Development Associate - Donor Relations

Position Type: Full-time, Salaried, Exempt

Location: Flexible (remote); Must be located and eligible to work in the U.S.

Salary Range: $65,425

Closing Date: January 5, 2026

Candidates will be reviewed on a rolling basis. The position will remain open until we have a sufficient pool of diverse candidates who meet the job requirements, at which point we may pause the review of new applications before the stated deadline. Please understand you may not be contacted for several weeks after you apply.

Ideal Start Date: 2-4 weeks after offer

About the Center for Disaster Philanthropy

CDP began in 2010 with the goal of pioneering the practice of strategic disaster philanthropy. Since then, it has grown in its ambition, envisioning a world where the impact of disasters is minimized through thoughtful, equitable and responsible recovery for all. CDP has a $40 million budget and a team of more than 30 staff members working remotely across the U.S.

CDP is a trusted partner, expert and authoritative resource helping hundreds of individuals, foundations and corporations boost the impact of philanthropic giving in response to disasters and humanitarian crises by supporting equitable recovery and addressing the root causes of vulnerabilities worldwide.

In 2024, CDP awarded approximately $16 million through 70 grants to grantee partners worldwide, demonstrated thought leadership through webinars, blog posts, featured speaking engagements, and other events, and served 20+ philanthropic partners through consulting efforts. In 2020, CDP was a featured nonprofit for the 14th Annual CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute. CDP has earned Charity Navigator’s Four-Star Charity rating, Candid’s Platinum Transparency seal and is a Better Business Bureau Accredited Charity.

As an organization grounded in racial and intersectional equity, our team members are deeply committed to strengthening communities most vulnerable to disasters because of systemic inequities. We are guided by our valuesof integrity, boldness and innovation, humility, and empathy in all that we do in pursuit of our mission.

Bottom line: We aspire to walk the talk of anti-racism and treat each other and our partners in ways that inspire trust, creativity, learning and care.

Be a part of our fast-growing team that offers countless ways to help communities thrive. Join us!

Responsibilities & Duties

Over the last few years of CDP's 15-year history, growth has been exponential. CDP has consistently raised revenue to support CDP’s mission, its strategy, education and innovation programs, and its disaster funds. In 2024, CDP raised more than $43 million to help mobilize philanthropy to support equitable disaster recovery. CDP has built its strategic reserves over the past six years, building its organizational savings to more than $20 million. This growth, coupled with increased visibility, brings a critical need for efficient, accurate and high-quality donor support and stewardship.

Reporting to the director of donor engagement, the development associate plays a pivotal, hands-on role in supporting CDP’s donor engagement and stewardship efforts. This position is essential for ensuring a best-in-class donor experience through timely and accurate reporting and meticulous tracking of donor activities and gift deliverables.

This role focuses on operational excellence and data integrity within the donor relations function. The development associate will be responsible for the core processes that support the entire donor life cycle, from tracking gift commitments to coordinating the creation and delivery of critical donor reports. By ensuring the accuracy and consistency of our data, this role directly supports the development team’s core goals of:

• Increasing revenue to fund CDP's mission
• Building and maintaining strong donor relationships with attentiveness to donor relations
• Expanding the donor base
• Ensuring operational efficiency and accuracy

As a fully remote workforce, CDP prioritizes employee engagement and relationship-building in service of a collaborative culture rooted in equity. To this end, in-person team retreats are scheduled throughout the year in different regions of the U.S. This role will be expected to attend 2-3 retreats per year, which average 3-5 days of travel each. This role may also require travel to donor engagement events, conferences and other convenings.

The successful candidate will display the following traits:

You are a detail-oriented executor with a deep commitment to operational excellence. You possess exceptional organizational skills and the ability to manage complex timelines with precision. You are a natural collaborator, able to work seamlessly across multiple internal teams (e.g., marketing & communications, fund management) to gather information and ensure deliverables are met. You are dedicated to data integrity and understand that the quality of our donor data underpins our long-term success.

Primary responsibilities include:

The development associate plays an essential role in advancing CDP’s donor engagement and stewardship efforts. Reporting to the director of donor engagement, this role supports the delivery of excellent donor experiences through clear communication, strong cross-team coordination and high standards of data stewardship.

Donor reporting & communication

• Coordinate timelines for donor reporting and ensure the timely delivery of high-quality, accurate reports to funders.
• Collaborate with the marketing & communications team on editing, formatting, and creating compelling donor reports and stewardship materials.
• Work with program teams to proactively gather accurate qualitative and quantitative information required for restricted and general donor reporting.
• Ensure all communication aligns with CDP’s values.

Gift implementation & tracking

• Lead cross-functional tracking of gift deliverables, applying strong project management skills to ensure commitments across development, program and finance are met on time and with high quality.
• Maintain structures and systems to track and communicate upcoming deliverables, milestones and next steps.
• Document donor engagement actions with accuracy, ensuring stewardship touchpoints (e.g., thank you letters, engagement calls, impact updates, next steps) happen consistently and reflect CDP’s donor experience standards.
• Identify risks or delays and collaborate with internal stakeholders to resolve issues, demonstrating a proactive and solutions-oriented approach.

Donor data integrity & tracking

• Use the CRM system (Blackbaud RENXT) to accurately input, track and maintain donor engagement activities, meetings and interactions, ensuring high standards of data quality and usability.
• Support data integrity and consistency across donor records, applying strong attention to detail and understanding of how accurate data supports CDP’s strategic decision-making.
• Produce or support analysis of donor engagement trends, using data to inform stewardship strategies to strengthen CDP’s relationship-building approach.
• Contribute to ongoing improvements in data processes, tools and documentation to enhance operational excellence and efficiency.

Required qualifications and skills:

• 2 years of professional experience in development, fundraising or donor relations, with a proven focus on operational support and stewardship.

• Strong organizational and project management skills, with a demonstrated ability to balance immediate deadlines with long-term planning and manage multiple projects simultaneously.
• Proficiency in donor databases and fundraising software.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with a high level of professionalism and attention to detail in all correspondence.
• Ability to work independently in a fully remote environment and collaborate effectively with dispersed, cross-functional teams.

Preferred qualifications and skills:

• Direct experience with Blackbaud NXT and Kindsight.
• Experience with project management tools.
• Familiarity with donor reporting and restricted funding requirements.
• High degree of comfort and skill using Microsoft Office, particularly Word and Excel, as well as Adobe and PowerPoint.

Personal characteristics:

• Commitment to the values intrinsic to CDP’s mission and strategy.
• Energetic and eager to tackle new projects and ideas.
• High tolerance of ambiguity and appetite to tackle issues constructively.
• A team player capable of cultivating productive relationships across teams.
• Sense of humor.

We welcome and encourage applicants with non-traditional career paths. If you don’t meet the qualifications outlined here, please apply and tell us how your experiences would equip you for the job.

CDP provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

How to apply

To Apply

Qualified candidates should submit their resume and a cover letter via this link. Applications must highlight competencies against requirements.

All applicants must be able to provide documentation that they are legally eligible to work in the United States for an extended period.

Due to the expected volume of applications, only finalists will be notified. No phone calls, please.