Application Guide

How to Apply for Development Officer

at Healthy Humor

🏢 About Healthy Humor

Healthy Humor uniquely combines therapeutic arts with medical care, using humor and creative expression to bring joy and healing to hospitalized children. Unlike traditional nonprofits, they focus specifically on in-hospital programming that transforms challenging medical experiences through laughter and creativity, making their mission both emotionally resonant and operationally distinctive.

About This Role

This Development Officer role is the operational engine behind Healthy Humor's $1.5M fundraising strategy, managing seven distinct revenue workstreams from institutional grants to major events like the 10th Anniversary Gala. You'll be responsible for both high-level strategy execution and hands-on grant writing while building sustainable fundraising infrastructure, directly enabling therapeutic arts programs that reach children during their most vulnerable hospital stays.

💡 A Day in the Life

Your day might begin with reviewing grant deadlines across multiple foundations, then shift to planning logistics for the 10th Anniversary Gala while updating donor pipelines in Bloomerang. Afternoon could involve drafting a budget narrative for an institutional grant, analyzing Running of the Noses campaign metrics, and developing stewardship touchpoints for major donors—all while ensuring seven revenue streams progress toward quarterly targets.

🚀 Application Tools

Generate Cover Letter

AI-powered, tailored for Healthy Humor

Interview Prep

Practice questions for this role

🎯 Who Healthy Humor Is Looking For

  • Has 5-7 years of fundraising experience with documented success securing $500K+ annually in foundation grants and writing 12+ proposals yearly
  • Demonstrates exceptional project management skills, capable of juggling 5-7 active workstreams simultaneously while meeting revenue targets across multiple channels
  • Possesses deep CRM expertise (Bloomerang, Salesforce, or DonorPerfect) with proven ability to build donor pipelines, tracking systems, and reporting dashboards
  • Combines strategic thinking with operational execution skills, equally comfortable writing grant narratives and managing event logistics

📝 Tips for Applying to Healthy Humor

1

Quantify your grant writing impact: specifically mention how many proposals you've written annually and the dollar amounts secured, ideally showing progression over 5-7 years

2

Highlight experience with multi-channel fundraising by describing how you've managed simultaneous workstreams like events, grants, and digital campaigns

3

Mention specific CRM systems you've used (Bloomerang, Salesforce, DonorPerfect) and describe infrastructure you've built, not just data entry experience

4

Connect your fundraising experience to mission-driven work, showing understanding of how revenue enables program delivery in healthcare/arts contexts

5

Address all seven revenue workstreams mentioned in the job description, showing how your experience aligns with each area

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

["Demonstrate understanding of Healthy Humor's unique model combining therapeutic arts with pediatric healthcare", 'Provide specific examples of managing complex, multi-channel fundraising strategies with measurable results', 'Show how your grant writing experience aligns with their requirement for 12+ proposals annually and $500K+ in foundation funding', 'Explain your approach to building fundraising infrastructure that supports both immediate revenue goals and long-term sustainability']

Generate Cover Letter →

🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • → Explore Healthy Humor's specific programs and hospital partnerships to understand their service delivery model
  • → Research their past events like Running of the Noses to understand their community engagement approach
  • → Review their public materials about their 10th anniversary to understand organizational history and milestones
  • → Investigate their current donor base and funding patterns through available annual reports or 990 forms
Visit Healthy Humor's Website →

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 Walk us through how you would manage the seven simultaneous revenue workstreams, prioritizing competing deadlines
2 Describe your process for researching, writing, and stewarding institutional grants from identification to reporting
3 How would you approach building donor stewardship systems specifically for a healthcare/arts hybrid organization?
4 Share an example of a complex fundraising event you managed end-to-end, including challenges overcome
5 How do you measure success across different fundraising channels while maintaining focus on overall revenue targets?
Practice Interview Questions →

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Applying with generic nonprofit fundraising experience without specific grant writing metrics (12+ proposals, $500K+ annually)
  • Failing to demonstrate multi-project management skills for handling 5-7 simultaneous workstreams
  • Mentioning CRM experience without detailing how you've built systems, not just used them for data entry

📅 Application Timeline

This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.

Typical hiring timeline:

1

Application Review

1-2 weeks

2

Initial Screening

Phone call or written assessment

3

Interviews

1-2 rounds, usually virtual

✓

Offer

Congratulations!

Ready to Apply?

Good luck with your application to Healthy Humor!

← Back to Job Listing Apply Now →