Special Olympics Maine / Development Manager / Portland, Maine
Special Olympics Maine gives people with intellectual disabilities the chance to find joy, confidence, and community through sports. With a new strategic plan, new CEO, and healthy income streams, SO Maine is in an exciting phase of growth.
At Special Olympics Maine, our work is guided by a strong set of core values that shape our culture and how we serve athletes and communities. Every team member is expected to model these values in daily interactions, decision-making, and program delivery: Respect & Trust, Collaboration & Teamwork, Professionalism, Culture of Positivity and Innovation & Growth
We are seeking a curious and motivated donor-focused and results-oriented Development Manager ready to take their career to the next level.
In this newly created full-time role, the Development Manager, reporting to the CEO, will build and implement engagement strategies for our extensive community of donors and fundraisers. With initial support from a fundraising consultant, the person in this role will engage a large pool of donors for the first time and grow charitable revenue through donor-centered cultivation, stewardship, and solicitation strategies. They will develop and manage a portfolio of major donors and corporate sponsors, strengthen engagement with fundraisers and their sponsors, partner closely with the CEO and Board on their fundraising efforts, and manage a contract grant writer.
This is a high-impact role for someone energized by authentic relationship-building, thoughtful storytelling, and building the structure that helps a mission-driven organization thrive.
What we offer:
- Competitive salary of $60-$75k based on experience
- Comprehensive benefits package including health care (with 100% of employee’s benefits covered), dental, 10+ paid holidays, 18 days of PTO, and earned time off for evening/weekend work.
- Professional development opportunities, and opportunity for professional growth as the organization grows
- Flexible work schedule, primarily 9am-4pm with occasional evening/weekend work to support statewide events, including overnight stays (minimum 3 nights) for Summer and Winter Games.
- Half days on Fridays during the summer
- A passionate, fun team and meaningful mission-driven work
What you bring:
- 3-5+ years of progressive experience in donor engagement, relationship management, and/or fundraising
- Genuine enthusiasm for connecting with people, with a heart-centered approach to fundraising, teamwork, and the mission and values of SO Maine.
- Demonstrated ability to build and execute donor-centric engagement strategies that deepen relationships and increase giving over time.
- Experience building a program or initiative from the ground up, with a track record of identifying opportunities and taking initiative.
- Outstanding written communication skills, including demonstrated experience in writing compelling donor communications.
- Strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence, with the ability to collaborate effectively across teams and with leadership, board members, and donors.
- Excellent organizational and project management skills, with the ability to prioritize and drive results.
- A teachable and curious approach to your work. Devoted to ongoing professional development and learning in the pursuit of excellence.
- Experience using CRM systems (Salesforce a plus) to manage portfolios, and Microsoft Office. Comfort using data to guide decisions.
- Availability for occasional evening and weekend work for events and fundraising activities.
How you will contribute:
- Partner with the CEO to design and implement a donor-centric moves management system that strengthens cultivation, solicitation, and stewardship of major donors and corporate partners,
- Develop stewardship plans for a portfolio of major donors, including but not limited to: regular donor communications, development and delivery of impact reports, in-person cultivation, strategic use of SOME events, etc.
- Advise the CEO on strategies to increase engagement and giving with his portfolio.
- Serve as a key partner to the Board Development Committee, cultivating board members as fundraising ambassadors.
- Write and send donor-facing communications to strengthen donors’ sense of connection and impact.
- Ensure timely, meaningful stewardship through acknowledgments, updates, recognition, and opportunities for deeper engagement.
- Support the Events Manager in the planning and execution of fundraising events, including but not limited to: event attendance and execution support, attending planning meetings to determine event strategy, and ensuring participants and sponsors are engaged.
- Represent SOME publicly at events and within the community.
- Manage a contract grant writer, making sure they have the information they need to be successful.
- Engage corporate and foundation funders through outreach, updates, invitations to events, etc.
- Manage fundraising activity in the CRM (Salesforce) to ensure accurate and timely donor records, and for moves management tracking, with support from the incoming Systems Administrator.
- Use dashboards created by the Systems Administrator for tracking performance (donor retention, gift growth, etc.).
- Partner with finance to ensure accurate gift processing, receipting, and reconciliation.
Major Gifts/ Individual Giving
Individual Giving
Corporate and Foundation Relations
Systems and Data:
Skills Required
- 3-5+ years of progressive experience in donor engagement, relationship management, and/or fundraising
- Demonstrated ability to build and execute donor-centric engagement and moves-management strategies
- Experience building a program or initiative from the ground up
- Outstanding written communication skills, including writing donor-facing communications and impact reports
- Strong interpersonal skills and emotional intelligence to collaborate with leadership, board members, and donors
- Excellent organizational and project management skills, with ability to prioritize and drive results
- Experience using CRM systems to manage donor portfolios
- Salesforce experience
- Comfort using Microsoft Office and using data to guide decisions
- Availability for occasional evening/weekend work and occasional overnight stays for events (Summer and Winter Games)
- Experience managing or coordinating grant writing contractors
What We Do
Skillcloud HCM Solutions is a national HR managed services provider founded in 2015 and headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts. The company specializes in talent acquisition, outsourced human resources, and human capital management (HCM) technology implementation and optimization. It partners with innovative companies to solve people-related challenges and enhance business efficiency through strategic HR consulting and technology services.
