Red Cross

Section I: Organization Information

Agency Mission: The American Red Cross, a humanitarian organization led by volunteers, guided by its Congressional Charter and the Fundamental Principles of the International Red Cross Movement, will provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for, and respond to disasters.

Name/Title of Contact: Rebekah Kaithern, Manager of Leadership Giving

Address: 23rd and Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19103

Phone Number: 215-299-5488

Website: http://www.redcrossphilly.org/

Email: kaither@redcross-philly.org

Total number of agency staff members: 91

Agency Budget: $13,289,735

Section II: Community Need

Please state in measurable and quantifiable terms the specific community need that the Philly Fellow will address, including the number of people in the community directly affected by the problem.

This year, the American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter responded to 750 disasters in Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties. More than 50% of disaster victims live below the poverty line and struggle each day to maintain their wellbeing. On average 1,136 of the disaster victims we serve narrowly avoid homelessness each year and benefit from longer-term disaster recovery assistance through a three-week stay at our one-of-a-kind Red Cross House. Our records show that 93% of Red Cross House residents have an income of less than $35,000 a year. Similarly, zip codes in which we respond to the highest number of disasters demonstrate a high incidence of job-loss and poverty. Funds raised by the Philly Fellow not only help us to serve this need, but also to maintain important disaster preparedness programs like Red Cross Clubs, which provide after-school engagement and leadership development for Philadelphia public high school students.

The American Red Cross Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter is not a government agency and, as such, relies on the generosity of the community to continue to deliver these essential services.

The Chapter seeks a Philly Fellow to help address the needs of low-income disaster victims by expanding the Chapter’s financial capacity to serve them. The Philly Fellow will serve as a Development Coordinator and play a key role in the Chapter’s young professional outreach efforts. He or she will help to connect this previously untapped demographic with the Red Cross mission and engage them as a new generation of donors and volunteers.

Describe how your agency addresses this need, and how the new capacity created by this fellow will help alleviate the problem.

In order to fund the variety of services provided to disaster victims in the five-county area, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter maintains a Financial Development Team that specializes in securing monetary and in-kind donations. Each member of the Financial Development Team works with a unique donor demographic, identifying potential sources of funding and engaging prospects in the Red Cross’s ongoing work. A review of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter’s donor and volunteer base demonstrated a low number of young professionals actively engaged with the organization. Individuals between the ages of 21 and 40 comprise only 8% to 13% of our overall volunteer population while individuals 40 years of age and older make up 62% of our volunteer base. The Chapter recognizes that in order to meet the financial challenges presented by a growing need for services we must maintain our relationships with current donors while cultivating a vibrant new generation of volunteers and donors. The 2010/2011 Philly Fellow Development Coordinator will continue the work of his or her predecessor, specifically working to maintain the Chapter’s new college and young professional engagement efforts. He or she will solicit, recognize, and retain new donors between the ages of 21 and 40 through strategic special events planning, newsletter production, and targeted direct marketing campaigns. He or she will assist Development staff with a variety of miscellaneous tasks that will both assist the team with the maintenance of current donor relationships and provide the fellow with a well-rounded exposure to the functions of a large development department.

Describe the level of community involvement in the fellow’s project.

The fellow can expect frequent contact with current donors, prospective donors, and volunteers as part of his or her job. He or she may participate in additional volunteer opportunities to directly interact with clients if he or she wishes. By attending special events, committee meetings, donor cultivation events, and conducting grant prospect research, the fellow will necessarily interact with donors. The fellow will have many opportunities for collaboration with other Philly Fellows and with other AmeriCorps volunteers at the Red Cross Chapter.

The fellow will have several voluntary opportunities to complete trainings and become a local disaster relief volunteer. Examples of this type of work include:
• Volunteering for the Public Relations on-call schedule to inform the media in the event of a disaster outside of business hours
• Volunteering to take calls from disaster locations across the country at our Chapter’s Response Call Network
• Volunteering to be on-call as a first responder to the scene of local disaster as part of our Disaster Action Team (DAT)
• Become trained and certified as a CPR/First Aid/AED instructor and teach classes to the community It is important to note that the opportunities listed above will never take precedence over the fellow’s capacity building work at the Red Cross, but may enhance the fellowship year if the fellow wishes for more direct service opportunities outside of regular work hours.

Section III: Job Description

Please outline in list form the fellow's duties and responsibilities.

The goal of the fellowship year can be roughly understood as developing new relationships with young people and helping to maintain ongoing relationships with existing donors. The first goal will call for creativity and innovation on the fellow’s part as a team leader and the second goal will give the fellow a well-rounded experience working in a large development department. The Philly Fellows responsibilities are divided into four categories: Direct Marketing, Special Events, Newsletter Production, and General Leadership Development.

Direct Marketing campaigns spread the word about the Red Cross’ services and often engage many first-time donors as well as potential corporate sponsors. These campaigns are a key component of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter’s efforts to engage young professionals and college students as well as to seek the support of regional businesses. The Philly Fellow Development Coordinator will:

• Produce, distribute, and manage responses to a direct email solicitation directly targeting the college age demographic.
• Produce, distribute, and manage responses to a direct email solicitation directly targeting the young professional demographic.
• Conduct research on successful businesses to be solicited. Special Events bring in a large portion of the Financial Development Team’s annual revenue. The fellow will target young professionals in a selection of annual events, including the Red Ball and the Red Cross Walk and Run to Save Lives.

In addition, The Philly Fellow will be in charge of logistics for a non-fundraising event, the Children’s Holiday Party. For these events, he or she will:

• Assist with coordination of invitation mailings and event marketing to young professional demographic.
• Negotiate incentives when appropriate with the events team to better market these events to targeted demographics.
• Develop relationships with other local non-profits and community organizations (Campus Philly and Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce Young Professionals Network) to cross market Red Cross events to their constituency.
• Plan event logistics and manage solicitation of in-kind donations.

Newsletters reflect the ongoing activities of the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter and solicit donations from recipients.

The Philly Fellow Development Coordinator will:
• Develop strategic creative content for newsletters
• Work with project manager to write, design, and edit parts of the newsletter.
• Work with printing vendors to produce and distribute newsletter.
• Spearhead follow-up efforts to donors, prospects, volunteers, board members, and corporate partners who received the newsletter.
• Develop corresponding e-blasts designed to reach the young professional demographic in follow-up to the newsletter.

General Leadership Development tasks include grantwriting, stewardship of donors, and gift entry into the PeopleSoft donor database. This type of work is ongoing throughout the fellowship year, and the fellow will complete his or her year of service with honed grantwriting skills and a grantwriting portfolio. This work includes:

• Project research to understand how to tailor the program needs to the foundation.
• Grant research to learn more about target foundation.
• Foundation grant proposal drafting.
• Solicitation and stewardship of major individual donors.
• Occasional gift entry and database management.
• Help team plan Red Cross House’s Endowment Campaign, concentrating on engaging West Philadelphia organizations.

Please outline in list form the skills/qualifications a fellow should have to succeed in the position.

• High energy, creative individual with the ability to take initiative and achieve goals.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and ability to pay close attention to detail.
• Passion for and interest in the Red Cross mission.
• Expertise in Microsoft Office Suite.
• Familiarity with publishing software, InDesign, and Photoshop preferred, but not required.
• Ability to work nights and weekends to attend special events.
• Valid driver’s license and criminal background check are required.

Please describe your agency's plan to orient and train the fellow.

The fellow will participate in on-site orientation activities during their first month of employment that will include an in-depth tour of the Chapter, a tour of the Red Cross House, and informational interviews with senior directors. The fellow will also complete a variety of required and optional trainings throughout the first half of the fellowship including: First Aid and CPR/AED training, Understanding the Mission, Emergency Services Volunteer Orientation, Shelter Operations/Simulation, Mass Care, In-Kind Donations, Response Call Network, and PR On-Call. As part of orientation, the fellow will have access to a binder created by the past fellow that explains past project descriptions, background material, and examples of work.

Section IV: Project Plan

Please describe the proposed project goal(s) you expect the fellow to achieve. These should relate to your community need and reflect the long-term impact of the fellow’s project.

As a result of working in direct marketing, special events, newsletter production, and general leadership development, the Philly Fellow Development Coordinator will increase awareness of the Red Cross mission and creatively engage college and young professional demographic. This work will directly expand the Chapter’s financial capacity to provide relief to impoverished disaster victims in City of Philadelphia and the surrounding five-county area.

Section V: The Nitty Gritty

Will fellow be working at the same address listed above?

Yes

Please describe the fellow's work environment.

Fellow will have their own office.
Fellow will have their own desk.
Fellow will have their own computer.

Please list the name and title of the fellow's immediate supervisor.

Rebekah Kaithern, Manager of Leadership Giving

Please approximate the percentage of time fellow will work:

Independently: 40%
As a team member in a group setting: 40%
As a team leader in a group setting: 20%

Travel:

Will the fellow be expected to travel as part of the position?

Yes

If so, how often and where?

Travel will be within the five county service area of Philadelphia, Bucks, Chester, Delaware and Montgomery counties. The fellow may assist with the Pennsylvania 500, a NASCAR race that takes place at the Pocono raceway. Travel costs will be covered by the Chapter.

Will the fellow need the following to carry out the position?

A driver’s license: Yes
Their own car: No

Section VI: Supervison/Resouces

Please briefly describe plans for supervision of fellow:

Emily Davis and Julie Appolloni, the Senior Directors of Financial Development, will jointly supervise the fellow through monthly one-on-one meetings and weekly team meetings. Rebekah Kaithern, Manager of Leadership Giving, will provide day-to-day guidance through weekly one-on-one meetings. Additionally, the fellow will frequently meet with and report to individual project managers throughout a given project. The Philly Fellow will undergo a formal review once each quarter during their term of service prior to the submission of quarterly Philly Fellow evaluations.

What methods, information, or data will you use to evaluate the fellow’s success in their position and your agency’s success in meeting your community need?

The Senior Directors of Financial Development will employ the standard Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter employee Performance Management System which evaluates each employee on a scale of one to five in the following areas: Key Responsibilities, Work-related Behaviors, Overall Job Performance, Performance Development, and Career Growth. The fellow and his/her supervisor will assess these topics both mid-year and at the conclusion of the fellow’s employment.