Development Manager

Organization

Founded in 1996, Pro Bono Institute (PBI) is a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit organization. With an unparalleled depth of knowledge, resource, and expertise, PBI is the respected resource for all things pro bono in the legal profession. PBI does not provide direct legal services. Rather, we are a catalyst, administering projects that support, guide, and inspire legal institutions to enhance access to justice.

Mission

PBI’s mission is to explore and identify new approaches to and resources for the provision of legal services to the poor, disadvantaged, and other individuals or groups unable to secure legal assistance to address critical problems. We do so by supporting, enhancing, and transforming the pro bono efforts of our audience, which includes major law firms, in-house corporate legal departments, and public interest organizations in the U.S. and around the world.

 

Position

PBI seeks a creative, tech-savvy, entrepreneurial, and dynamic professional to fill the position of Development Manager. Reporting to the President/CEO and COO, this position will be responsible for overall fundraising activities and operations, including developing fundraising strategies and implementing specific action plans to meet annual fundraising targets and sponsorship, membership, and stewardship goals.

 

Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

Event Fundraising

• Work with the President/CEO to develop and implement annual fundraising strategies for institutional giving related to the PBI Annual Conference, PBI Annual Dinner, and other periodic fundraising events.
• Solicit and secure event sponsorships via email appeals, follow-up phone calls, and in-person/virtual visits; and coordinate donor/prospect visits by President/CEO.
• Identify, qualify, and cultivate new law firm, corporate, and legal industry vendor prospects, as well as re-engage lapsed donors.
• Collaborate with communications and other staff to maximize the fundraising potential of written solicitations, social media, and website content.
• Collaborate with external event planners to manage event sponsor benefits and attendance to ensure exceptional experience for sponsors.

Individual Giving

• Develop and implement strategies for annual spring and year-end campaigns.
• Collaborate with communications and other staff to create compelling messages for effective fundraising appeals.
• Manage President/CEO’s engagement in follow-up solicitations and stewardship.

Membership

• Assist with the annual Law Firm Pro Bono Project membership campaign as needed.
• Collaborate with Law Firm Pro Bono Project staff to identify and cultivate new membership prospects and coordinate outreach vis-à-vis other fundraising activities.

Cultivation and Stewardship

• Develop and implement strategies to identify a continuous pipeline of institutional and individual donor prospects and to strengthen long-term relationships with donors.
• Write creative and effective personal acknowledgment and stewardship letters.
• Conduct prospect research.
• Collaborate with President/CEO and other staff to engage donors and prospects in programmatic activities to advance stewardship and cultivation.
• Coordinate regular contact with donors and prospects by President/CEO and Project Directors.
• Explore ways to expand the fundraising role of the PBI Board and volunteer leadership.

Development Operations

• Maintain and improve fundraising systems and processes.
• Timely record and maintain accurate development activities data in Airtable database, including cultivation, appeals, gifts/pledges, invoices, acknowledgments/receipts, and stewardship.
• Collaborate with other staff to enhance the effectiveness and accuracy of Airtable database.
• Timely generate and send pledge invoices and gift receipts/tax acknowledgments.
• Produce regular revenue projections and financial and analytical reports; and assist COO with accounting reconciliation to ensure accurate revenue allocation.
• Draft and submit online sponsorship/grant applications as needed.
• Manage various vendor/supplier portal accounts used by some institutional donors for invoicing and payments.
• Support the President/CEO’s fundraising time.

 

Qualifications

The ideal candidate will possess the following:

• Minimum of 8 years of progressively responsible fundraising experience.
• Bachelor’s degree.
• Demonstrated success and history of meeting and exceeding established goals and metrics, pioneering fresh and creative approaches to fundraising, utilizing social media and/or other technology to broaden the donor pipeline and enhance awareness.
• Demonstrated ability to develop productive donor/prospect relationships.
• Significant involvement creatively engaging and motivating organizational leadership (g., Board members), including senior executives from the private sector.
• A proven track record of inspiring confidence with internal and external constituencies, and exceptional customer service skills.
• Experience in event-related fundraising.
• Excellent written and oral communications skills with the capacity to synthesize PBI’s mission and programs into articulate and compelling messaging.
• Hands-on fluency with fundraising databases, including a deep understanding of data architecture, sound database protocols, and data segmentation, as well as experience collaborating on scaling database infrastructure.
• Advanced proficiency with Microsoft Office, including complex Excel spreadsheets and Word mail merges.
• Significant technical facility and enthusiasm for learning and employing new technologies.
• Enthusiasm for proposing fresh ideas and openness to feedback on them.
• A strong commitment to PBI’s mission of promoting access to justice.
• Knowledge of the broader philanthropic community; and experience fundraising for law/justice organizations and knowledge of the legal profession strongly preferred.

 

Compensation and Benefits

The salary range for this position is $85,000 - $100,000 depending on candidate qualifications, including job-related knowledge, skills and experience.

 

In addition to competitive compensation, PBI offers generous employee benefits including:

• Medical, dental, and vision insurance with 100% employer-paid premium for employee.
• Medical, dental, and vision insurance available for employee’s dependents at additional cost. (Summary of Benefits for all offered plans will be provided before the first interview.)
• Fifteen (15) days of vacation
• Two (2) Floating Holidays
• Nine (9) days of sick/administrative leave
• Winter break at the end of December
• Flex time biweekly
• Long-term disability insurance
• Life insurance
• Employer contribution of 3% of annual salary to a 401(k) plan
• Access to a free fitness center on-site
• Cell phone reimbursement contribution

 

Other

Candidates must reside in Washington, D.C., Maryland, or Virginia, within commuting distance of downtown D.C. PBI staff, including the Development Manager, may work remotely for a portion of the workweek. However, the Development Manager is expected to be in-office in Washington, D.C., on a regular basis currently and as required in the future. The position requires travel to New York for the PBI Annual Dinner, and additional travel may be required occasionally.

 

To apply for the position, please send by email a cover letter, resume, substantive writing sample (between 500 and 1,500 words), and list of references to:

 

Chris Niebling (he/him)

Operations Manager

Pro Bono Institute

1620 I Street, NW

Suite 202

Washington, DC 20006

[email protected]

No phone inquiries, please.

 

Please submit your application by September 30, 2026, to be considered in the first round of review. PBI will accept applications until the position is filled.

 

Pro Bono Institute is an equal opportunity employer, committed to ensuring fairness without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religion, national origin, age, disability or any other aspect protected by law, and welcomes and encourages diverse applicants and employees.