TCSAR Foundation Seeks Development Administrator

Teton County Search & Rescue Foundation is seeking to hire a Development Administrator to join our dynamic, hard-working team. The ideal candidate will have a passion for TCSAR Foundation’s mission of supporting TCSAR volunteers and help strengthen the Foundation’s fundraising program. 

Position Summary

The Development Administrator serves as the operational backbone of TCSAR Foundation’s fundraising program.

This role manages all fundraising administrations, including:

• Donor data entry, integrity and tracking

• Gift acknowledgements

• Donor communications logistics

• Event coordination and execution

• Administrative duties as assigned

The Development Administrator supports the Executive Director in leading major donor strategy and solicitations while independently managing fundraising systems and donor experiences. This is an ideal role for someone who thrives on organization, detail, hospitality, and bringing complex events to life behind the scenes.

Key Responsibilities

Fundraising Administration (Core Function)

• Manage donor database (gift entry, pledges, reporting, tracking)

• Generate and send timely acknowledgement letters

• Track restricted gifts and donor intent

• Manage donor recognition lists and annual reporting data

• Coordinate donor mailings and campaigns

• Oversee donor gift inventory and fulfillment (apparel, event gifts, etc.)

• Maintain accurate donor records and confidentiality

• Prepare reports for Executive Director and Board

• Work with Operations Manager on 990 donor tracking

• Check processing and bank deposits

Event Management & Donor Experience 

• Lead planning and execution of key fundraising and donor events, including Old Bill’s Fun Run, major donor appreciation events, and donor cultivation experiences (e.g., backcountry ski days, SAR field experiences, educational outings)

• Coordinate venues, vendors, guest lists, and RSVPs

• Develop and manage event run-of-show logistics

• Oversee staff and volunteer coordination during events

• Track event budgets and expenses

• Manage post-event follow-up and stewardship

• Support additional community outreach events as needed

Executive Support in Development

• Prepare donor briefing documents

• Track donor cultivation plans

• Support major gift follow-up

• Assist with board Development Committee materials and attend meeting as necessary

Team Culture Expectations

• Highly collaborative

• Proactive communicator

• Team player, willing to jump in wherever and whenever needed regardless of job description

• Comfortable in a small, fast-moving nonprofit

• Solutions-oriented

• Strong personal accountability

We are a small team of six. Everyone carries weight. Everyone supports each other. This is not a remote position. The Foundation’s office is located in the TCSAR hangar.

Qualifications

Preferred:

• 1–3 years experience in nonprofit development, administration, and/or event management

• Strong database management skills (CRM experience required; Kindful or similar preferred)

• Exceptional organizational skills

• High attention to detail

• Strong written communication skills

• Ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously

• Comfortable working occasional evenings and weekends for events

• Alignment with rescue and community mission

Bonus:

• Experience with fundraising campaigns

• Event production background

• Knowledge of the Jackson philanthropic community

Compensation

• $55,000 plus annual performance bonus up to $10,000

• 100% medical, life, and disability insurance

• Flexible PTO program

• Ski passes, wellness reimbursements, and more

How To Apply:

Sub­mit the fol­low­ing to donor-relations@tetoncountysar.org by Sun­day, April 12:

• A cov­er let­ter describing why this role and the mission of supporting Search & Rescue and Backcountry Zero appeal to you. Further, describe how your personal and professional experience make you an excellent fit for the position and our small team.  

• Your resume.

About TCSAR Foundation

Teton County Search & Rescue Foundation exists to ensure that one of the nation’s most respected volunteer search and rescue teams has the resources needed to save lives in some of the most rugged terrain in North America. Based in Jackson, Wyo., the Foundation raises private support to fund critical equipment, advanced training, and mission readiness for Teton County Search & Rescue, which responds to emergencies throughout Teton County. Through strong relationships with donors, community partners, and outdoor enthusiasts, the Foundation also advances backcountry safety through its Backcountry Zero initiative. Our small, collaborative team is driven by a shared belief that preparation, partnership, and community support make lifesaving rescue possible when it matters most.

Teton County Search & Rescue Foundation is an equal oppor­tu­ni­ty employ­er. We encour­age appli­ca­tions from indi­vid­u­als of any race, reli­gion, col­or, nation­al ori­gin, sex, gen­der iden­ti­ty, gen­der expres­sion, dis­abil­i­ty, age, vet­er­an sta­tus, and/​or any oth­er legal­ly pro­tect­ed group.

Applications will be reviewed beginning April 15. Please do not contact the office for any follow-up until after this time. 

Heritage Night Draws 3,000 In Support of Western Spirit & International Rescue

It started with a simple idea. With Teton County Search & Rescue being the host organization for the 2025 International Commission for Alpine Rescue, the team’s volunteers wanted to have a public event that showcased Jackson’s rich Western Heritage in front of a crowd filled with rescuers from around the world. Could they throw a Wild West show at the Fairgrounds during the offseason? How would they pull it off? And, it being held outside the normal rodeo season, would anyone show up?

Photo: David Bowers

During every ICAR, which is held each year in a different location, the host organization produces a Heritage Night to show off their local culture, art and history. But throughout the more than 70-years of ICAR, Heritage Night is almost never a public event. That was different this year in Jackson Hole.

Teton County Search & Rescue felt it was important to bring the public into the ICAR fold to help the 600 mostly international attendees get a taste of the culture of the American West. With community being an integral component of TCSAR’s culture and support, the team opened Heritage Night to all. In the end, the Jackson community showed up big time, with an estimated 3,000 people in attendance for the free show. More than 45 local vendors provided a vibrant backdrop to Heritage Night, illustrating the valley’s extensive art and business community.

Photo Gallery by David Bowers

The event began with all TCSAR volunteers and TCSAR Foundation staff members lined up in the middle of the Fairgrounds arena, where Chief Advisor Cody Lockhart thanked the crowd and framed the culture of the West as being intertwined with the Search & Rescue idea and ethos of “locals helping locals.”

Miss Rodeo Wyoming Kate Budge. Photo: Griffin Kerwin

Then, Miss Rodeo Wyoming Kate Budge, a seventh-generation Jackson local, galloped around the arena hold the American flag during the singing of the national anthem by Adrian Croke. Teton County Commission Mark Newcomb read the land acknowledgement, helping international visitors understand the cultural significance of the Native American tribes who lived and subsisted off the land we now call home.

TCSAR volunteer and Heritage Night emcee Ian Johnston took over the microphone to introduce representatives from the Wind River Tribal Buffalo Initiative. Singers and dancers from the Initiative demonstrated a “ReMatriate” ceremony, where they brought the buffalo to life.

Photo: Griffin Kerwin

Afterward, it was onto the main event by the Jackson Hole Rodeo. While the rodeo is a mainstay at the Fairgrounds throughout the summer, this rodeo was a special offseason event. It included some of the nation’s very best cowboys and cowgirls on buckin’ broncs, bull riding, barrel racing, and calf roping.

A highlight was the “Grab the bull by the horns” event, in which ICAR attendees teamed up in groups of three. In this timed event, the teams had to chase down a steer, remove the rope around its head, and return to the bucking chute. Whichever team could do so the fastest was crowned champion. Teams from Austria and France went up against SAR teams from Teton and Sublette counties. Perhaps it wasn’t a fair fight, as the home team from TCSAR took the crown. Chalk it up to homegrown dirt.

Photo Gallery by Griffin Kerwin

Thank you to our ICAR sponsors, and to all the vendors who joined us at Heritage Night

ICAR Jackson Hole is sponsored by the Jackson Hole Travel & Tourism Board, Jackson Hole Mountain Resort, and Snow King Mountain, with additional support from Airbus, Arc’teryx, and Bell, as well as CalTopo, Momentous, Motorola, Rocky Talkie, CMC, Backcountry Access, Breeze Eastern, and Safeback. Local business support comes from: Jackson Hole Still Works, Lockhart Cattle Co., Roadhouse Brewing Co., Snake River Brewing, Snake River Roasting Co., Stinky Prints, and The Liquor Store and Wine Loft. TCSAR is enormously grateful for this critical support. 

Heritage Night Nonprofits
Bridger-Teton Avalanche Center Foundation | Camina Conmigo | Coombs Outdoors | History Jackson Hole | SheJumps | Snake River Fund | TCSAR Foundation | Teton Interagency Peer Support (TIPS) | Wyoming Stargazing

The Arts
Art Shop | Cowgirl Mermaid | Enchanted Silverworks | Grainger Glass | J2 Antler Designs | JH Lariat | Independent Ironware | Olivtrees | Perennial West | Rip N Stitch | Sagebrush Collective | Sol + Terra Apothecary | Stoned Darling | Studio 22 | Yeates Clay

Food & Beverage
JH Still Works | Provisions | Rosa's Tamales | StillWest 

Outdoor & Adventure
Airbus | Alpine Revival & Buck Mountain Dry Goods | Apocalypse Equipment | CMC-Rescue | Exum Mountain Guides | Finski & Co | Grand Dynamics International | Highside Hoodies | Jackson Hole EcoTour Adventures | JHMR Ski Patrol | Jackson Hole Outdoor Leadership Institute | Med Tech Sweden | Motorola | NoSo Patches | Rocky Talkie | RuffWear | Ryzing Technologies | Safeback | Slava Topol Project | Trilipiderm | WY K9 Search and Rescue

From everyone at Teton County Search & Rescue, a heartfelt thank you. Photo: Griffin Kerwin

Hot off the Press: The 2025 Midyear Rescue Report

Jackson, Wyo. — Teton County Search & Rescue had one of its busiest winters ever, according to the organization’s 2025 Midyear Review and Rescue Report. 

Between December 1, 2024, and May 31, 2025, TCSAR reported 64 calls for service. That figure rivals nearly the entire number of calls for many years before 2021, when annual calls for service took a dramatic jump. In the past six months, February saw the most calls with 18, while January had 13. After a relatively quiet March and April, the team saw a spike in May with 13 calls for service.

Most of the calls this winter came from skiers and snowboarders, which alerted TCSAR 27 times. The majority of those calls, 18, were from skiers and snowboarders who entered the backcountry from a resort boundary gate. Many of these lift-served backcountry incidents were handled by local ski patrol, underscoring the critical partnership between TCSAR and our three local ski resorts.

A big theme for this winter had to do with stuck or stranded snowmobilers. Snowmachiners accounted for 17 rescue calls, with five rescues leading to all-night operations from TCSAR volunteers.

“In the thick of rescue season, heading out into a storm at night starts to feel normal—but it is not. Whenever I can step back and get some perspective on the TCSAR Team, I am amazed that an ordinary group of community volunteers are able to come together, risk their lives, and go into the mountains to save people they’ve never met.”

— Cody Lockhart, TCSAR Chief Advisor

The Rescue Report is published twice yearly by TCSAR Foundation, the nonprofit that supports TCSAR volunteers and provides backcountry safety education and outreach. The reports are intended to highlight the commitment and dedication of TCSAR volunteers, provide lessons learned from backcountry accidents, and drive awareness for improving backcountry safety.

The new Rescue Report includes the following:

• Incident recaps from every call that came into TCSAR from December 1, 2024, to May 31, 2025.

• A deeper look at the trend of overnight snowmobile rescues.

• How backcountry users can use the satellite text-to-911 feature on Apple iPhones.

• Graphs and stats that reveal backcountry accident trends and demographics. 

• Backcountry safety education highlights from the last six months.

Rescue Reports are available for free, and can be found at participating businesses all over Jackson Hole. Digital versions are available for download at at the button below.