Priority application deadline is Monday May 19th at 12pm PST.  

About UnCommon Law

UnCommon Law fights to ensure that all people incarcerated for violent crime have access to healing, justice, and effective legal representation. Through our unique, trauma-informed model of advocacy, we provide the space currently missing in the system for healing, accountability, and safe pathways home from prison. In developing new self-narratives, the people we serve are able to more effectively disrupt violence inside and outside prison and become leaders who change negative societal narratives about those incarcerated for violent crime. Our groundbreaking approach is changing policy and outcomes, driven by the voices and experiences of system-impacted communities.

About the Role

The Development Associate plays a key role in advancing UnCommon Law’s mission by connecting donors and funders to our work. The ideal candidate is a strong writer who is also comfortable with numbers, and a detail-oriented doer who can manage multiple projects simultaneously. This role provides key administrative support for our 2-person Development team, including maintaining our donor database, supporting grant applications and reporting, and coordinating events such as fundraisers and in-prison symposiums. Additionally, the role engages and manages a pipeline of grassroots supporters, efforts which are critical to sustaining the organization’s brand and fostering new donor relationships. This role may have opportunities to support communications and social media efforts across the organization.

This exempt position reports directly to the Development Director. The salary range for this role is $66,406.10 - $70,095 annually. As a mission-driven organization, we strive to balance competitive pay with our values. New hires are typically placed between the minimum and midpoint range. Final salary offers are determined based on the candidate’s job-related skills, experience, and expertise, as assessed during the interview process and aligned with our structured salary schedule.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

Gift Processing and Database Management

• Ensure timely and accurate processing of gifts or donations by drafting and sending acknowledgment letters and entering donation information into UnCommon Law’s donor database.
• Develop and maintain UnCommon Law’s donor and volunteer CRM database, including but not limited to updating contact information and interactions, cleaning up duplicate records, tracking donor activity, ensuring accurate recordkeeping, and distributing receipt and tax information to donors, and designing and implementing automated templates, email series, and other CRM-based communications with donors in collaboration with our Communications team.

Donor Engagement and Stewardship

• Manage relationships with grassroots donors while assisting the Development Director in managing relationships with major donors and corporate sponsors, including but not limited to sending personal emails and thank you notes to grassroots givers, implementing gratitude campaigns for monthly supporters, and fielding inbound inquiries from grassroots donors and volunteers.
• Support the development and coordination of community events to grow UnCommon Law’s support base, including (but not limited to) the UnCommon Heroes annual 300+ person homecoming event and celebration, film screenings, volunteer events, donor dinners, parties, and other gatherings.
• Develop and implement grassroots fundraising initiatives, including but not limited to supporting strategy development for fundraising campaigns, collaborating on the marketing materials (e.g., newsletter, social media, original video content), and designing and implementing corresponding email campaigns in collaboration with the Communications Manager.
• Conduct research on funders, funding opportunities, and donor prospects. Develop donor profiles, gift history reports, and more to support donor cultivation and fundraising efforts.
• Monitor announcements and trends to keep well informed of funding opportunities.

Grants Management and Reporting

• Support with drafting language, pulling (and sometimes analysing) financial or impact information, and submitting funding applications or grant proposals.
• Develop and maintain a grant funding calendar, including dates for interim and final reports, ensuring all deadlines are met. 
• Monitor, write, and/or submit necessary grant reports to demonstrate impact, including supporting both narrative and financial aspects.

Events and General Administrative Support

• Provide additional administrative support to the Development team, including but not limited to supporting our annual fundraising gala, coordinating and executing mailings and communications to donors via mail or EveryAction, and developing and initiating internal staff communication as requested. 
• Compile donor data or other relevant information for inclusion in UnCommon Law’s annual report. 

Experience

• 1-2 years of successful experience in fundraising or development.
• Experience working in a fast-paced environment with shifting priorities and critical deadlines.

Abilities and Attributes

• Problem-solving skills: An ability to make things happen and deliver on requests even in the face of challenges.
• Compelling, persuasive, succinct writing and verbal communication skills: the ability to communicate effectively with many different kinds of audiences.
• High level of detail orientation: the ability to catch all typos and any mistakes within a document before it is shared.
• Exceptional organization and project management skills: the ability to juggle multiple priorities and see them through to completion on time, getting input and resources as needed.
• Strong relationship-building skills: the ability to establish and maintain relationships in a variety of settings.
• Visual creativity and intuition: the ability to design visually compelling marketing materials 
• Compassion for incarcerated people and their family members, and an orientation to center people with lived experience.
• A strong working proficiency in Microsoft Word and Excel, Google Suite, Canva, and EveryAction (or another similar CRM software) preferred.

Benefits and Support

Currently, UnCommon Law offers 100% Paid Medical, Dental, and Vision insurance for employees and covers 75% for dependents. To support our team’s mental well-being, we also provide a Health Reimbursement Account (HRA) of $200/month in reimbursable funds for therapeutic expenses. We have a flexible time off policy and close for two weeks from late December to early January each year. We offer a generous family leave policy, flexible hours, FSA and Retirement plans, regular training and clinical support access, and generous sick leave. In addition to the formal benefits, we are committed to building and maintaining a sustainable, joyful, and equitable culture where each team member can thrive. You’ll see this in the acknowledgments in weekly staff meetings, in-office lunches, and community gatherings.

COVID Protocol

UnCommon Law currently requires COVID vaccination (we consider exceptions for religious or medical purposes), testing before entering into facilities as needed, and masking in institutions and shared office settings is optional. A complete list of UCL’s COVID protocols can be provided upon request.

Application Instructions

Please submit a resume and a cover letter describing your interest and relevant experience for the role, along with contact information for two professional, academic or other relevant references to our hiring portal (https://uncommonlaw.bamboohr.com/jobs/). Applicants who submit cover letters that are not tailored to the position or the organization will not be considered.

Please note that all correspondence in the hiring process will be through the BambooHR portal. Following the submission of your application, you should receive an automatic response (via email) thanking you for your application. If you do not receive this, please check your spam folder.

UCL is committed to providing an inclusive, welcoming, and culturally responsive environment for all members of our staff, volunteers, subcontractors, vendors, and clients. UCL does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion (creed), gender, gender expression, age, national origin (ancestry), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, military status, or prior contact with the criminal justice system. We strongly encourage applications from people impacted by incarceration as well as from traditionally underrepresented communities.