Development & Strategic Planning Coordinator AmeriCorps VISTA

The AmeriCorps VISTA member will be an essential member of our team dedicated to bringing people together to create great places to live. The VISTA will build capacity for our efforts to promote affordability, sustainability, and healthy communities across Idaho- especially those experiencing or at risk of disproportionate growth-induced poverty. Increasing internal capacity for our outreach, programming, and education efforts will allow the team to work with more of these high-need rural areas to improve affordability, health, and economic opportunity- finding the right-size solutions for all.
 

Primary duties will include the development and implementation of our organization’s
fundraising strategy, including membership engagement and development, donor cultivation and solicitation, marketing and branding efforts, and fundraising calendar buildout. As a part of these efforts, the VISTA will lead the development of our next strategic plan by conducting relevant research, collecting feedback from beneficiary populations, partner organizations, and other groups through surveys and interviews, creating draft proposals for presentation, and working closely with other staff to identify and operationalize smart growth strategies within high-needs communities. This VISTA will work to identify and pursue relationships with communities with the greatest identified disparities in housing, employment, income, and related factors. The member will also assist in recording funds and membership in our donor management system. 

Spearhead organizational efforts to rebrand and strategically engage with partners across
Idaho.
1. Build out organizational profile by gathering and consolidating information about
current and potential programs, partners, processes, and more
a. Identify best, promising, and emerging strategies to build nonprofit capacity for
addressing economic opportunity for communities large and small
b. Evaluate the potential of several funding and development strategies related to
project goal
c. Identify and pursue opportunities to expand capacity through funding and
in-kind support related to project efforts

2. Support development and recruitment of organization’s Board of Directors

3. Lead rebranding exercises & communication strategies to improve organization’s
capacity to reach high-needs communities
a. Rollout rebranding efforts and begin communication & PR efforts throughout
the year
b. Create timeline for media, marketing materials, and communication budget
 

4. Develop and implement fundraising strategies
a. Conduct landscape analysis of existing data sets, development presence,
fundraising and grant opportunities, and partner engagement
b. Lead creation of membership engagement and development strategy,
including individual, group, and business partners
c. Identify and pursue strategic donor cultivation and solicitation
d. Build out fundraising calendar with strategic appeals, grants timelines, events,
etc
 

5. Convene community partners to assess capacity and economic opportunity needs
throughout Idaho and identify high-needs communities for further engagement
efforts
a. Conduct meetings with current and potential partners to identify needs and
opportunities
b. Design and implement surveys and other research instruments based on input

Lead information-gathering efforts to create organizational strategic plan and build capacity through development efforts
1. Lead the development of ISG’s next strategic plan by
a. Conduct relevant research, collecting feedback from beneficiary populations,
partner organizations, and other groups through surveys and interviews
b. Create draft proposals for presentation
c. Identify and operationalize smart growth strategies within high-needs
communities
d. Consolidate initial findings and proposed long-term development strategies
into appropriate formats for presentation to Board of Directors and others as
needed.
 

2. Identify targets for large-dollar contributions and strategies for further funding
sustainability.
 

3. Design membership structure & appeals.
 

4. Identify & engage with target communities to provide data and information about
strategic opportunities.
a. Begin testing assumptions and findings with target communities
b. Identify opportunities for funding and other support to pursue
recommendations.

Design five-year strategic plan to guide organizational development, engagement,
partnership, and capacity-building efforts.

1. Design first draft of ISG strategic plan
a. Outline organizational goals and metrics, strategies, programming
priorities, and other related data for 2025-2030 within strategic plan
b. Compile recommendations, data, and other relevant findings into a draft
document for presentation to beneficiaries, organizational leadership, and
major partners
c. Identify opportunities for funding, partnerships, and/or other means to
expand capacity related to project goals
d. Present findings to relevant stakeholders as requested, including the
creation of presentation materials, media, and other means of sharing
findings
 

2. Pursue funding opportunities to support staffing buildout aligned with initial
findings
a. Creation of development strategies to reach operational stability of
$300K-$400K annually within five years
3. Continue membership and partner development.
a. Identify and pursue relationships with communities with the greatest
identified disparities in housing, employment, income, and related factors

Create final organizational five-year strategic plan including best, promising, and emerging
strategies to build nonprofit capacity, funding, and workflows to address economic
opportunity for communities large and small
1. Present strategic plan to Board of Directors for approval, and make final
adjustments as necessary
 

2. Consolidate and publish relevant supporting documents as appropriate
 

3. Consolidate work and document workflows, processes, procedures, strategies,
and other important elements of VISTA project for handoff and/or continued work
the next year