The Occidental Arts & Ecology Center (OAEC) is an 80-acre demonstration, education and advocacy center located in western Sonoma County, California. OAEC's work focuses on cultivating ecological literacy and building the capacity of civic and social movement leaders and organizations to guide their communities toward an ecologically regenerative, economically viable, and socially just future. 

OAEC is in an exciting moment of program expansion as we celebrate our 30th year of change-making, and build out our Resilient Communities Design Program, launch a large state-funded program through our WATER Institute, and scale-up our Fiscally Sponsored Projects Program. This is a tremendous opportunity for a non-profit development or program professional to join OAEC’s passionate staff, building on our decades of impact to collaboratively usher in the next chapter for this organization.

JOB SUMMARY

OAEC seeks a passionate and motivated Development Manager to join our staff collective. The Development Manager is responsible for overseeing and supporting all of OAEC’s fundraising activities. Primary duties include tracking major gifts and donor cultivation, preparing appeals and other fundraising materials, conducting foundation research and solicitation, and collaborating on grant proposals and reports with program staff. The Development Manager will report to and assist the Executive Director, while working closely with OAEC’s communications team and other staff to support the development and success of OAEC’s many core programs, partnerships, and fiscally sponsored projects. We are looking for someone who is enthusiastic about economic and social justice, protecting and restoring biological diversity, and is excited to help sustain and grow OAEC’s impact in the world.

We are accepting applications until 5:00pm PST, Sunday March 30, 2025. Early application is encouraged as applicant screening will begin immediately. The preferred start date is on or before May 1, 2025. This role is 40 hrs/week with up to 2 days per week remote possible. 

PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE JOB

Manage OAEC’s Donation Program: 

• Manage OAEC’s systems for donation and donor tracking, including hard files, CRM database (currently using Fundly/NonProfitEasy), and Google Drive.
• Receive and process all donations, ensuring accurate accounting and consistent gift tracking, and oversee donor acknowledgements.
• Support Executive Director and OAEC program staff with current and prospective donor communication strategy and engagement. In time, cultivate relationships with OAEC’s individual donors.
• Work with the Executive Director and communications team to produce and manage the distribution of OAEC’s Annual Update, year-end email appeal, and other fundraising materials.
• Take lead on coordinating donor invitations to OAEC special events and visits to the Center.
• Work with the Executive Director on other development projects and strategies, such as developing and launching a Legacy Giving Campaign and Planned Giving Program.

Support the Pursuit and Management of Foundation Grants to OAEC: 

• Take lead on drafting some Letters of Inquiry (LOIs), grant proposals and grant reports, or edit others when written by program staff and the Executive Director.
• Oversee the timely compilation of the elements of grant proposals and reports (narrative, financials, attachments, etc.) in preparation for submission by you, program staff or the Executive Director.
• Research, identify, and coordinate solicitation of new foundation prospects to support OAEC’s programs. Review regularly with the Executive Director and program staff to integrate changes in targeted foundations’ guidelines, staffing, and priorities.
• Manage all files, tracking systems, spreadsheets, and calendars for OAEC’s foundation and government grants, including deadlines for proposals and reports.
• Track correspondence and meetings between OAEC program and development staff and current and prospective foundations.

Support for OAEC Programs and General Activities:

• Support the Executive Director as needed in overall ongoing OAEC programmatic and organizational development.
• Collaborate with the Executive Director, the communications team, and other program staff on occasional promotional and educational materials, such as videos, newsletters, and other web content on OAEC’s work.
• Assist the Executive Director and the Financial Controller with OAEC’s annual budgeting process, including foundation and donor budget projections.
• Assist the Fiscal Sponsorship Program Director as needed to provide back-end support with the fundraising activities of OAEC’s fiscally sponsored projects.
• Participate in weekly Thursday OAEC staff meetings, and serve on appropriate committees.
• Participate in the annual staff performance review process, including serving on review committees of staff with whom the Manager will be working most closely.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE JOB

(Please do not apply if you do not meet the following requirements)

• Three or more years of prior fundraising/development and/or program advocacy experience (where fundraising was a central responsibility) in a mission-based non-profit organization.
• Exceptional writing skills, with demonstrable experience in grant writing and/or expansive program descriptions (goals, strategies, timelines, etc).
• Strong written and verbal communication skills for working with our donors and the highly diverse community of organizations and individuals who come to OAEC. 
• Excellent interpersonal skills, with a sense of humor and a positive attitude, and an interest in and ability to help resolve conflicts within organizational relationships.
• Excels at organizing and prioritizing work, problem solving, and with meticulous attention to detail.
• Is self-motivated and good at self-managing as this role will require both independent work and work with the entire OAEC staff collective.
• Skilled working in Microsoft Office (Excel and Word), and in the Google Drive environment (Sheets and Docs). OAEC staff all use Apple Mac computers.
• Excellent spreadsheet hygiene, ability to show complex information in a beautiful and easy to read manner.
• Significant experience working with database systems (i.e. Salesforce, Fundly, Salsa, etc).
• Experience in organizing fundraising or other events is preferred, but not required.
• Have great enthusiasm for OAEC’s broader mission and programs that work to restore and protect biological and cultural diversity, and to create just and sustainable communities.

COMPENSATION, LOCATION AND WORK ENVIRONMENT

• The annual salary for the Development Manager will be in the range of $68,000 to $75,000 per year at 40 hours/week, depending on length and type of experience in fundraising and program development in other non-profit organizations of somewhat similar size or greater than OAEC. Compensation rates and raises for all staff are set annually by the OAEC Staff Executive Council, which is elected by the staff collective. 
• OAEC offers a paid health and wellness benefit, currently set at 100% of the value of a Kaiser Permanente Silver HMO Plan for each employee, generous family leave and disability leave, as well as an employee-only contribution 401(k) option, and a cell phone plan stipend of $50/month.
• OAEC offers generous paid time off: a total of 5 weeks and 3 days per year of vacation and floating holidays combined, as well as 10 paid sick days off (plus an additional week for those with dependents).
• The Development Manager will work in one of the offices at OAEC. They may have some flexibility to work occasional days remotely at home. This is not a residential position at OAEC.
• All staff may enjoy the use of OAEC’s beautiful facilities, including our swimming pond, hot tub and sauna, and wildlands. Staff are invited to harvest from the extraordinary array of organic produce, flowers, and fruit grown in our Mother Garden and orchards.
• When working on-site, staff may participate in the renowned organic meals prepared for retreats and residents by OAEC’s amazing kitchen staff. Staff may take an OAEC Permaculture course free of charge, and attend the various theater performances, small concerts, talks and celebrations happening on-site throughout the year. We welcome visits from family and friends.