Grant Writer

Come join Autism Speaks!

We are seeking a Grant Writer, who will be responsible for expanding the portfolio and revenue generation of both foundation donor partners for Autism Speaks (private, public, corporate foundations) and U.

S. governmental partners (state, federal) and cultivate relationships with current and potential funders. This position requires strong writing and organizational skills to support the growth of the portfolio, increase the number and size of LOI’s, proposals, and grant applications, and increase the pool of successful closes resulting in foundation and government grant revenue that grows significantly over time.

A central focus of this position is to write proposals, applications, and LOIs (letters of intent) to support the growth of the portfolio size of active public / private foundation investors.

This aspect of the role will require collaboration, strategy, and external and internal work to identify, assess, and position the organization to compete successfully for sizable grant opportunities to advance the institution’s mission priorities.

In addition, this position will work closely across teams to identify, help cultivate, solicit, and steward new relationships.

This foundation pipeline development effort will assist the organization in raising restricted and unrestricted revenue across teams including corporate, community engagement, and at times major gifts fields.

Individual will work from home and can be located anywhere in the country.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS

Foundation & Government Grant Writing, Lead Generation, Cultivation, Solicitation, and Stewardship / Reporting :

• Write proposals, letters of intent, applications, and responses to requests for applications that lead to successful closures and grant awards.
• Frontline relationship manager with private and public foundation and government entities.
• Collaborate with various colleagues, including the Fundraising Operations team (OPPS - data analytics and prospect research) to identify leads inside and outside Autism Speaks.
• Work within the centralized database to update and track opportunities, post-award requirements, and reporting.
• Qualify new and existing foundation and government relationships to identify and track new funding opportunities for the organization.
• Prepare well for all Foundation visits and conduct pre-visit briefings with staff / volunteer leadership.
• Work closely with program staff / experts and Autism Speaks leadership to strategically consider programs and external funding alignment.
• Regularly represents Autism Speaks mission and strategic priorities to external contacts including senior leadership of foundations.
• Produce materials that can be used throughout the organization to communicate strategic initiatives to external stakeholders.
• Be thoroughly familiar with Autism Speaks strategic plan, programs, initiatives, and funding needs.
• Maintain an appropriate level of understanding of autism and surrounding issues.
• Have comfort with clear annual goals and weekly, monthly, quarterly measurement of activity toward these goals. Understands that specific key activities, carried out at a certain volume, are an important driver for a successful program.

Fiscal Responsibility :

• Meet or exceed agreed upon revenue and key activity metric goals (each quarter and year).
• Accurately forecast revenue bookings on a monthly, quarterly, and annual basis.
• Analyze revenue trends to assess results and recommend changes to targeted budget accordingly.

Planning and Management :

• Create and implement an annual plan, designed to meet priority funding needs of Autism Speaks.
• Establish short and long-term goals for foundation and government funding sources.
• Establish and manage policies, systems and procedures for tracking workflow and record keeping for foundation funding.
• Working closely with the finance and fundraising operation teams, establish and maintain a strong foundation & grants project tracking and reporting system.
• Write and prepare documents including letters of intent templates, proposals, presentations, and post-award reports that can be utilized throughout the organization.
• Track all foundation & grants prospects, active donor cultivations and strategic moves in Autism Speaks donor database, Stratus Live.

Position Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree required.
• 5 + years of professional experience in a nonprofit or higher education setting,
• Grant writing experience is a plus.

Specialized Skills and Knowledge :

• Excellent written and verbal presentation skills, and the proven ability to synthesize and accurately present relevant information to donors.
• Exceptional organizational skills with the ability to manage multiple projects simultaneously, set priorities, and meet demanding deadlines within a fast-paced, collaborative environment.
• Ability to work collaboratively across multiple teams.
• Driver, builder with growth mindset.
• Self-starter : able to work with minimum supervision and meet agreed upon metrics and goals.
• Keen attention to detail with ability to track multiple projects at one time.
• Must be resourceful and anticipatory of the needs of a growing program.
• Experience with Raiser’s Edge or equivalent CRM database.
• Experience with moves management policies and procedures.
• Experience providing organizational details to prospective / existing funders.
• Strong computer skills : MS Office XP Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Database / Reporting tools, Outlook, and Internet.
• Entrepreneurial attitude with a keen understanding and embracement that this is a building position with the opportunity to expand revenue for Autism Speaks.

CORE COMPETENCIES :

• Building Collaborative Relationships
• Professional Behavior
• Results Driven
• Customer Orientation
• Flexibility

You are responsible for protecting the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of all Autism Speaks data and information.