Development Specialist

Please consider joining our team! Reach Out and Read, an affiliate of the national Reach Out and Read program, reaches 200,000 families annually across Washington and Oregon, distributing over 330,000 books through 3,200 medical providers in over 400 clinics. Our focus is on serving underserved communities, where 62% of the children we reach are from low-income families, 42% identify as children of color, and 21% speak a home language other than English. Together, we contribute to the broader impact of the organization, which serves 4.6 million children across the country and distributes over 7.7 million books annually.

The Development Specialist is an early-career fundraising professional who brings strong writing and editing skills and thrives on collaboration. After an initial onboarding period, they will take on a significant share of our grant writing, drafting proposals and reports for review by the Associate Director of Development, while keeping deadlines on track, maintaining Salesforce data, and ensuring funders are thanked and stewarded well.

The Development Specialist reports to the Associate Director of Development and works closely with program team members coordinates with Regional Executive Director serving as an integrator who helps teams share information and meet funder commitments. As the Development Specialist grows in the role, they will have opportunities to take on more of the grant cycle, build relationships with funders, and develop their own portfolio over time.

Your Key Responsibilities Will Include

Grant Writing and Reporting (50%)

• Work alongside the Associate Director of Development to learn our programs, funders, and proposal library, then grow into drafting the majority of foundation and corporate proposals and reports
• Write and edit grant proposals, adapting existing templates and boilerplate and translating program impact into clear, compelling, funder-aligned narratives
• Coordinate the grant reporting process: gather program and financial information from colleagues, prepare drafts, and ensure interim and final reports are submitted accurately and on time
• Maintain and update proposal templates, boilerplate language, and resource documents, including visually engaging materials created in Canva or similar tools
• Support prospect research and funder qualification as requested

Grant Project Management and Collaboration (30%)

• Manage the Northwest grants calendar, planning weeks ahead so applications, deliverables, and reports are on track well before deadlines
• Track grant requirements, deliverables, and timelines in Asana, keeping teams informed and following up with the right colleagues for content and approvals
• Help prepare agendas and materials for biweekly development team meetings
• Enter and maintain grant and donor data in Salesforce, ensuring accuracy and alignment with National standards
• Run recurring Salesforce reports, such as monthly or quarterly pipeline and grant status reports, to support team planning
• Clearly communicate grant requirements and restrictions to leadership and finance, and submit backup materials promptly

Donor Stewardship and Acknowledgement (20%)

• Facilitate donor and funder acknowledgment, ensuring gifts and grants are thanked promptly and personally
• Prepare materials and briefings for stewardship and cultivation meetings led by the Associate Director of Development and Executive Director, and join select funder meetings to learn and inform upcoming proposals
• Draft follow-up applications and communications that result from these opportunities
• Support additional development projects as requested

Qualifications and Experience

There are innumerable ways to learn, grow, and excel professionally. We respect this commitment to growth when we review applications and take a broad look at the experience of each applicant. We want to get to know you and the unique strengths you will bring to the work. We will honor your lived and professional experience as key aspects of your candidacy for the role and prioritize applicants with experience dismantling the structural inequities that disproportionately impact children and families with traditionally marginalized identities.

• Commitment to equity in opportunities and outcomes for children, with recognition of factors including race, ethnicity, language, and socioeconomic status
• Approximately two to three years of experience in nonprofit fundraising, development, or a related role where writing was a regular part of the work
• Project management skills: you can juggle multiple deadlines, plan ahead, keep a calendar on track, and follow through on details
• Strong writing, editing, and proofreading skills, with the ability to turn information from many sources into clear, compelling narratives and produce solid first drafts on a steady timeline
• A collaborative approach and a track record of working effectively across teams, building trust with colleagues, and keeping people informed
• Comfort working with data and an appreciation for why accurate, up-to-date records matter
• Self-motivation and the ability to work independently in a remote environment while staying connected to the team
• Experience supporting grant proposals, reports, compliance, or donor stewardship, even if you did not lead them (preferred)
• Experience with Salesforce or another donor database, including running reports (preferred)
• Familiarity with Asana, Canva, and similar project management and design tools (preferred)

Compensation, Benefits & Position Details

This is a full-time, non-exempt position, consistent with how Reach Out and Read Northwest classifies other professional roles in Washington State and reflective of the state's salary threshold requirements. The annualized equivalent compensation range is $70,000 to $75,000, commensurate with experience. Employees in this classification are eligible for overtime pay in accordance with Washington State law. ROR offers a robust benefits package including medical, dental, and vision insurance, a 401(k) retirement plan with match, paid time off, and more. The role is fully remote and requires candidates to be based in Washington State. This role requires occasional local travel and three to five overnight trips per year (less than 5% of the time)

Commitment to Diversity

Reach Out and Read is committed to building an organization that embraces diversity, pursues equity, and fosters an environment of inclusion. ROR sits at the intersection of health and education, uniquely positioned to play a critical role in addressing systemic disparities and inequities in the public health framework. ROR strives to be an antiracist organization, using its influence to fight against social injustice by supporting a culture of learning, empowerment, equity, and a deep appreciation for the unique experiences that we each bring to our communities. And we believe that changing the world begins with holding ourselves and our workplace to that same standard.

About Reach Out and Read

Founded in 1989, Reach Out and Read is a national nonprofit organization working to ensure that all families have the opportunity to create meaningful everyday moments through shared reading aloud and relationship-building. By leveraging pediatric care to champion the positive effects of reading daily and distributing books, Reach Out and Read gives young children a foundation for success and reaches 4.6 million children across the country – half of whom identify as BIPOC and two-thirds of whom come from low-income families.

Reach Out and Read's tens of thousands of trained pediatric providers use books as a diagnostic tool during regular check-ups and teach parents how to engage their child with a book to promote positive parent-child interactions during the rapid brain growth between birth and age five. The daily practice of reading aloud with a parent supports children's literacy and math skill development, their social-emotional development, and prepares them for future success in school. Working together with our sites and providers, we leverage our three decades of expertise, build on our literacy foundations, and engage our shared networks as a catalyst for change, focusing on equitably strengthening and deepening our impact on the children, families, and communities we serve.

The Impact:

• Reach Out and Read program sites are located in 6,500 clinics, safety net hospitals, medical systems, and other healthcare settings in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
• Reach Out and Read serves 4.6 million children and their families annually.
• More than 7.7 million new, developmentally appropriate books are integrated into well-child visits with families annually.
• 39,000 clinicians currently participate in Reach Out and Read.
• Our peer-reviewed body of evidence demonstrates that Reach Out and Read parents are two-and-a-half times more likely to read regularly to their children, and that children experiencing Reach Out and Read show enhanced language development.

To learn more about Reach Out and Read, visit

ROR is an Equal Opportunity Employer

Reach Out and Read is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of sex, race, color, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, cultural heritage, ancestry, political belief, age, marital status, pregnancy, physical or mental disability, or veteran status. Reach Out and Read is compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act and we are committed to making special accommodations for your interview or work as a member of our team. If specific accommodations are needed, please email HR @ reachoutandread.org and our HR team will work to accommodate your needs.