing, acknowledgment, registration, and follow-up needs of fundraising appeals, campaigns, tours, and donor events.
Maintain online adoptable pet profiles as assigned, including uploading current photos and updating pet biographies and other profile information.
Gather, verify, and help write pet stories and biographies by coordinating with staff, fosters, adopters, volunteers, and other appropriate sources.
Maintain organized story records, photos, permissions, and supporting information, working with the Communication Coordinator and Development Director to ensure content is accurate, current, and consistent with organizational messaging.
Maintain procedures related to gift entry, acknowledgments, database use, pet-story tracking, and other assigned development processes.
Coordinate with platform support and internal staff to resolve routine donor database issues.
Perform other marketing/development -related duties as assigned.
Education and Experience Requirements:
High school diploma or equivalent.
At least one year of experience in data entry, administrative support, customer service, donor services, or a related area.
Skilled in Microsoft Word and Excel, with a strong ability to learn new software systems.
Preferences:
Associate's or Bachelor's degree in nonprofit management, business, communications, marketing, or a related field.
Experience working in nonprofit development, fundraising, donor relations, finance, or gift administration.
Experience with a donor management platform or another constituent relationship management system.
Experience producing acknowledgment letters, mailing lists, donor reports, or direct-mail materials.
Experience writing or editing stories, biographies, donor communications, or other public-facing content.
Experience working or volunteering in animal welfare.
Skills and Abilities:
Strong written and verbal communication skills.
Demonstrated accuracy and attention to detail.
Strong organizational, time-management, recordkeeping, and follow-through skills.
Ability to handle confidential donor and financial information with discretion.
Ability to manage recurring daily responsibilities while responding to changing priorities and deadlines.
Ability to gather information from multiple sources and turn it into clear, accurate, and engaging content.
Ability to work independently and collaboratively in a fast-paced environment.
Professional interpersonal skills and a strong commitment to donor service.
Strong analytical, problem-solving, and reasoning abilities.
Ability to take direction, follow instructions accurately, and accept constructive feedback.
Other Requirements:
Must gain proficiency in the organization's donor management platform and PetPoint, including the generation of assigned reports.
Must be able to work in areas with dogs and cats and tolerate the loud noises, strong odors, and emotional demands associated with an animal shelter environment.
Occasional evening or weekend work may be required for fundraising activities or events.
Regular and reliable attendance is required.
Benefits:
401(k) with employer matching
Health insurance
Dental insurance
Vision insurance
Life insurance
Paid time off
To Apply Please submit a resume, a completed employment application available at aggielandhumane.org/employment, and a sample donation acknowledgment letter.