Corporate Relations Associate

## Description

### About Cradles to Crayons

Cradles to Crayons (C2C), founded in 2002, provides children living in homeless or low-income situations with the essential items they need to thrive—at home, at school, and at play. We supply clothing, shoes, diapers, school supplies, and more, free of charge. Our vision is that one day all children will have the essentials they need to thrive.

Two in five kids in the United States are currently facing Clothing Insecurity, going without basic essentials like pants, shoes, diapers, and school supplies during their critical development years. Three of the top ten reasons kids miss school are rooted in Clothing Insecurity—just one example of the significant short- and long-term social and economic costs when these needs go unmet.

Cradles to Crayons keeps Clothing Insecurity at the core of our mission and is the only large-scale nonprofit organization to focus on this resource gap. Since its founding, Cradles to Crayons has distributed more than three million customized packages of essentials to children in Massachusetts, Greater Philadelphia, Chicagoland, and nationally through Giving Factory Direct—a first-in-kind online product donation platform launched in 2021.

Cradles to Crayons takes a two-pronged approach to mitigating Clothing Insecurity:

**In-person Engagement** — Tens of thousands of children and adults volunteer at our Giving Factory warehouses to sort and package high volumes of new and like-new donations from our communities for our Service Partners to distribute to the children they serve.

**Advocacy and Awareness** — Cradles to Crayons is uniquely positioned to raise Clothing Insecurity as a national issue through awareness campaigns, data/evaluation, and legislative outreach.

Cradles to Crayons’ strong financial health and ongoing effectiveness have helped it earn a Four-Star rating from Charity Navigator since 2009. C2C has a budget of $20M for FY26 and a staff of approximately 100.

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## Position Overview

Reporting to the Corporate Relations Manager, the Corporate Relations Associate is a member of the Development team responsible for managing and growing a portfolio of corporate volunteer partners, with the goal of building a pipeline for financial support. This role ensures a high-quality volunteer experience for corporate groups from initial outreach through the end of their volunteer visit.

The Associate oversees scheduling for corporate volunteer groups, ensures timely acknowledgement and stewardship, and actively engages partners across all aspects of the Cradles to Crayons mission—product donations, financial support, and volunteerism.

The Associate develops and supports new corporate partnerships through cultivating leads and contacts, prospecting new opportunities, coordinating Industry Day events, and working with each member of the Development team to help proactively achieve annual revenue goals. This role also supports Cradles to Crayons’ signature events and contributes to other departmental and organizational goals and activities as needed.

All Cradles to Crayons team members contribute to a culture of shared mission by participating in one volunteer shift per month.

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## Major Responsibilities

– Model and lead a positive “One Cradles” culture, underpinned by Cradles’ Cultural Values and related behaviors.
– Proactively manage a portfolio of corporate relationships to achieve corporate revenue goals and manage volunteer inquiries from corporate groups, scheduling volunteer events in The Giving Factory warehouse in Newton, as well as coordinating offsite volunteer events as appropriate, and soliciting financial support as applicable.
– Support the prospecting and cultivation of new corporate partnerships.
– Initiate and implement new ways to engage current and new corporate volunteers; present ideas to the Corporate Relations Manager to ensure new programs/processes are implemented.
– Meet with key corporate supporters; present to corporate groups to share C2C’s goals and engagement opportunities.
– Coordinate with the Corporate Relations Manager, the Development Team, and members of the Operations team to design customized volunteer experiences, including appropriate event support and related support documents.
– Plan and implement corporate Industry Days for CPAs, Tech/Software, and Life Sciences industries. Identify and solicit prospective corporate donors for these events. Identify growth opportunities within Industry Days as appropriate.
– Provide excellent customer service by responding in a timely manner to emails and phone calls from all stakeholders.
– Input and maintain up-to-date and accurate corporate donor, volunteerism, and prospect records in Salesforce. Support major Development Team initiatives and events, including Backpack-A-Thon®, Un-Gala®, and Giving Factory @ Work events.
– Lead volunteers in The Giving Factory for one shift per month and at special events as needed.
– Identify VIPs participating in volunteer activities for introductions to key C2C staff members or custom follow-up by market leadership.
– Generate reports as needed relating to all collected information on corporate volunteer groups. Ensure that data is managed accurately to identify trends and capture information about corporate groups and the individuals within those groups.
– Work with the Marketing/Communications team to maintain and update the Cradles to Crayons website and promotional materials regarding corporate initiatives.

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## Performance Measures

– Meet corporate fundraising targets through successful recruitment and retention of corporate volunteers, as well as prospecting new opportunities.
– Create a plan for increasing engagement with corporate targets and current partners. Quantify growth successes in all levels of corporate engagement.
– Meet personally with corporations in portfolio and develop customized engagement plans to attain personal fundraising goals.
– Increase revenue from Industry Days to reach goals.
– Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of Cradles to Crayons’ programs, data, and impact.
– Maintain customer service ideals for reminders, thank-you emails, and other touchpoints.
– Successfully coordinate with the development team around cultivation and management of corporate relationships.
– Ensure management is appropriately informed of group scheduling activities and VIP volunteers.
– Demonstrate ability to work collaboratively with other Cradles to Crayons staff and external stakeholders.

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## Required Experience / Knowledge / Skills / Abilities

– BA degree preferred.
– 2–3 years of experience in a volunteer and/or development environment preferred.
– Current valid driver’s license and personal auto required.
– Fluent English with strong written and verbal communication skills.
– Cooperative and willing to assist others.
– Ability to communicate professionally with co-workers and volunteers.
– Ability to prioritize tasks and manage competing deadlines.
– Proficiency with Microsoft Office and Salesforce.
– Ability to work independently, under supervision, and in a team-based, goal-oriented environment.
– Ability to work evening and weekend hours as necessary.
– Ability to walk up and down stairs, bend, reach, push, pull, and lift up to 50 lbs.

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## Compensation and Benefits

The estimated salary range for this position is $25.00–$26.00 per hour.

Cradles to Crayons is committed to pay equity and uses geographic benchmarks to ensure fair compensation. The compensation offered may vary based on geographic location, work experience, education, and skill level.

This is a benefits-eligible position. Cradles to Crayons offers a generous benefits package, including:

– Health benefits (medical, dental, vision) and a Health Reimbursement Arrangement
– Monthly cell phone and internet stipend
– Employer-sponsored short- and long-term disability and basic life insurance
– Retirement plan matching
– Annual professional development stipend

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## Diversity Is Our Strength

Diversity and inclusiveness are core values at Cradles to Crayons, and we strive to be a team where everyone feels welcome and supported. It is our policy to provide equal employment opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, or any other protected characteristic. Individuals from underrepresented groups are encouraged to apply.

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## Working Conditions

This is a warehouse environment, and normal changes in temperature are to be expected while working inside the warehouse or outside on or around the loading dock. There are no hazardous or significantly unpleasant conditions.

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## Accommodation

In accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, requirements may be modified to reasonably accommodate disabled individuals. However, no accommodations will be made that pose serious health or safety risks or impose undue hardship on the organization.

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## To Apply

Please send a cover letter and resume with relevant experience to:
https://www.cradlestocrayons.org/what-we-do/careers/