Development Specialist

Most days mix donor research, cultivation work, and event support — researching prospects, drafting cultivation materials, supporting major-gift visits, managing donor data in CRM systems (Salesforce, Raiser's Edge, Bloomerang), supporting events, and partnering with leadership and program staff. You're often working in nonprofits — universities, hospitals, arts organizations, social services, advocacy groups — and the organization's fundraising maturity shapes daily work.

What tends to be harder than people expect is the slow patience of relationship cultivation. Major gifts can take years from first conversation to signed pledge, and fundraising metrics can feel reductive next to actual relationships. Sector and scale matter: a $1M shop and a $100M university campaign are very different jobs.

People who tend to thrive here are comfortable with rejection, genuinely interested in donors as people, fluent in writing, and able to speak about mission persuasively. If you want fast transactional wins, fundraising cycles are too long. If you like the long arc of stewarding relationships toward transformative philanthropy, the role offers durable demand and meaningful nonprofit career paths.