ABOUT US

The Aspen Institute is a global nonprofit organization committed to realizing a free, just, and equitable society. Since its founding in 1949, the Institute has been driving change through dialogue, leadership, and action to help solve the most critical challenges facing communities in the United States and around the world. Headquartered in Washington, DC, the Institute has a campus in Aspen, Colorado, and an international network of partners.

WEAVE: THE SOCIAL FABRIC PROJECT

Weave: The Social Fabric Project tackles the problem of broken social trust that has left Americans divided, lonely, and in social gridlock. Weave connects, supports, and invests in local leaders stepping up to weave a new, inclusive social fabric where they live. The project was founded by New York Times columnist and author David Brooks at The Aspen Institute in 2018. He remains the chair of the project.

Weave supports the people (“weavers”) who are building trust and tackling key issues in their neighborhoods. It provides them with resources and connects them in peer networks. It lifts up these often under-appreciated community connectors as important leaders by telling their stories and putting them on stages large and small. And Weave aims to inspire new generations of people to become weavers of their communities.

Weave seeks to spur a nation of weavers, brimming with deep, healthy connections, where mutual trust and affection is the standard, equity is implicit, and all people find joy and meaning in daily life.

ABOUT THIS ROLE

Weave seeks a Senior Development Manager to lead fundraising operations, proposal development, grant coordination, reporting, and funder stewardship. This position serves as a key partner to Weave’s Executive Director and leadership team, helping build and manage funding pipelines, develop compelling proposals, steward funding partners, and ensure strong grant compliance and reporting. This is a highly collaborative role working cross-functionally with program, finance, operations, and communications teams.

This position reports directly to the Managing Director. The salary range for this position is $100,000 - $113,000. The expectation for this role is to work from the Washington D.C. office and adhere to the Aspen Institute’s attendance policy.

WHAT YOU WILL DO

Fundraising Operations and Pipeline Management

• Develop and execute annual fundraising plan that includes leadership, major, and small-dollar donors; foundations and corporate funders.
• Support or lead development of funding pipelines and revenue targets.
• Develop internal processes and coordinate with colleagues to ensure smooth execution of all stages of fundraising cycle.
• Manage proposal calendars, reporting timelines, and internal trackers.
• Organize and lead internal fundraising coordination meetings and follow-up actions.
• Research funding opportunities and advise leadership on prospects.
• Lead CRM data input and output.
• Serve as Weave’s primary liaison to Aspen Institute’s Office of Institutional Advancement.

Proposal Development and Writing

• Lead or support development of concept notes, proposals and solicitations, and sponsorship agreements.
• Coordinate proposal and solicitation workflows across program, finance, and operations.
• Draft high-quality narrative content aligned with Weave’s mission and impact.
• Ensure legal review and budget alignment for all funding submissions.

Grant Compliance and Reporting

• Organize grant kickoff meetings.
• Track grant deliverables and reporting requirements.
• Lead or support narrative grant reporting in partnership with program staff.
• Coordinate with finance and communications to complete reports.
• Maintain organized records of agreements, deliverables, and reporting materials.

Funder Stewardship

• Support relationships with funding partners.
• Create meaningful stewardship touchpoints aligned with funder interests, including engagement communications and prospecting and acknowledgement events.
• Prepare funder updates and impact materials.
• Track grant terms and support renewal conversations.

WHAT YOU WILL NEED TO THRIVE

• Minimum 5 years of progressively responsible, relevant experience in nonprofit development.
• Strong project management skills.
• Excellent writing and editing skills.
• Proven experience in cross-functional collaboration.
• Experience with Microsoft and Google suite and proficiency with customer relationship management platforms (CRMs).
• Comfort managing multiple deadlines and stakeholders.
• Sound judgment, flexibility, and a positive, solutions-oriented mindset.
• Ability to travel domestically up to 10 percent, with occasional evening meetings.
• Commitment to Weave’s mission to tackle the problem broken social trust.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The Aspen Institute offers a generous benefits package including health, dental, vision, and prescription benefits, retirement benefits, and paid leave.
The Aspen Institute is an Equal Opportunity Employer and complies with all District and federal laws. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, or protected veteran or disabled status and will not be discriminated against.
The Aspen Institute welcomes individuals with disabilities to participate in its programs, including the interview process. If you would like to request accommodations or have questions about accessibility, please email hrsupport@aspeninstitute.org or call 202-736-2127 in advance of your visit. Requests for ASL or CART services should be made at least two weeks in advance when possible. We will make every effort to fulfill requests, subject to availability.