Job Title: Grants Manager
Reports To: Vice President of Development and Communications
Teach Democracy is one of the nation’s premier K-12 civic education organizations. Founded in 1963, Teach Democracy is a non-profit, non-partisan, organization. Teach Democracy works with thousands of schools across the country, engaging teachers and students in programs and lessons that make learning about history and civics interesting and relevant. Teach Democracy runs the LA County and California Mock Trials, a summer internship program for underserved youth, and has several programs and curriculum materials that help students gain critical thinking skills and participate in civic engagement activities.
The Opportunity
As the Grants Manager you will work closely with our vice president of development and communications, donor relations manager and programs team to research, prepare, submit, and manage grant proposals/reports that support Teach Democracy’s programmatic goals and meet funder guidelines and criteria. You serve as the primary grant writer, engage in compliance reporting, and support special project initiatives. This position requires strong writing, data analysis, program budgeting and project management skills, with an emphasis on outcome measurement.
The person in this position will be responsible for drafting proposals and reports, managing a grants calendar of deadlines, and creating opportunities to engage current funders and prospect for new potential funders. They will work with our program team to develop and track outcomes, create a story bank, and will work with our vice president of development and communications to coordinate on budgets.
Key Objectives and Responsibilities
Ensure Teach Democracy meets or exceeds its annual income goals from foundations by maintaining current grants and actively cultivating and stewarding new funding sources and opportunities.
Primary Responsibilities:
- Develop and manage annual calendar of foundation research, application, and reports for current and new funders
- Initiate and develop grant proposals and reports, including incorporating necessary budget and other financial information, which meet donor requirements and make compelling and persuasive cases for support.
- Develop effective working relationships with program, development, and finance teams to compile relevant information needed for grant proposals, budgets, and funding reports, including outcomes, activities, and deliverables that align with program goals
- Work with program team to develop and update boilerplate language and collect up-to-date statistics for key programs and solicitations including general operating support, advocacy and civic engagement, and leadership development work.
- Maintain a centralized grant tracking system to monitor the status of applications, track outcomes, and provide regular updates to leadership.
- Ensure grants acquired by Teach Democracy have clear timelines, outcomes, and deliverables communicated to all staff involved.
- Develop and manage the stewardship process for all foundation funders, and ensure the vice president of development and communications and CEO make outreach as scheduled.
- Produce one-page primers for meetings with new and current funders.
- Identify new institutional prospects and develop appropriate outreach and solicitation strategies in collaboration with the vice president of development and communications and Donor Relations Manager.
- Periodically audit the grants management process and continuously look for opportunities to improve and streamline the end-to-end process.
Key Competencies/Experience
Qualified candidates will:
- Have at least 5 years of experience in grant research, grant writing, and managing grant submissions, ideally in a nonprofit or advocacy setting
- Demonstrated grant writing success
- Excellent communication, writing and collaboration skills
- Familiarity with grant databases, online portals, and resources for grant searches
- Ability to work on deadline, adapt to changing situations, prioritize, and switch between different projects and tasks on short notice
- Feel comfortable working with online databases
- Passion for improvement of systems and processes, even when no one is looking
- Excellent communication skills and ability to influence and engage a wide range of supporters and build long-term relationships
- Ability to work with a diverse array of staff and community partners
- Excellent organization and attention to detail – including ability to prioritize/manage multiple projects simultaneously while meeting strict deadlines
- Be able to work remotely and manage time effectively and support colleagues who are working remotely
Research shows marginalized groups are less likely to apply for positions unless they meet 100% of a job description; please consider applying even if you don’t 100% meet these criteria.
Additional Competencies/Experience (not required, but a plus)
- Experience with Teams, Zoom, Google Hangouts, or other video conferencing program
- Experience with Salesforce or other CRM
- Knowledge of budgeting and financial concepts related to grant application
Will consider onsite, hybrid or remote