Development Associate

Looking for more than just a job? Not your typical nonprofit role. Lift UP is hiring a Development Associate to help grow campaigns, partnerships, events, storytelling, and brand awareness across Portland’s food system and broader community. This role is for someone with a builder mindset. Someone who loves bringing ideas to life, creating meaningful community experiences, building systems that matter, and helping mission-driven work reach more people. From marketing campaigns and social media to donor events and community partnerships, this role helps shape how Lift UP shows up in the world. If you’re energized by creativity, social good, and the opportunity to grow into bigger leadership and strategy responsibilities over time, we’d love to hear from you. Food brings us together. Come help build what’s next. Applications accepted on a rolling basis; priority deadline is June 11th. Instead of a traditional cover letter, we’d love to learn more about how you think, create, and approach mission-driven work. Please submit your resume along with brief responses to the prompts below in a format that feels authentic to you. We value creativity, initiative, curiosity, thoughtful communication. Please send application materials to View email address on click.appcast.io. What about Lift UP’s mission, community work, or food systems approach resonates with you? This role supports storytelling, marketing, events, partnerships, and community engagement. What aspects of this work energize you most and why? Tell us about something you’ve helped build, grow, organize, improve, or bring to life. This can be from work, school, volunteering, entrepreneurship, community organizing, or a personal project. What’s one brand, creator, nonprofit, or campaign you think tells stories well and why? How do you currently use AI in your work, creativity, organization, or everyday life? Job Title: Development Associate Reports To: Development Director Status: Regular, Non-Exempt; 40 hours a week, mostly on-site with some virtual flexibility per our remote policy Compensation: $25/hr, fully paid medical/dental/vision coverage, a 3% employer-matched retirement program, Flexible Spending Account, Employee Assistance Program, competitive PTO package Location: 3448 NW Yeon Ave. Portland, OR 97210 About Lift Urban Portland (Lift UP) Lift UP’s mission is to reduce hunger and improve the lives of low-income residents in Northwest and Downtown Portland. As a top-tier partner of the Oregon Food Bank, we provide nutritious food access, teach cooking skills and basic nutrition education, and use food to build community, strengthen social connections, and support long-term stability. Lift UP addresses our neighbors’ immediate needs by distributing 1 million pounds of fresh, culturally relevant food across our community each year. We also lead the Coalition to Advance Food Equity (CAFE), a collaboration of partner organizations focused on sharing resources, coordinating distribution, and strengthening food systems. Through shared purchasing, farm partnerships, and local advocacy, collectively we are increasing access, reducing waste, and expanding impact across the Metro region. We envision a Portland where everyone has consistent access to nutritious food and meaningful connections. We recognize that structural inequities are a root cause of hunger and believe that access to abundant, nutritious, culturally relevant food is a human right. We are committed to advancing food justice through low-barrier, dignified services, and advocating for systemic solutions to reduce hunger long term. At Lift UP, food is more than a basic need—it is nourishment, dignity, and belonging. Summary of Position The Development Associate supports the day-to-day execution of Lift UP’s development, marketing, communications, data management, donor stewardship, and partnership efforts. Working closely with the Development Director, this position plays a key role in advancing mission-driven storytelling that connects the community to Lift UP’s work, values, and impact. This role helps coordinate donor engagement and stewardship efforts, fundraising and community events, marketing campaigns, food and fund drives, and organizational communications. The position also supports the development and maintenance of systems that strengthen community partnerships, donor relationships, and organizational visibility. The ideal candidate is highly organized, creative, adaptable, and values both relationship-building and operational excellence. This is an entry‑level to early‑career role with opportunity for growth as Lift UP continues expanding its impact and regional food systems work. Essential Duties & Responsibilities Marketing, Communications & Storytelling (30%) Create and manage electronic newsletters (e-news) and campaign-based email communications centered around mission-driven storytelling and community impact Develop, maintain, and manage a comprehensive content calendar aligning social media, campaigns, partnerships, stewardship, and events Plan, create, and schedule social media content across platforms Coordinate messaging across channels to ensure cohesive, strategic, and values‑aligned communication Support development and execution of marketing campaigns including food drives, fundraising appeals, seasonal campaigns, and stewardship efforts Maintain consistent voice, branding, and messaging across all communications Assist in developing marketing collateral including flyers, toolkits, graphics, and promotional materials Events & Donor Stewardship (25%) Lead planning and execution of fundraising and donor engagement events, including Lift UP’s annual fundraiser, Making Connections, donor appreciation events, and community engagement opportunities Assist with event logistics, timelines, sponsorship materials, guest coordination, and event communications Support day‑of event operations and post‑event follow‑up Prepare donor acknowledgements and thank‑you communications Support donor stewardship campaigns and engagement efforts across digital and print communications Maintain accurate donor records and organized stewardship tracking systems within Salesforce, Give Lively, and event platforms Food & Fund Drive Coordination (20%) Set up and manage custom online giving pages for campaigns and partners Support businesses, schools, faith communities, and organizations in launching and promoting food and fund drives Manage outreach emails, participant communication, and campaign follow‑upCoordinate campaign logistics including collection bins, QR code integration, and promotional assets Track participation and assist with reporting campaign outcomes and impact Partnerships & Community Engagement (15%) Research and identify potential new corporate and community partnerships Support outreach, relationship‑building, and partnership engagement efforts Assist with onboarding partners into campaigns, sponsorships, and community initiatives Maintain organized records and tracking systems related to partner engagement Donor Stewardship & Data Management (10%) Enter and maintain donor records in Salesforce, Give Lively and event platform systems Prepare and send donor acknowledgements and thank‑you communications Support ongoing donor stewardship campaigns and engagement efforts Maintain organized tracking systems for donor interactions and communications Workstyle and Systems Approach Use AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Claude, Genspark, and similar platforms) as a core part of daily workflow to support communications, research, campaign development, and operational efficiency in accordance with data and privacy policies. Apply AI tools to streamline processes, improve productivity, and support organizational systems Assist in building and refining internal workflows that leverage technology to scale marketing, fundraising, stewardship, and partnership efforts Stay current with emerging tools and best practices that support organizational effectiveness Required Skills and Experience Commitment to Lift UP’s mission to reduce hunger Organized, detail‑oriented, and able to manage multiple priorities simultaneously Strong written and verbal communication skills Creative thinker with the ability to translate ideas into actionable content Ability to work independently and as part of a small, collaborative team Demonstrated ability and comfort using AI tools as part of day‑to‑day work (e.g., writing, research, campaign support, workflow optimization) Willingness to actively integrate AI into tasks and continuously improve efficiency through its use Strong interpersonal skills and ability to build relationships Proficiency with MS Suite (Teams, OneDrive, Outlook) Familiarity with social media platforms and basic content creation Ability to work with diverse populations in a respectful and inclusive manner Preferred Skills and Experience Experience using AI beyond basic prompts (e.g., workflow building, automation, content systems) Experience with email marketing platforms (e.g., Mailchimp, Campaign Monitor) Familiarity with CRM systems (e.g., Salesforce or similar) Experience with Adobe, Canva or basic design tools Prior experience in nonprofit, marketing, communications, or fundraising a plus #J-18808-Ljbffr