Industry Partnership & Engagement Coordinator

This is a remote position.

About Seed Your Future

Seed Your Future (SYF) is a national nonprofit that inspires students to explore careers in horticulture and plant sciences. Founded in 2014, SYF connects students and educators with the green industry through programs including Seed to STEM, Green Career Week, the Growing Careers Webinar Series, Careers in Bloom, #IAmHorticulture, the Career Connector business directory, and student tours at major trade shows such as MANTS, Cultivate, TPIE, The Landscape Show, and Farwest.

SYF is supported by leading companies across the industry, including Ball Horticultural Company, Proven Winners, Bailey Nurseries, Syngenta Flowers, Corteva Agriscience, Longwood Gardens, and Midwest Groundcovers.

Why this role, why now

Our programs are growing faster than our capacity to staff them with industry volunteers. Every student tour, mock interview, career panel, and trade show table depends on industry professionals willing to share their career paths, and reaching more students means engaging many more of them.

Those same conversations are SYF's best fundraising opportunities. A grower who hosts students on a trade show tour, or a manager who conducts mock interviews, sees our impact firsthand and is far more likely to give. This role connects the two: it recruits and supports industry volunteers, then follows up to turn engagement into partnerships, sponsorships, and gifts, while keeping current donors close.

Key responsibilities

Industry engagement and events

About 40% of time

Recruit, schedule, and prepare industry professionals and companies to host trade show student tours (MANTS, Cultivate, TPIE, The Landscape Show, Farwest, and others)

Recruit and coordinate industry volunteer interviewers for SYF's virtual mock interview program

Staff and coordinate SYF's presence at industry events, including the PlantCon show series, and recruit professionals for career panels and speaking roles

Build and maintain a growing roster of industry volunteers, tracking who participates and how

Turning engagement into support

About 35% of time

Follow up with every company and professional who engages with SYF, and identify those ready for a deeper partnership or gift

Convert warm leads, starting with the 97 non-donor companies that have participated in SYF trade show tours

Re-engage past corporate donors who have not given in two or more years

Sell and renew Career Connector directory listings and Internship Worksheet sponsorships

Donor stewardship

About 25% of time

Steward current donors with timely thank-yous, impact updates, and invitations to see programs in action

Identify donors ready to increase their giving and support the Executive Director in those asks

Keep the donor database accurate and complete, logging every contact and gift

Report monthly on engagement and revenue progress to the Executive Director

Year 1 goals

The Year 1 revenue goal is $100,000 across five sources.

Revenue source

Career Connector listings

Internship Worksheet sponsors

Past corporate donors / partners

Existing donor increased giving

Upgrades from current donors

Warm leads converted

Success is also measured by:

Donor retention rate of 70% or higher

100 or more new donors acquired

100% of gifts acknowledged within 3–5 business days

Donor database accuracy of 95% or higher

A growing roster of industry volunteers for tours, mock interviews, panels, and events

Qualifications

Required

3+ years in partnerships, sales, fundraising, or industry relations

Comfort reaching out to new contacts by phone, email, and in person, and following through to a yes

Strong organization and follow-up; able to manage many relationships and events at once with little supervision

Clear, warm written and verbal communication

Experience with a CRM or donor database

Willingness to travel to trade shows and industry events

Preferred

Experience in or relationships within the green industry (nursery, greenhouse, landscape, floriculture, or allied trades)

Background in nonprofit fundraising, donor stewardship, or corporate sponsorship sales

Experience recruiting and managing volunteers or coordinating events

Passion for education and helping students find career paths

Compensation

This contract pays a $56,000 guaranteed base plus a performance bonus of up to $14,000, for $70,000 in total potential compensation. The bonus is paid quarterly, $3,500 each quarter, when cumulative revenue raised meets that quarter's goal.