Dallas Zoo Management Careers

 

The Dallas Zoo’s Advancement Division is seeking an individual whose role is crucial in ensuring the sustained support and growth of our organization’s mission, Engaging People & Saving Wildlife. The position will play a key role in ensuring that the Zoo’s fundraising goals and objectives are achieved by focusing on grant writing, grant prospecting, corporate and foundation partner stewardship, and impact reporting.

 

This role is primarily administrative, reports to the Director of Corporate and Foundation Giving, and will work closely with Leadership and Institutional Giving gift officers and development operations staff.  

 

 

 

 

• Write communications, letters of intent, persuasive funding applications and proposals, impact reports, acknowledgements, and funder stewardship communications. 

• Maintain a library of facts, impact statistics, and detailed storylines to support funding requests for routine operational needs, significant capital investments, and other ad hoc needs covering a wide variety of topics. 

• Prepare and submit stewardship reports, impact reports, and/or proof-of-performance power points to funders.

• Grants Administration – assist with compliance procedures in financial policies and procedures, ensure agency/funder guidelines outlined in grant and sponsor agreements are being met by stakeholders, and track expenditures for grant-funded programs.

• Communicate professionally and courteously with internal and external stakeholders (funders, board, donors, corporate and community partners, etc.) and integrate relevant stakeholder feedback into funding proposals.

• Collaborate with the Institutional Giving leadership team to develop fundraising strategies to meet goals for revenue from foundations, corporate giving programs, and government grants. 

• Maintain the structures and tools needed to execute fundraising strategies for budgets, timelines, data collection, and outcomes to include but not limited to: a grant calendar, project management tools, and the Zoo’s prospecting tools. 

• Maintain a portfolio of existing and new funders – including all aspects of grant cycles from identification through fulfillment - assuring sufficient time to gather information and develop proposals.

• Maintain Zoo activity on grants.gov and Dallas Zoological Society’s SAM.gov registration

• Serve as a point-of-contact for corporate members, managing new and renewed memberships and ensuring benefits are fulfilled. 

• Assist Director of Corporate and Foundation Giving in supporting a portfolio of corporate partners and executing stewardship plans in collaboration with gift officers.

• Initiate outreach and follow-up calls, including cold calls, and build rapport with donors and corporate partners.

• Coordinate sponsor activations and on-site logistics, including cross-department communication, event memos, and partner hospitality.

• Prepare and maintain donor records including moves management steps and documents in Tessitura CRM database.

• Prepare and submit invoices for reimbursement-based grants throughout the grant period.

• Lead donor tours/site visits and represent Dallas Zoo at events with funders and potential partners.

• Handle sensitive/confidential information with utmost discretion.

• Serve as an Authorized Official Representative (AOR) for the Zoo when submitting funding requests.

• Support the Advancement team as needed in a variety of capacities which may include working events or writing appeals, and other duties as assigned.

 

 

 

• Bachelor’s degree and/or equivalent post-secondary education/training.

• 1-3 years of experience in a non-profit fundraising and/or grants administration capacity.

• Proficiency in MS Office Suite (Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook) and ability to produce polished correspondence, reports, proposals, and presentations.

• Experience with a customer relationship management system (CRM) platform and project management tools such as Wrike, Asana, Trello, etc. is preferred.

• Working knowledge of 2 CFR Part 200 and familiarity with fundraising best practices is a plus.

• Able to work flexible hours to potentially evenings and weekends as necessary to meet deadlines and support after-hours advancement events.

• Must be able to walk, stand, sit, kneel, stoop, crawl, twist, reach above head, pull bend, climb stairs and ladders, and carry up to 50lbs. 

• Must have reliable transportation and a valid driver’s license (to operate Zoo vehicles). 

• Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to transform facts and data into compelling stories that inspire support.

• Highly organized, detail-oriented, and able to manage multiple priorities while meeting deadlines.