Job Summary
The Grantwriter provides a critical connection between the mission of Solid Ground and our funding partners and is responsible for accurately representing our community’s needs and how our programs respond to those needs. The Grantwriter will prepare and submit approximately 75 funding proposals annually to private and public sector sources, working to raise approximately $500,000; cultivate ongoing relationships with funders, and write and submit more than 20 progress reports and final reports to funders. The Grantwriter will be supervised by Solid Ground’s Grants & Contracts Manager.
The Grantwriter’s impeccable execution of the entire grant funding process—from prospecting to closing grants with reports—is critical to maintain and grow Solid Ground services.
Grantwriters at Solid Ground are responsible for acquiring private revenue to help cover all unmet program costs (over $1.7 million annually) as well as to write new public applications and support ongoing public renewal applications (public fundraising amounts vary but range in the multi-millions). The majority of time will be divided between researching programs and external data; working internally with programs, finance, and other departments to write proposals, acknowledgments, and reports; communicating directly with external funders; and documenting actions in the department’s dual databases, Raiser’s Edge for private funding and the Access Public Grants & Contracts (PGC) Database for public funding.
Essential Responsibilities, Duties & Tasks
25% Build Internal & External Relationships: Grantwriter is responsible for cultivating and stewarding relationships with private funders in their portfolio, as well as building rapport and strong relationships with program and finance staff in their portfolio.
- Under the direction of the Grants & Contracts Manager, initiate and build relationships with existing, lapsed, and prospected private funders. Prepare materials for, coordinate with program staff for, and participate in site visits with current and potential grantors.
- Build strong internal relationships to obtain information necessary to write strong proposals. Develop clear, thorough understandings of program operations, understanding the nuances and overlaps between programs, focus populations, and activities.
- Communicate regularly with program leads, administrative program staff, and the finance team on the status of private funds, award spenddown, reporting requirements, and identified funding needs in program budgets. Collaborate with Grants & Contracts Manager on public funding internal communication needs.
- Live into team values of reducing the burden of fundraising on program staff by clearly communicating expectations, deadlines, and application needs in a timely manner. Meet program and finance staff where they are!
40% Write Strategically for public and private funding sources: including private funder portfolio of up to 50 foundations, corporations, and organizations: and public funding from a variety of City, County, WA State, and federal agencies.
- Write strategic, well-informed, and clear letters of inquiry (LOIs) and private & public grant proposals including RFAs/Qs/Ps and more!
- Produce additional writing needed to create grant acknowledgments, reports, and various funder stewardship communications under the direction of the Grants & Contracts Manager and in conjunction with agency staff.
- Support collaborative Grants Team writing – in editing proposals that others are lead on including public grants, general operating proposals, and more.
- Support the Resource Development, Communications & Volunteer Services Joint team with up-do-date program details, strategy, and metrics.
15% Data Entry & Tracking: Maintain data integrity of grant funders, proposals, and gifts in Raiser’s Edge database and Access PGC Database by completing data entry on actions in a timely fashion and keeping contact information up-to-date.
- Personally responsible for tracking due dates, checking guidelines, stewardship engagements, reporting and more for portfolio.
- Coordinates with RD Operations Coordinator and Finance team on gift forms and associated accounting paperwork requirements.
10% Research Community Needs & Prospect Potential Funders:
- Research & identify private funding opportunities through community outreach and convenings, Puget Sound Grant writer Association participation, Foundation Directory Online, Form 990s, internal systems, and the internet.
- Vet & assess foundation priorities, read and interpret Requests for Proposals (RFPs), and develop strategies to solicit grants.
- Build a repository of external data on relevant topics and social issues affecting our target population; develop library of best practices within the field; draw conclusions from statistics and studies to support program effectiveness.
- Support public funding advocacy efforts at local levels primarily including Seattle City and King County.
10% Attend Meetings & Trainings and anti-racism capacity building: Participate in frequent department and agency meetings including anti-racism action teams, caucusing, and affinity groups and, as required, relevant trainings covering grant writing and anti-racism growth.
The duties listed above are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related, or a logical assignment to the position.
Full Job Description