Company description

About us: 

18 Reasons is a nonprofit that increases food security through the power of home cooking. Our mission is to empower our community with confidence and creativity to buy, cook, and eat good food every day. Our vision is to create equity and belonging through the transformative and healing power of home cooking.

We offer multiple food education programs. At our 18th Street Kitchen in San Francisco, we host paid cooking classes with chefs from around the world, and ticket sales help support our free programming for low-income families. Through our Community Programs, we offer three, multi-week cooking and nutrition education programs for youth, families, adults, and birthing parents: Cooking Matters, Food As Medicine (FAM), and Nourishing Pregnancy. Each year, we teach thousands of families to buy, cook, and eat good food on a limited budget. You can read more about how we approach discussing food in the community here.

About you:

This role is an opportunity for an experienced development professional to take your skills to the next level while supporting a dynamic community institution entering our 17th year of growth. The Development Manager is a strategic and solutions-oriented person responsible for delivering engagement and fundraising strategies to enhance and grow revenue and current and prospective donors. You will design and implement an integrated donor relations program, manage and maintain organizational databases, and support reporting, events, and donor stewardship efforts (acknowledgments, printed materials, and donor/board meeting preparation). Your data and analytics skills will also help drive marketing strategies across the organization.

You are passionate about food, learning, community, and equity. A career at 18 Reasons is an opportunity to build your skills while making a meaningful impact on the community. We value a positive, flexible, and driven team dedicated to advancing our mission through care and collaboration.

The person in this role is responsible for cultivating and growing our donor base to support the growth of 18 Reasons’ programs and championing our core values of Food, Heart, Learning, Liberation, and Moxie. You will report to the Director of Development & Communications and will supervise additional Development team members as the department grows. This is an opportunity for a driven, dedicated, and ambitious professional to strengthen the Development & Communications Department’s capacity and impact.

Responsibilities 

As our Development Manager, you do not need to be an expert in all areas of development before you start, but you must be organized, motivated, and eager to learn. You are meant for this role if you are a lifelong learner with a passion for relationships and organizational systems.

Ultimately, we are looking for someone who has a talent for organization, a love of building relationships, and who is wholeheartedly enthusiastic about growing with our business.

In the future, this role will supervise additional Development team members as the department expands.

Solicitation, Individual Giving, & Stewardship

In close collaboration with the Director of Development and Communications, design, document, and implement a donor relations strategy focusing on moves management and major donor cultivation.
Manage a portfolio of individual donors with a focus on major gifts ranging from $1,000 to $10,000, emphasizing personalized outreach, stewardship, and donor retention.
Develop and oversee donor acknowledgment, recognition, and ongoing communications, ensuring timely and meaningful engagement to strengthen relationships and increase contributions.
Collaborate with the Director of Development and Communications and Communications Manager to plan and execute fundraising campaigns, including year-end appeals, mail campaigns, and special donor initiatives.
Conduct personalized outreach to individual donors, securing major gifts through tailored solicitations, including year-end and targeted campaigns.
Create stewardship videos highlighting donor impact stories and organizational milestones to enhance engagement.
Manage and grow donor affinity groups, including monthly donors, members, and major donors, fostering deeper and long-term support.
Partner with the Communications Manager to enhance donor marketing through data-driven strategies, market research, and engagement tracking.
Initiate and manage peer-to-peer campaigns to expand donor networks and community support.

Data Management and Reporting

Ensure donor databases are accurate, synced, and up-to-date through regular maintenance and data cleaning.
Design and produce weekly and monthly fundraising reports for the Leadership, Development Team, and the Board of Directors in collaboration with the Director of Development and Communications.
Support the Executive Director and Communications Manager with data analysis for grant applications, donor reporting, and other communication needs.
Maintain accurate donor records, including gift entry, acknowledgment tracking, and tax compliance.
Oversee timely donor acknowledgments, ensuring all contributions meet legal and tax reporting standards.

Job description

Events

Collaborate on planning, executing, and supporting the implementation of large-scale fundraising events, including the annual spring gala, fundraising dinners, and other special events focused on donor cultivation and stewardship.
Oversee all aspects of the annual gala auction and raffles, including item procurement, donor recognition, catalog creation, platform management, and winner communication. Work closely with the auctioneer to plan and execute the live auction, including pre-event preparation and on-site coordination.
Lead donor engagement efforts for events, including managing guest lists, coordinating personalized invitations, and overseeing post-event follow-ups such as thank-you messages and impact reporting.

Requirements

3+ years experience in the nonprofit development field 
2+ years experience with data manipulation and output
Prior experience in database management and knowledge of CRM databases required; experience managing donor portfolios and tracking fundraising metrics preferred; Bloomerang experience preferred
Knowledge of tax and legal compliance related to charitable contributions and donor acknowledgment best practices is a plus
Strong written and verbal communication skills with experience creating compelling donor-focused messaging
Experience with donor cultivation and fundraising
Demonstrated success soliciting and securing major gifts ($1,000-$10,000) through personalized outreach and relationship management
Experience with, or desire to learn, peer-to-peer and crowdfunding solicitation
Mid-level (or above) Excel and/or Google Sheets proficiency required, including ability to present data graphically
Ability to quickly learn and master new technology and software programs, as needed. 
Candidates must be located in or willing to relocate to the Bay Area; we work out of our office at 3674 18th Street, San Francisco, CA 94110 on average once a week and work remotely four days a week (schedule varies)
Occasional night and weekend work required 

Qualifications

Passionate about our core values of Food, Heart, Learning, Liberation, and Moxie.
Excellent organizational skills with a proven ability to manage multiple projects, prioritize tasks effectively, and meet deadlines.
Excellent written and oral communication skills that are effective with a diverse range of audiences including students and ticket buyers, members, staff, board members, donors, potential funding partners and all constituencies. High level and sophisticated English grammar required.
Ability to maintain a high level of confidentiality.
Strong interpersonal skills, with the ability to work both collaboratively and independently.
Passionate about our culture of professional development, accountability, continuous and open feedback, and celebrating diversity.
Willingness to learn on the job and grow with our organization, including working to identify opportunities for innovation.

Physical requirements

General office duties include computer work, filing, typing, phone communication, copying, and participating in meetings with various stakeholders. Physical tasks include lifting 15 pounds at a time and moving and rearranging light furniture. The ability to travel to 18 Reasons on-site meetings and educational workshops throughout the San Francisco Bay Area and surrounding counties, as needed, is required. Reasonable accommodation may be made to enable any qualified person to perform the essential job duties. 

Classification & Compensation

This is a full-time, salaried position. 18 Reasons has an equitable and transparent compensation policy; we do not negotiate salaries. To read more about our compensation philosophy, click here. The salary will be set by the number of years of experience the candidate has in a similar position (Program Manager level or above):

Tier 1 (0-2 years experience) $83,000
Tier 2 (3-5 years experience) $87,000
Tier 3 (6+ years experience) $91,000 

Benefits include 100% employer-paid health, vision, and dental insurance, IRA matching up to 3%, 12 holidays, 4 weeks PTO, two weeks of paid office closures (December and July), and a 25% discount at Bi-Rite Market.

Supervision

You will report to the Director of Development & Communications

Compensation

this position is: salaried, 75k-100k

Application instructions

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Deadline

January 31, 2025