How To Become A Development Assistant: What It Is and Career Path

What is a development assistant and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Development assistants, also known as development associates, are in charge of improving operating procedures, planning fundraising programs, and engaging support agencies. They promote special events and create development calendars. They maintain databases and prepare prospect materials. Similarly, they compile progress reports, draft proposals, and engage potential donors. Furthermore, they monitor contributions, manage mailing lists, and help with event planning. Also, they collaborate with consultants, assist with volunteer programs, and promote community empowerment programs. Additionally, they organize workshops, track revenue and expenditure, develop outreach strategies, and assist with social media activities.

Most development assistants hold a degree in public relations, marketing, communications, or a related field. They have a working understanding of customer service with previous non-profit experience. They possess networking, communication, interpersonal, computer, and analytical skills. Also, they are proficient in database management software. Annually, they earn an average salary of $42,515. It ranges between $34,000 and $53,000.

ScoreDevelopment AssistantUS Average

Salary

3.0

Avg. Salary $39,034

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.9

Growth rate 12%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

10.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 2.17%

Asian 7.27%

Black or African American 12.62%

Hispanic or Latino 18.88%

Unknown 5.19%

White 53.86%

Gender

female 71.23%

male 28.77%

Age - 43

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43

Stress level

8.9

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.1

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a development assistant

Explore development assistant education requirements

Most common development assistant degrees

Bachelor's

71.0 %

Associate

10.7 %

Master's

10.0 %

Start to develop specific development assistant skills

Skills	Percentages
Java	19.64%
Database Management	9.68%
Customer Service	7.48%
Data Entry	5.23%
CSS	4.23%

Complete relevant development assistant training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New development assistants learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a development assistant based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real development assistant resumes.

Research development assistant duties and responsibilities

Manage all aspects of donor prospecting, cultivation, stewardship, and budget/vendor/consultant management for special events and individual giving.
Assist in the implementation of SalesForce database to track contacts.
Create, test, update HTML and JavaScript coding on Mac/PC platforms.
Job includes website programming and web-database application development using HTML, PHP, JavaScript, and MySQL.

Prepare your development assistant resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your development assistant resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a development assistant resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable development assistant resume templates

Build a professional development assistant resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your development assistant resume.