Development Manager

Job location: Concord, MA

Mission: The mission of The Guild for Human Services is to educate, encourage and empower individuals with intellectual disabilities so they may achieve their full potential to lead high-quality lives and participate meaningfully in the community.

At The Guild you can join a workforce of creative, dedicated, and passionate employees working every day to enhance the lives of youth and adults with intellectual disabilities and other challenges.

Summary: The Development Manager is a newly created, individual contributor role within The Guild's Advancement & Fundraising division. Reporting directly to the Chief Operating Officer, this position serves as the operational engine of The Guild's fund development program - managing the donor database, stewarding grant relationships, coordinating corporate and foundation research, and supporting the launch of signature fundraising initiatives.

Primary Job Responsibilities:

Donor Database & Development Operations

• Serve as the primary administrator of The Guild's donor database (e.g., Little Green Light), ensuring accurate and timely entry of gifts, pledges, contact records, and donor interactions.
• Develop and maintain data standards, reporting protocols, and database integrity practices.
• Generate donor stewardship reports, giving histories, dashboards, and fundraising performance metrics.
• Prepare gift acknowledgments, donor correspondence, and development reports.
• Support forecasting, campaign tracking, and fundraising analytics.
• Produce reports and materials for leadership, board committees, and fundraising discussions.

Grant Management & Compliance

• Maintain a comprehensive grants calendar, tracking application deadlines, award periods, reporting requirements, and submission schedules.
• Coordinate grant application and reporting processes in partnership with program leaders, finance staff, and executive leadership.
• Monitor grant compliance requirements and ensure timely submission of reports and supporting documentation.
• Serve as the central repository manager for grant files, correspondence, agreements, and award documentation.
• Work closely with Finance to coordinate financial reporting and reimbursement requests when required by funders.
• Maintain relationships with foundation and corporate funders through timely communication and stewardship.

Prospect Research & Pipeline Development

• Conduct ongoing research to identify prospective individual, corporate, foundation, and government funding opportunities.
• Develop donor and prospect profiles to support cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship strategies.
• Research corporate sponsorship opportunities and community partnerships aligned with The Guild's strategic priorities.
• Maintain prospect tracking systems and support movement management activities.
• Monitor philanthropic, disability services, workforce development, and nonprofit trends that may present funding opportunities.
• Prepare briefing materials and research summaries for executive leadership and board volunteers.

Donor Stewardship & Relationship Support

• Coordinate donor acknowledgment, stewardship, and engagement activities.
• Track cultivation plans, follow up actions and relationship management activities.
• Support donor visits, tours, meetings, and cultivation events.
• Partner with the Communications Manager to ensure donor impact stories and stewardship communications are timely and meaningful.
• Support the Development Committee and other volunteer leadership groups through meeting preparation, reporting and follow-up.

Fundraising Events & Community Engagement

• Coordinate logistics and administrative support for fundraising events, donor gatherings, and community engagement activities.
• Manage registration systems, sponsorship tracking, volunteer coordination, and event reporting.
• Maintain event timelines, vendor coordination, recognition plans, and post-event evaluations.
• Ensure donors, sponsor, and participant information is accurately captured and integrated into the donor database.
• Support efforts to strengthen community visibility and engagement through fundraising and relationship-building activities.

Strategic Initiatives Support

• Support fundraising and partnership activities related to organizational strategic priorities, new programs, capital improvements, employment initiatives, and other mission-driven ventures.
• Assist in coordinating research, prospect identification, and funding opportunities associated with special projects.
• Maintain tracking systems and reporting structures for strategic fundraising initiatives.
• Collaborate with leadership to identify emerging opportunities that advance The Guild's mission and long-term sustainability.
• Bachelor's degree in nonprofit management, business, communications, public administration, or a related field, or equivalent experience.
• Minimum of 3-5 years of experience in fundraising, development operations, grants management, donor relations, or a related field.
• Demonstrated experience managing donor databases or CRM systems.
• Experience coordinating grants administration, compliance, and reporting.
• Strong organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple priorities and deadlines simultaneously.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office applications, particularly Excel.
• Ability to work independently while collaborating effectively across departments.
• Commitment to The Guild's mission and the advancement of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

Why Should You Apply: As a member of our team, you will be surrounded by an exceptional group of talented staff that is transforming the lives of the people we serve every day. Staff members at The Guild are passionate about their work and appreciate the opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of the individuals we serve.

The Guild offers:

• Excellent health benefits-medical, dental, vision. We believe our benefits package is one of the most competitive.
• Employer contribution to retirement plan after 2 years of employment
• Generous paid time off
• Collaborative work environment that values new insight and personal contributions
• Opportunities for professional development and growth