Development and Communication Engagement Specialist

Description:

Family Star Montessori is seeking a highly organized, relationship-driven Development and Community Engagement Specialist to strengthen fundraising operations, donor engagement, and community-facing initiatives through strong project management and cross-functional coordination.

This role goes beyond task execution to provide structured oversight of individual giving, donor development, community engagement projects, and events. The Development and Community Engagement Specialist serves as a central project manager for development and communications work - ensuring timelines, stakeholders, and deliverables are aligned in support of Family Star’s mission to serve children and families across Denver.

This is an ideal role for a development professional who thrives in managing multiple projects, building donor relationships, and translating strategy into action.

KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

Development, Donor Relations & Community Engagement (80%)

Individual Giving & Donor Engagement

• Support and coordinate individual donor engagement strategies including annual giving, stewardship, and cultivation activities.
• Communicate directly with individual donors by phone, and email - building authentic, lasting relationships.
• Prepare donor acknowledgements, recognition materials, and Colorado Child Care Tax Credit documentation.
• Maintain accurate donor records, gift processing, and reports in coordination with the Finance team.
• Manage donor database activities including gift entry, data maintenance, queries, and reporting.
• Track detailed donor pipelines and stewardship timelines accurately

Grants, Foundations & Corporate Partnerships

• Conduct Prospect research for foundations, corporations, and community partners.
• Track grant and reporting calendars and deadlines.
• Coordinate letters of support from board members and community partners.

Community Outreach, Enrollment Support & Events

• Serve as a visible, friendly representative of Family Star in the Lakewood community and surrounding neighborhoods.
• Conduct direct engaging outreach including community events, tabling, door-to-door engagement, and relationship-building with local businesses and organizations.
• Make cold calls and follow-up outreach to community partners, families, and prospects to boost enrollment and awareness.
• Support enrollment-focused outreach efforts for the new Lakewood campus.
• Project manage fundraising and community events including timelines, logistics, vendors, materials, and follow-up.
• Coordinate staff, board members, volunteers, and external partners to ensure successful event execution.
• Serve as lead liaison for Lakewood campus event space including marketing, communications, rental coordination, and basic facility coordination.

Communications & Marketing Project Management

• Assist in the design and produce outreach and donor-facing materials using Canva (i.e. flyers, postcards, signage, social graphics, presentations, etc.).
• Lead community outreach communications for the Lakewood building, including marketing plans, printed materials, and neighborhood engagement tools.
• Draft and distribute newsletters, appeals, emails, annual report content, presentations, and solicitation materials.
• Manage organizational email inboxes and ensure timely, professional responses.
• Maintain and manage social media platforms (Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.) including content creation and scheduling.
• Support website content updates to ensure accuracy, relevance, and ease of use.

Executive Director & Organizational Support (10%):

• Provide project and administrative support to the Executive Director, including scheduling, drafting materials, and special projects.
• Support cross-department initiatives using strong organization and follow-through.

Board Governance & Support (10%):

• Serve as Board Secretary.
• Coordinate board meetings, agendas, materials, and logistics.
• Attend meetings, take accurate minutes, and maintain official records.
• Support onboarding and ongoing communication with board members.

Requirements:

REQUIRED SKILLS AND EXPERIENCE:

• Extremely strong attention to detail and organization.
• Comfortable talking directly with people on the phone and in person, including cold outreach.
• Strong project-management skills with the ability to juggle multiple timelines and priorities.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills.
• Experience creating materials in Canva or similar design tools.
• Experience with donor databases/CRMs and reporting.
• Familiarity with nonprofit fundraising, donor stewardship, or community engagement.
• Experience with social media platforms and email marketing tools (e.g., Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Constant Contact).
• Minimum two years of experience in development, communications, community engagement, or a related field (or equivalent experience).

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS:

• Bilingual (Spanish/English) strongly preferred.
• Experience in early childhood education or family-serving nonprofits.

About Family Star

For over 35 years, Family Star Montessori’s two Denver locations have been transforming early childhood education by uniquely combining Montessori philosophy with Early Head Start/Head Start programing. We believe in creating nurturing spaces for every child, which is essential in preparation for a successful future and of a lifetime of learning. Family Star supports the individual needs of each child and empowers them to achieve their human potential, resulting in students who grow up to be more confident, enthusiastic, and self-directed learners and citizens - accountable to both them and their community who think critically, work collaboratively, and act boldly and with integrity.

Family Star provides eligible employees Medical, Dental, Vision, Disability & Life insurance as well as 401(k) Retirement plan with company match, and generous paid holidays and PTO.

Family Star Montessori is an equal opportunity employer and encourages candidates from all backgrounds and lived experiences to apply, however unable to sponsor work visa at this time, so must be eligible to work in the United States.

Be part of the Family at Family Star by applying today by applying to FamilyStar.net/Careers!

Benefits:

• 401(k) with Company Match
• Dental insurance
• Employee assistance program
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Health savings account
• Life insurance
• Paid time off
• Parental leave
• Professional development assistance
• Vision insurance