Development Officer

Job Description

Job Description

Overview

Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania

Job Announcement

Development Officer – Norristown (Montgomery County), PA (SSTE04092026)

SUMMARY

Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania (“LASP”) is seeking a full-time Development Officer to strengthen its fundraising, with major responsibility for LASP’s individual and major giving initiatives. LASP seeks a professional with a solid understanding of non-profit fundraising including individual and institutional giving. The position will play a key role in expanding LASP’s attorney and community campaigns, major donor identification, cultivation, solicitation, and donor stewardship. LASP serves Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery Counties. LASP advocates represent people with limited incomes, older adults, veterans, and domestic violence survivors when they face threats to their housing, health, safety, family stability, access to employment, or participation in government programs.

The position is based in Norristown at LASP’s administrative office at 524 Swede St. Staff currently work on a hybrid basis. The Development Officer must have the capacity to work both remotely and in person in Norristown. Travel throughout the 4-county area and evening/weekend work may be required. Salary is commensurate with experience and LASP’s personnel policies.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Fundraising Strategy and Implementation

• Lead and grow LASP’s individual giving, major donor, and planned giving programs.
• Design and carry out fundraising campaigns including winter and spring attorney appeals, regional giving events, Giving Tuesday, Bar Association outreach, and other efforts as needed.
• Work closely with the Communications Director to create effective cross channel messaging for campaigns and donor recognition.
• Oversee gift entry in donor database for accuracy and timeliness. Manage the gift acknowledgement process to support prompt creation and mailing of donor thank you letters.
• Track and analyze campaign responses and other donor data to refine fundraising strategies and measure results.
• Analyze LASP’s opportunities and make recommendations for growing revenue from attorneys, law firms, corporations, and other community supporters.
• Collaborate with leadership to develop and implement annual fundraising plans.
• Support LASP’s relationships with bar associations and bar foundations in the four counties LASP serves.

Donor Solicitation

• Support the Executive Director and Board members in donor engagement work, including prospecting, outreach, strategy development, meeting preparation, solicitation, and follow-up.
• Provide coaching or training to leadership and Board members on individual solicitation.
• Participate in solicitation visits with Board members and the Executive Director.
• Identify, cultivate and solicit a portfolio of 15-25 major donors and prospects.

Donor Stewardship & Communication

• Develop and implement engagement strategies to strengthen donor relationships.
• Produce quarterly donor newsletter.
• Create donor focused content for social media, LASP e-news, annual reports and other LASP materials. Collaborate with LASP’s Communications Director in content creation and dissemination.
• Collaborate with relevant staff, including Communications Director, Pro Bono Coordinators, and local office staff, to provide meaningful donor recognition in each county LASP serves.
• Collaborate with attorney and paralegal staff to understand challenges facing LASP clients and advocates and craft compelling impact stories.
• Understand and practice ethical storytelling when developing impact stories and other LASP materials.

Community Engagement

• Represent LASP at community events, legal association gatherings, and networking opportunities.
• Identify potential partnership opportunities and collaborate with LASP staff in prioritizing and pursuing these opportunities.

Organizational Growth and Development

• Collaborate with staff across the organization to identify and communicate fundraising needs effectively.
• Contribute to proposal writing and other organizational activities as needed.
• Participate in the selection and implementation of a new donation management CRM.
• Reflect LASP values and practices in all aspects of work.
• Abide by applicable professional standards of ethics and practice.
• Other duties as assigned.

SUPERVISOR & KEY RELATIONSHIPS

The Development Officer is supervised by the Development Director. The Officer will collaborate with the Communications Director and will work with the members of the Executive Team and the Board of Directors. The position also interacts with support staff responsible for gift entry.

QUALIFICATIONS

1. A minimum of five years of direct fundraising experience for a non-profit organization.
2. Commitment to LASP’s mission.
3. Proven track record of successfully cultivating and soliciting major gifts.
4. Experience creating and managing annual appeals.
5. Demonstrated skill in crafting compelling donor materials such as impact statements, appeal letters, case statements or other fundraising materials.
6. Comfort in presenting to large and small groups and able to network effectively in professional and community settings.
7. Experience with donor databases. Experience with case management databases is desirable.
8. Proficiency with Microsoft 365 including Word, Excel, PowerPoint. Familiarity with OneDrive. Experience with Canva is a plus.
9. Experience working successfully with organizational stakeholders including Boards of Directors, community members, partner organizations, and volunteers.
10. Valid driver’s license and regular access to a vehicle for business related travel.

SALARY & COMPENSATION

Salary is dependent upon experience and qualifications, with a minimum salary of $80,000.

Excellent benefits, including a 401K retirement plan with generous employer contributions, health insurance option in which 100% of premium costs are provided, ancillary benefits, and generous leave provisions including paid holidays, floating holidays, personal leave, vacation, sick, and parental leave.

EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER

LASP is an equal opportunity employer and will not discriminate in the recruitment, selection, or advancement of employees on the basis of race, color, sex (including pregnancy, gender identity, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability, genetic information or on any other protected characteristic as outlined by federal, state, or local laws.

This policy applies to all employment practices at LASP, including hiring, recruiting, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, leave of absence, compensation, benefits, and training. LASP makes hiring decisions based solely on qualifications, merit, and business needs at the time.

TO APPLY : Send resume and cover letter, including the job title (Development Officer), to Ann Tydeman-Solomon, Development Director at Legal Aid of Southeastern Pennsylvania, to View email address on ziprecruiter.com. Position remains open until filled.

JOB CLASSIFCATION: Salary/Exempt