Founded in 1971, Earthjustice has a distinguished track record of achieving significant, lasting environmental protection. We achieve this by hiring people who share a passion for justice and a healthy environment. Our headquarters are in San Francisco with offices in Anchorage, Juneau, Los Angeles, Tallahassee, Miami, Honolulu, New York, Philadelphia, Denver, Seattle, Bozeman, Chicago, Houston, and Washington, DC.

The Research Analyst works within the Prospect Development team within the Development Operations, Research & Evaluation team under the supervision of the Manager of Prospect Research. The analyst supports Major Gifts, Foundations, Planned Giving, Intermediate Giving, Public Support, Donor Relations, and Executive efforts. The Analyst partners with gift officers and other staff to identify, cultivate, and track appropriate prospects and donors.

The Analyst works directly with the Director of Prospect Development, Manager of Prospect Development, Manager of Prospect Research, and a team of Research Analysts to manage the department’s strategic research projects. The Analyst oversees all research efforts for a portfolio of gift officers spanning several regional areas of the United States. This role will work with gift officers managing portfolios of foundations as well as individual donors and prospects. The Analyst acquires and manages confidential information through various research tools and resources about Earthjustice donors and prospective donors with the goal of building lasting relationships that benefit the donor and Earthjustice through philanthropy. The Analyst prepares confidential strategic background information and donor briefings on major and prospective donors to Earthjustice. The Analyst collaborates with gift officers to devise strategies for identifying and engaging new and existing prospects; provides clear and succinct presentation of research information to facilitate the staff’s ability to form long and productive donor relationships; analyzes complex financial and employment information to establish or reevaluate gift capacity ratings for major prospects and donors; independently manages research projects to identify and evaluate potential donors; reviews, evaluates, and assists in reprioritizing prospect portfolios to identify those with the greatest potential to support the organization; reviews peer organizations, and business and regional publications to identify new prospects; maintains prospect rating systems; and, assists with special projects as needed.

This role can be based in our San Francisco office, or remotely from the United States.

Responsibilities

Fundraising Support

• Provide timely prospect identification and detailed research and analysis of prospects specific to fundraising objectives (strategy meetings, donor visits, events, solicitations, etc.), with an emphasis on foundation prospects.
• Provide clear and professionally written materials on donors and prospects for the organization.
• Review and analyze large volumes of information from news resources; financial and philanthropic reports; reference materials (both printed and electronic); external screening services; and organization files.
• Research and synthesize biographic and financial information on individuals and foundations to create research profiles that pertain to the organization’s fundraising objectives.
• Work on internal and external routine and special proactive prospecting projects.
• Provide proactive, reactive, and ongoing identification of individuals with capacity, interest and inclination to make major gifts to the organization.
• Work in partnership with the Foundations team on various strategic and research projects.
• Participate in development strategy meetings, providing prospect information and insights on strategy from the prospect development perspective.
• Collaborate with development staff to provide information important to the development of qualification, cultivation, solicitation and stewardship of managed donors.
• Serve as a resource on donor and prospect research, as well as research tools and methods for entire development department and executive staff.
• Perform administrative tasks associated with prospect development.

Database and Research Tools

• Perform complex analyses and organize information to identify philanthropic patterns, affinity, and relationships among individuals and foundations.
• Develop proactive prospecting methodologies to support organizational goals, including data mining and sophisticated constituent database queries.
• Collaborate with the Manager of Prospect Research to continually revise research products for internal clients and recording methods for tracking this research.
• Collaborate with Manager of Prospect Development to maintain foundation prospecting and prospect management tools.  Review the accuracy of electronic records and other organization information on prospects and donors and facilitate changes and additions as needed.
• Stay abreast of fundraising trends and issues, maintaining knowledge of available training and educational opportunities to develop necessary skills. Identify and evaluate new paid and free research resources and make recommendations as to their usefulness to the organization’s development research needs.
• Maintain research records in online files and database.
• Collaborate on donor screenings and predictive modeling projects and develop strategic direction on the use of analytic data in the identification of prospective donors and assist gift officers and Prospect Management in the utilization of this research.
• Perform other duties and staff special projects as needed.