Position Summary:

The Development Manager plays a key role in advancing the organization’s fundraising goals, with a primary focus on executing special events—especially the annual gala—and cultivating corporate partnerships. This position supports a broad range of development activities including donor stewardship, sponsorship fulfillment, and fundraising campaign support. The ideal candidate is a highly organized, relationship-driven professional with a passion for event execution and donor engagement.

About the Organization:

Legal Aid Society of San Diego (LASSD), the largest poverty law firm serving San Diego County since 1953, strengthens our communities by redressing our clients’ legal problems, empowering our clients to access and effectively participate within the legal, governmental, and social systems and encouraging self-empowerment in the fight against poverty and injustice. LASSD continues to be a proud, committed, and compassionate group of people dedicated to providing equal access to justice for San Diegans through aggressive, quality legal services. #justicebeginshere

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• In collaboration with the Development Director, support development activities including special events, corporate sponsorships, employee matching, and giving campaigns.

• Lead planning and execution of the annual gala, including sponsorship acquisition, project management, cross-departmental coordination, and vendor management.

• Manage a portfolio of ~100 donors and prospects, guiding them through the donor cycle from identification to stewardship.

• Cultivate and strengthen relationships with corporate sponsors; ensure timely and accurate fulfillment of sponsorship benefits.

• In partnership with the Outreach and Pro Bono teams, deliver presentations to law offices and other businesses to promote partnership opportunities, with a focus on increasing cy pres awards.

• Promote and facilitate corporate matching gift opportunities to maximize donor impact.

• Draft narratives, copy, and graphics for fundraising proposals, event materials, and donor communications.

• Maintain accurate donor records in CRM; generate reports to support fundraising strategy and track progress.

• Collaborate with the Development Assistant to ensure timely gift acknowledgments and sponsor recognition.

• Conduct donor research and prospecting to support acquisition and growth strategies.

• Contribute to the implementation of annual fundraising plans, with a strong emphasis on donor acquisition and retention.

• Oversee event marketing efforts to maximize attendance and elevate brand visibility, including managing and updating event-related websites (e.g., OneCause) to ensure accurate and engaging content.

• Other duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications:

• B.A. degree or demonstrated equivalent experience in business, marketing, communications, or fundraising/development.

• Minimum 3–5 years of professional experience in fundraising, donor relations, or event planning within a nonprofit setting, including direct responsibility for planning and executing a gala or similar large-scale fundraising event.

• Proven success in managing large-scale events and securing corporate sponsorships.

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, including experience with proposal writing and donor presentations.

• Proficiency with donor databases/CRMs (e.g., Salesforce) and event platforms (e.g., One Cause).

• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, meet deadlines, and work collaboratively across departments.

• High level of professionalism, discretion, and attention to detail.

• Must have reliable transportation.

• Commitment to mission and organizational values.

• Ability to work successfully with people from all backgrounds.

• Must have reliable transportation

Desired Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

• Fluency in written and spoken Spanish preferred.

• Strong project management skills, with the ability to develop and manage timelines, budgets, and deliverables.

• Ability to build and maintain relationships with stakeholders, including donors, sponsors, vendors, and internal teams.

• Comfort with public speaking and delivering presentations to corporate audiences.

• Creative thinking and problem-solving skills to enhance event experiences and donor engagement.

• Knowledge of fundraising best practices, trends, and tools.

• Ability to analyze data and generate insights to inform fundraising strategies.

• Proficient experience and knowledge in MS Office 360 programs (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, One Drive, and SharePoint) and Justice Server.

Salary and Benefits:

The Development Manager is an exempt position with an annual salary of $73,000 – 90,000, and a starting salary of $73,000. In addition, there is a bilingual pay increase of 2% for passing an oral test and 2% for passing a written test for threshold languages other than English.

LASSD offers a generous benefits package, a 35-hour workweek, paid vacation leave and sick leave and 100% employer-paid medical premium, 50% employer-paid premium for dependents under LASSD health plan, as well as dental, vision, and life benefits. Staff also have the option to participate in a 403(b)-retirement plan and dependent and health flex savings accounts (FSA). LASSD has its own law school loan repayment program and is an eligible nonprofit employer for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program.

LASSD is an equal opportunity employer, we hire without regard to race, color, religion, religious creed (including religious dress and grooming practices), national origin, ancestry, citizenship, physical or mental disability, medical condition (including cancer and genetic characteristics), genetic information, marital status, sex (including pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding, or related medical conditions), gender, gender identity, gender expression, reproductive health decision making, age (40 years and over), sexual orientation, veteran and/or military status, domestic violence victim status, political affiliation, and any other status protected by state or federal law.

Hybrid Work Environment:

Legal Aid Society of San Diego (“LASSD”) has adopted a hybrid work environment in which most staff are required to work in the office part of the week and permitted to work remotely for the remainder of the week, provided their job duties allow. All employees are issued LASSD computers and provided with appropriate supplies to perform their work. LASSD has implemented and continues to explore additional technologies to make our hybrid working environment as efficient and connected as possible. All employees must be available to travel to LASSD offices and service locations throughout San Diego County as needed and in compliance with public health advisories. Applicants must reside in or near San Diego County or plan to relocate in or near the County prior to their start date and must be able to commute to the physical Legal Aid Society of San Diego office locations or service delivery locations within San Diego County. LASSD’s normal business hours are 9am-5pm, but we are open to providing flexible work schedules to the extent feasible for the position. LASSD reserves the right to change these policies at any time.