Director of Development

Job Description

ABOUT PA’LANTE:   Rooted in Holyoke, MA,  Pa’lante Transformative Justice builds youth power to heal and transform interpersonal harm and systemic injustices. Since 2015, Pa’lante youth leaders have practiced indigenous circle keeping to support our schools and community to address conflict and harm, grieve, solve problems, heal from trauma and oppression, as well as to celebrate victories. Pa’lante youth also lead Youth Participatory Action Research (YPAR) projects and community organizing campaigns to get to the root of the systemic inequities. In 2023, Pa’lante became a fiscally independent 501(c)3 and opened up a Youth Leadership Hub, our drop in space created by and for Holyoke youth! Our vision is a world where youth use their inherent power to create strong, healthy, intergenerational communities free from oppression and injustice.  

POSITION OVERVIEW: The Development Director’s job is to ensure that Pa’lante has the financial resources to fully realize its mission through strategies that include grant writing, individual donor cultivation, government support and events/sponsorship. $65-75k plus very generous benefits & time off.

KEY RESPONSIBILITIES: 

Grants

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1. Develop, manage, and execute annual grants strategy and calendar/database with clear pipeline for state and private foundations. 
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2. Craft compelling grant proposals and budgets for programs and operations, while ensuring adequate time for collaboration and revision.
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3. Cultivate/maintain positive relationships with current and prospective funders and program officers with Pa’lante (including youth leaders and alumni).
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4. Maintain up-to-date grant attachments and records. Submit accurate, timely and compelling outcomes reports. 
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Grassroots Fundraising

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1. Design fundraising campaigns (e.g. annual appeal, Giving Tuesday) and lead grassroots fundraising donor events such as House Parties, Donor Circles, etc. 
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2. Establish and implement a major gifts and legacy giving program. 
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3. Train/prepare student leaders, alumni staff and intergenerational Board to co- lead in grassroots fundraising efforts. 
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4. Strengthen donor research, cultivation, and tracking systems. Prepare quarterly Key Performance indicators reports and data-driven plans. 
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Communications 

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1. Gathering content for and creating Annual Report in print and digital formats. 
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2. Create promotional materials and calendars for youth programming including Peer Leader program, Mindful Rage series, Meta Programming etc. 
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3. Draft Quarterly newsletters using MailChimp. 
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4. Create style guides and talking points for organizational consistency. 
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5. Guide the staff team in creating content and regular posting on social media. 
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6. Translate all communications into Spanish with support of Spanish speaking staff.
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7. Train staff and Peer Leaders as tour guides; host consistent monthly tours for funders. 
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8. Regularly update the website, linktree, and social media with key information.
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Organization Wide Responsibilities

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1. Actively and enthusiastically participate in and maintain an organizational culture of care and accountability, including hosting and participating in indigenous circle practice 
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2. Pursue professional development and networking opportunities to increase personal and organizational knowledge and capacity 
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3. Support with planning and hosting Pa’lante’s community events 
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4. As the organization grows, supervise and support development staff
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5. Report directly to Luke Woodward, Co-Executive Director 
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Systems We Currently Use: Google Suite, Mailchimp, GiveButter, Canva, Linktree, Instagram, Wordpress, QuickBooks, EmpowerDB

QUALIFICATIONS

If you have just some of the skills listed below, or others we failed to list, please consider applying for this position. We are a small, nimble organization that makes the best use of the skills of its staff and is dedicated to their professional development.

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• Proven commitment to racial, gender, social, and economic justice  
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• Strong writing and editing skills and experience
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• Strong time management skills, self-motivated with accuracy and attention to detail  
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• Proven project management, leadership experience, and ability to work independently.
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• Strong partnership-building and event planning skills.
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• Strong public communication skills, including experience engaging community, funders, and internally with staff and advisory board members.
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• Minimum 3 years development experience, including event planning, donor cultivation/grassroots fundraising, fundraising databases and grant writing, strongly preferred 
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• Master’s degree, preferred and/or commensurate professional training
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• Experience working with BIPOC youth, preferred
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• Connection to Holyoke, preferred
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• Spanish language fluency, preferred
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COMMITMENT/EXPECTATIONS: Candidates must reside in or be willing to relocate to Western Massachusetts. This position can be in-person or hybrid. Pa’lante has a 35-hour work week with option to work a 4-day week.  Applying for grant funding is often time-sensitive and may require work outside of normal office hours in order to meet deadlines. Additionally, occasional work is required for events on nights and weekends with ample notice. Anticipated start date: January 5, 2027. Because this position requires significant onboarding and long-term relationship building, we are asking the Development Director to commit to 3-5 years with Pa’lante, barring unforeseen circumstances (no contractual obligation, just a good faith commitment).

COMPENSATION & BENEFITS: $65-75k plus very generous benefits, including:

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• 5 weeks paid agency closure time (2 weeks in the summer, 2 weeks in the winter and one week for Thanksgiving/Day of Mourning) 
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• Additionally, we offer 13 flexible vacation days and 10 sick/wellness days accrued annually.
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• Medical/dental insurance is covered at 80% for individuals and families. Vision insurance is covered at 100%. Generous employer-funded HRA ($1.5k/year individual; $3k/family).
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• Employer sponsored retirement plan with a 3% match.
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HOW TO APPLY: Please send resumé, cover letter, and two professional references to: View email address on ziprecruiter.com. Please write “Development Director " in the email subject line and include your first and last name on all file names – i.e. “Maria Morales Resume.pdf”.  We will review applications on a rolling basis starting November 2026.