Grant Writer

Job Title: Grant Writer

Report to: Chief Advancement Officer FLSA Status: Full-Time, Exempt

Department: Mission Advancement Pay: $ 70,702

Location:Remote

Mission and Organizational Background:

The mission of First Children’s Finance (FCF) is to grow the supply and business sustainability of excellent child care. Founded in 1991, FCF provides business and financial assistance to business owners and leaders in the field of Early Care and Education (ECE). To achieve our goals, FCF works on three levels: Individual Business Level, Community Level and Systems Level. FCF is a national nonprofit organization headquartered in Minneapolis that provides business development programs and financing to ECE providers in multiple states, with state offices in four: Minnesota, Iowa, Michigan, and Vermont. For more information, see the First Children’s website at: http://www.firstchildrensfinance.org.

Job Summary:

FCF is seeking a Grant Writer to join its new and growing advancement team. Under the supervision and guidance of the Chief Advancement Officer (CAO), the Grant Writer will be responsible for researching, developing, and writing inquiries, letters, and proposals requesting funds to support First Children's Finance's programs and services. The Grant Writer will also be responsible for tracking and monitoring proposals, their deadlines, and requirements. This position includes maintaining accurate records of documents, phone calls, and visits of funders and prospects.

Essential Functions:

• Research and Analysis: Conduct in-depth research to identify funding opportunities.
• Meet with CAO and related program staff to determine funding needs.
• Grant Proposal Development: Develop compelling and competitive grant proposals for federal agencies, foundations, and other funding sources, with a primary focus on funding CDFI and community-led child care investment.
• Write accurate and interesting inquiries, letters, and proposals, requesting funds from individual, corporate, and foundation prospects.
• Act as the project manager and coordinate all grant submissions; frequently working and communicating with all members of the leadership team as well as other FCF staff, as needed.
• Ensure understanding of the program and keep in contact with the organization to check the progress and provide progress reports to the CAO.
• Write acknowledgement letters and reports to corporate and foundation donors.
• Assemble and submit grant requests, including letters, proposals, budgets, and presentations.
• Maintain tracking system for grant, renewal, and report deadlines – updating related program staff, as needed.
• Monitor results of written requests, such as proposal acceptance rate.
• Coordinate the efforts of key staff members to ensure that documents are completed by the specified deadlines; in addition to all feedback on drafts are received.
• Strategic Planning: Contribute to the development of grant acquisition strategies and roadmaps for the organization's growth.
• Maintain grant/proposal calendar to ensure timely submission of letters of inquiry, proposal deadlines, and reports.
• Assist with writing public relations materials including annual reports, newsletters, press releases, and other publications, as needed.
• Assist with other fundraising and engagement activities, such as presentations, meetings with funders, etc.
• Develops evaluation metrics, monitors performance, and prepares reports for internal/external agencies.
• Maintain productivity of proposal submissions.
• Perform other duties as assigned.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor's degree required – English; Public Relations; Advertising; Applied Communication; Community Organization; Marketing/Marketing Management, or a related discipline. Master's degree preferred.
• At least 5 years professional grant/proposal writing experience.
• Successful track record of grant solicitations at local, state, federal, and foundation level to achieve results.
• Experience working in nonprofit management related work is preferred and/or child care and early learning related work is preferred.
• Candidates will have superior writing and editing skills and a keen interest in telling stories in the service of fundraising.
• Proficient knowledge of Microsoft Word, Excel, and Power Point.
• Experience working with Salesforce preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Ability:

• Must have good administrative skills and be detailed oriented.
• Excellent written, verbal, and communication skills.
• Exceptional organizational skills.
• Must have excellent organizational skills and be able to produce a quality work product within tight time constraints.
• Can work with a wide range of people.
• Can express themselves easily.
• Technical writing ability to persuade or influence others.
• Ability to write applications that display meticulous grammar and spelling.
• Ability to prioritize projects to keep multiple projects moving in a timely manner.
• Must understand the operations of the foundations, organizations, and businesses.
• Networking: Ability to build and maintain relationships with key stakeholders, funding agencies, and partners.
• Proven track record in securing new funding opportunities is a plus.
• Ability to multitask and perform under deadlines and changing schedules.
• Able to coordinate others and oversee projects among multiple teams.
• Knowledge of computer programs and ability to learn company grant software and navigate multiple search engine platforms.
• Ability to work under pressure and with minimal supervision.
• Conduct and interpret research in a variety of data formats.

Working Conditions:

• Must be able to work on the computer for extended periods of time.
• Must be able to travel for meetings when needed.
• Remote work location.

Additional Notes:

This job description represents the major functions of the position but is not intended to be all-inclusive.

Benefits:

Benefits include medical, dental, vision, life, disability insurance, holidays, paid time off, and paid family medical leave. Allowable travel costs are reimbursed.

First Children’s Finance honors candidates’ time and effort in job-seeking by providing transparency regarding compensation. Creating transparency regarding salary information reduces the gender pay gap, and eliminates salary negotiation, which rarely benefits people of color or women. It is a value of our organization to support equitable hiring practices.

First Children’s Finance is an Equal Employment Opportunity /Affirmative Action Employer.