Donor Community Associate, The Audacious Project

TED is on a mission to discover and spread ideas that spark imagination, embrace possibility and catalyze impact. Our organization is devoted to curiosity, reason, wonder and the pursuit of knowledge — without an agenda. We welcome people from every discipline and culture who seek a deeper understanding of the world and connection with others, and we invite everyone to engage with ideas and activate them in your community.

About The Audacious Project 

The Audacious Project is a collaborative funding initiative that is unlocking social impact on a grand scale. 

TED is a nonprofit dedicated to “Ideas worth spreading,” and we’ve thought for a long time about how to turn big ideas into action. The Audacious Project — a  collaborative funding platform — is a project of TED designed to do this at scale. 

By inviting the world’s change-makers to dream bigger than ever before, the  Audacious Project surfaces ideas with the potential to affect millions of lives and impact entire systems. Using our curatorial expertise, and in partnership with the Bridgespan Group and several others, we support selected applicants to shape their ideas into actionable, multi-year proposals. We then convene a community of donors who collectively contribute large-scale funding directly to individual organizations. 

Our collaborative funding model attempts to address a major frustration faced by  the world’s change-makers: Without access to venture capital or stock markets, social entrepreneurs have to pitch donors one-by-one -- often a deeply inefficient  process for all involved. Now in its fifth year, the Audacious Project has catalyzed more than $3 billion for 39 organizations engaged in a wide range of social impact efforts around the world.  

Beyond mobilizing capital, our design is dynamic and responsive to the needs of  projects once they receive transformative funding. To that end, we have set out  to build our capacity to help projects achieve their goals for both impact and sustainability. 

The Donor Community Associate will report to the Director of Donor Community and support relationship management and community building for existing and potential Audacious funders. You’ll be supporting a community of donors who share a commitment to bold generosity and support a range of Audacious Projects. This role requires supreme attention to detail, excellent writing, research, project management, organization skills, and a customer-focused mentality to support high-touch relationships and event support. A wonderful opportunity for an effective, detail-oriented self-starter.

Project Management

• Designing, refining, and executing, organizational processes and systems to better team efficiency, including Salesforce?

• Tracking tasks, deadlines, and priorities for the Managing Director of Donor Community and the Director of Donor Community 

• Setting agenda and facilitating team meetings for the donor community team ensuring progress on key team goals

• Monitoring and tracking current funders engagement with The Audacious Project

Event Management

• Supporting end-to-end event planning efforts for Donor Community team, including but not limited to: 

  • Tracking invitations RSVPs and event preferences, coordinating with venues, compiling prep and briefing materials, and providing onsite event support as needed 

• Developing and compiling briefing materials, ensuring Audacious leaders are well-prepared.

• Providing onsite event support as needed.

Writing and Research

• Drafting, reviewing, and copy-editing correspondence and collateral for key stakeholders and their teams

• Developing high-touch communications and collateral for the Audacious community, including newsletters and mass mailings

• Researching and collating articles to inform pipeline and strategy of approach for vetted prospective donors

• Compiling dossiers to reflect values alignment and flag reputational risks or concerns 

• Creating, researching, writing event briefs for Audacious leaders 

• Excellent communication skills and strong customer-service focus

Information Management

• Managing donor communication systems and engagement tracking.

• Developing, optimizing, and implementing data management systems for donor and partner information.

• Maintaining a secure and centralized hub for relationship management.

• Generating reports and analytics, using insights to improve relationship management strategies.

• Sharing relevant donor community updates across internal teams, fostering collaboration with other verticals.

Desired Qualifications  

• 3-5 years work experience preferably in nonprofit sector development/ fundraising/ client relationship management

• Experience with a CRM (E.G: Salesforce, Raiser’s Edge, etc.) 

• Experience with project management 

• Demonstrated ability to handle confidential and sensitive information in a professional and ethical manner.

• Strong document management and quality control capabilities

• Attention to detail; able to catch errors or inconsistencies 

• Excellent written communication skills: ability to write clearly, succinctly, and aligned to the target audience. 

• Research; experience generating background briefs and materials against a rubric or criteria 

• Organization; finds joy in categorizing, sorting, and organizing data and information

Personal Characteristics

• Ability to pivot and prioritize projects based on urgency; Comfortable working in a fast-paced environment

• Creative problem solving skills, finding solutions to nascent and nuanced relationship management tools and functions - including finding and trying new tech solutions

• Self-motivated, able to work without direct guidance, particularly in remote environments. 

• Reputation for integrity and good judgment; models ethics and builds trust 

• Eager to learn and grow in the role and excited to join a dynamic, evolving team and launch your social impact caree

Salary Range: 85,000-95,000 USD 

This is a full-time position based in New York, with flexibility for remote work, depending on the candidate.

This position requires 20% travel to and from TED Conference events in and outside of the US.

BENEFITS

• Full health benefits (medical, dental, vision) 

• Paid family leave

• Work-life balance is encouraged through our flexible paid time off 

• Free OneMedical and SpringHealth membership for you and your dependents to address physical and mental well-being 

• 401k with match

TED Conferences LLC is an equal opportunity employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law. We invite all qualified candidates to apply online with their resume.

Apply by April 18, 2025