Freelance Grant Writer

Job Title: Freelance Grant Writer

Organization: Bay Area Children’s Theatre

Position Type: Part-Time, Non-Exempt

Reports to: Director of Development and Communications

Location: Bay Area/Remote

About Bay Area Children’s Theatre: Bay Area Children’s Theatre is California’s foremost theatre company for young audiences. Over the last 19 years, our award-winning shows and educational programs have reached over 1 million audience members. Bay Area Children’s Theatre creates phenomenal artistic experiences for kids and families while anchoring all of our programming in the process of learning creative thinking through storytelling, imagination, collaboration, self expression, and critical analysis and feedback. We are proud to provide access to programs to all Bay

Area Families and strive to provide an inclusive environment for all who come to play. Bay Area Children’s Theatre is committed to ongoing anti-racist and anti-oppression work and reflection in order to ensure a diverse and inclusive organization.

Misson: Bay Area Children's Theatre strives to inspire young audiences with imaginative productions, introduce children of all backgrounds to the excitement of live theatre, and create an engaging, entertaining, and educational environment in which children and their families can explore and enjoy the arts.

Position Overview: Bay Area Children’s Theatre (BACT), California’s foremost theater company for young audiences, seeks the services of a freelance grant writer. The successful candidate will work closely with the Director of

Development and team members to produce high-quality grant proposals for a wide range of funders. The grant writer should have at least three-five years of experience in writing grants for a non-profit organization; a proven ability to draft compelling grant proposals that adhere to the requirements of grant providers and other funders; a firm commitment to meeting deadlines and responding to feedback in a timely manner; and a clear understanding of the mission of Bay Area

Children’s Theatre.

About the Position: The Grant Writer is part of a team responsible for maintaining a comprehensive grant development effort in support of the Bay Area Children's Theatre's programs. The ideal candidate is a prolific writer who can create accurate and engaging fundraising materials with ease and adapt copy to fit various contexts and audiences. Strong organizational skills and a keen ability to balance multiple tasks and deadlines are also required.

The Grant Writer is responsible for writing compelling grant proposals, solicitation materials, reports, letters and other communications; tracking grant deliverables and reporting requirements; identifying, researching and profiling prospective donors; and contributing to administrative and information management activities as needed.

This position would be on a contract basis and payment structure would be tailored to the specific grant requirements needed monthly. Payment is estimated at 1-2k per project.

Major Job Responsibilities

Writing and Research
● Prepare letters of inquiry, proposals, and narrative and financial reports; this includes liaising with colleagues in

Education, Marketing, Accounting and various other departments to ensure the information provided is accurate and up-to-date.

● Research prospective donors and prepare profiles and briefings for staff and volunteers, reporting findings in both written form

● Work with the Marketing Director to Write content for e-newsletters, website and social media as needed .

● Develop and maintain a ‘story bank’ of donor profiles and constituent impact stories for various applications.

● Monitor news and current events to analyze trends and opportunities in philanthropy, identify new prospective donors, and provide relevant updates on existing donors and constituents.

● Maintain a grant docket and other systems to track proposal and reporting schedules, keeping program/exhibit staff apprised of information needs, milestones and deadlines.

● Contribute to the maintenance of digital and non-digital files for donor/prospect information and materials.

● Contribute to tracking and coding grants contacts and actions in the donor database to assist with targeted communications and moves management.

● Assist with cultivation, solicitation and stewardship meetings, visits/tours and events as needed.

● Contribute to the ongoing development of systems and procedures for effective grant development operations.

● Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

● 3-5 years experience in fundraising and/or communications; experience with nonprofit storytelling and grant writing desired.

● Strong persuasive writing and excellent editing skills; must be able to produce relevant writing samples upon request.

● Ability to synthesize information from various sources and adapt the tone, style and voice of copy to fit a range of contexts.

● Strong research and analytical skills with ability to find and evaluate funding opportunities.

● Strong organizational skills with keen attention to detail and ability to deliver high-quality work within tight time constraints.

● Proficiency in Internet research tools; knowledge of prospect research resources and best practices, for both individual donors and grant-making organizations.

BACT is open to hiring individuals with a wide range of abilities and backgrounds

*Many Positions in theatre overlap and it is not unusual to be asked to perform a task not listed in this position description. This is not necessarily an exhaustive list of responsibilities, skills, duties and working conditions associated with the job. It is intended to be an accurate reflection of the current job; however, management may revise the job tasks based on business needs including emergencies, staffing needs and workload.

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BACT’s Mission

To inspire young audiences with imaginative productions, introduce children of all backgrounds to the excitement of live theatre, and create an engaging, entertaining, and educational environment in which children and their families can explore and enjoy the arts.

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

At Bay Area Children’s Theatre, we embrace the joy and wonder of diversity and support equity and inclusion in all our endeavors, for only with diversity, equity and inclusion can we enrich our art, our workplace and the communities we serve.

BACT's Culture Statement

As artists, arts educators and arts administrators, we share a cultural ideal and uphold values that make the Bay Area

Children’s Theatre a uniquely satisfying place to work:

● Professionalism: We strive for excellence in all we do. We deliver on our commitments. We work collaboratively, and respect each other’s time. We admire and support each other’s skills and abilities, understanding that the diversity of our experience builds capacity and strengthens our overall creative impact. We are accountable for our actions and our decisions. We solve problems constructively and politely, with goodwill. We keep the company’s best interests in mind.

● Respect: We treat everyone as we would like to be treated. We think the best of each other and help each other succeed. We support each other’s artistic growth. We communicate kindly, openly and directly. We listen and respond to our patrons, and we are cognizant of the diversity in the communities we serve.

● Flexibility: We understand that working in the performing arts requires us to be nimble. We value positive outlooks and the ability to respond quickly and efficiently to unexpected needs. We focus on what we need to accomplish, and keep each other informed.

● Creativity: We know that the future of the company depends on the imagination and innovation we bring to our work.

We welcome new ideas, and help create an atmosphere in which everyone feels empowered to grow artistically. We share the fun and excitement of everything we are doing.

About Bay Area Children’s Theatre

Over the last 19 years, BACT’s award-winning shows and educational programs have reached over one million audience members. BACT creates phenomenal artistic experiences for kids and families while anchoring all of our programming in the process of learning creative thinking through storytelling, imagination, collaboration, self-expression, and critical analysis and feedback. We are proud to provide access to programs to all Bay
Area families and strive to provide an inclusive environment for all who come to play. BACT is committed to ongoing anti-racist and anti-oppression work and reflection in order to ensure a diverse and inclusive organization.

We are proud to have produced 16 seasons prior to the pandemic, providing professional and high-quality productions of both established works and new works. Bay Area Children’s Theatre provides the following core artistic programs:

On-Stage Productions: BACT introduces children to the joy of theatre and literature by bringing great children’s books to life onstage through professional productions that are designed especially for young audiences and feature adult actors. Through a range of theatrical art forms, including music, dance, puppetry, and drama, our shows inspire imagination, empathy, and critical thinking and provide shared artistic experiences that strengthen family bonds.

New Works: BACT is dedicated to creating and performing new and innovative work that expands the canon of literature-based productions for children and families, with a focus area on telling stories by and about members of underrepresented cultures. Since 2004, we have created 37 new works.

National Tours: BACT is committed to engaging, educating, and enriching the lives of children beyond the
San Francisco Bay Area through national tours of our original productions of new works. For the past several years, we have presented select new works throughout the United States to further expose children to the joys of live theatre.

Co-Commissions and Productions: BACT works closely with partner TYA theatre companies across the
United States. Our virtual production of “A Kids Play About Racism” partnered with an unprecedented 41 co-producers across the nation. Other projects have partnered with First Stage Milwaukee, The Rose Theatre in Omaha, Childsplay in Arizona, Adventure Theatre in Maryland, Oregon Children’s Theatre, and many others to produce more new works for the Theatre for Young Audiences (TYA) canon.

Academy: Our award-winning Academy program has a brand new home in Downtown Oakland. We offer classes for ages 5 to 16 in musical theatre performance, acting, and improvisation. Advanced Performers is our most elite program that competes every year at the Junior Theatre Festival. During COVID,

Education Outreach: BACT provides in-school programming to serve the needs of teachers in this incredibly difficult moment. Our goal is to reach 25,000 students from schools that serve low-income communities.

Job Types: Part-time, Contract

Pay: Up to $2,000.00 per month

Benefits:

• Flexible schedule

Schedule:

• Choose your own hours
• Day shift
• Evening shift
• Monday to Friday
• On call

Work Location: Remote