Development & Communications Manager

Since 1963, InvestED has removed small financial barriers—school supplies, sports equipment, instrument fees, activity costs—that keep low-income Washington middle and high school students from attending, engaging in, and graduating from school. Our trust-based model empowers schools to make decisions without paperwork or delay. We partner with 668 schools across Washington’s nine Educational Service Districts, reaching approximately 55,000 students annually, with a goal to close the gap for the 250,000–300,000 WA students living at or near poverty.

About the role

This position drives InvestED’s external-facing development engine—securing institutional and grant funding, school-based fundraising, community giving, event and sponsorship coordination—while maintaining accurate, audit-ready gift records. You’ll manage a grant calendar, coordinate video production, and reconcile donor databases, all within a small, collaborative team where initiative and follow-through are equally valued. You’ll have ownership from day one, working directly with the Executive Director and Associate Director of Development to scale this function as InvestED grows.

Responsibilities

• Community Giving & One-to-Many Communications
  • Manage InvestED’s multi-channel communications calendar (email, mail, social) for appeals, newsletters, stewardship, and campaigns (Back to School, Annual Appeal, End of Year, GiveBIG, Giving Tuesday).
  • Compile and draft newsletter content, coordinating with program and development staff for stories, updates, and impact data.
  • Execute InvestED’s social media presence and content calendar in partnership with the Associate Director of Development.
  • Support production and distribution of donor- and community-facing content (video, print, digital).
  • Identify and pursue community visibility opportunities to build InvestED’s public profile and pipeline.
• Grants & Institutional Funding
  • Manage a full-cycle grant pipeline: prospect research, LOIs, proposals, reporting, and renewal—tracked in LGL.
  • Independently own and submit smaller-dollar and community-affiliated grant applications (e.g., Rotaries, Elks, Windermere offices).
  • Partner with the Executive Director to draft applications for major institutional funders (e.g., Raikes, Gates, Murdock, BECU).
  • Build and maintain funder relationship records and stewardship touchpoints in partnership with the Associate Director of Development and ED.
  • Draft timely, accurate grant reports paired with verified program outcomes and student-impact stories.
• Program Communications and Fundraising
  • Serve as the primary point of contact for school coordinators, maintaining a regular communication cadence.
  • Maintain and improve coordinator-facing fundraising (SEED Program) materials—training, templates, promotional assets.
  • Drive outreach to grow school participation and per-school fundraising; track and report SEED performance quarterly.
• Data, Process & Gift Management
  • Manage daily administration and transaction processes to ensure accurate, timely donation recording in LGL, coded to campaign, fund, and donor segment.
  • Generate and send donor welcome letters, acknowledgments, and tax receipts across all gift types.
  • Manage school fund disbursement (general and SEED-raised funds) in partnership with InvestED’s bookkeeping vendor, confirming completion in the SPACE Portal.
  • Reconcile donations against LGL monthly and hand off verified disbursement amounts for processing.
  • Process monthly school funding reports as required by grantors.
  • Use AI tools to streamline repetitive tasks while ensuring accuracy and brand alignment for donor-facing output.
• Event & Sponsorship Coordination
  • Provide logistics and coordination support for regional fundraising events (Spokane, Tri-Cities, Seattle, Golf), working from strategy set by the Associate Director of Development.
  • Manage sponsorship fulfillment and recognition—tracking commitments, coordinating benefits (logo placement, signage), and ensuring a polished experience.
  • Support sponsor prospect research and outreach coordination, particularly for community-level and mid-tier opportunities.
  • Coordinate event timelines, vendor logistics, and day-of support in partnership with event hosts and Board members.

Requirements

• 3–5+ years in nonprofit development.
• Experience supporting or executing multi-channel annual giving campaigns—appeal cycles, segmented asks, and campaign-specific messaging.
• Demonstrated ability to manage a multi-deadline pipeline independently and accurately.
• Exceptional writing skills, with the ability to adapt tone for funder narratives, donor emails, coordinator training, and social content.
• Experience managing an email or communications calendar (Monday.com, Constant Contact, or similar).
• Working experience in Canva (or similar design tools) and managing brand-aligned social media content.
• Comfortable with gift processing, data entry, and strong attention to detail.
• Alignment with InvestED’s trust-based model: removing barriers for students, not “fixing” students.

Qualifications

• Experience with donor/CRM databases (LGL preferred but not required).
• Experience with AI tools (e.g., Claude) a plus.
• Event or sponsorship coordination experience (logistics, vendor coordination, benefit fulfillment) a plus.
• Comfortable representing InvestED in person—school visits, speaking engagements, community events, donor asks.
• Education or youth-related nonprofit experience a plus.

Schedule

40-hour, hybrid role (approximately 2 days/week in the Renton office), with occasional evening or weekend work for events and periodic travel within Washington State.

Pay

$75,000–$85,000 annually.

Reporting & Team Structure

This role reports to the Associate Director of Development and works closely with the Executive Director on institutional funder strategy and the Board on visibility initiatives.