Grant Writer

The Grant Writer will play a central role within the Philanthropic Partnerships and Influence (PPI) Team in contributing to the organization’s efforts to secure resources and advance the mission of Thousand Currents. The successful candidate will work closely with the Director of Development, the PPI team, and cross-organizationally, particularly with the Global Programs Team, to identify and research funding prospects, lead proposal development, develop compelling fundraising collateral, and steward a portfolio of relationships to sustain core unrestricted support. The ideal candidate comes with a program or learning and evaluation background, strong writing skills, and knowledge content in one of TC’s thematic areas, climate justice, food sovereignty, or economic justice.
Content Development: Researching, Writing, & Revising (approximately 60%)
Drive cross-organization, cross-team development of donor materials, including by working closely with various programs team, learning and evaluation team, and finance team members to collect necessary information and synthesize in a compelling and accurate way for donor audiences.
Identify and research sources of potential funding to bolster the pipeline of prospective sources aligned with Thousand Current’s work. Think strategically about new donor collateral needed to communicate our mission, vision, and impact.
Draft compelling narratives for funding proposals to secure revenue for general operating support and special programs.
Draft analytical reports that clearly describe goals achieved as well as metrics and milestones, providing analysis of the objectives and achievements .
Use compelling writing to convey powerful stories about the work that movement partners are doing and the wins they achieve along the way.
Ensure all proposals, reports, and supplemental materials are completed on schedule and in compliance with grant requirements.
Develop content knowledge related to thematic areas for Thousand Currents as needed to strengthen proposals and other content.
Manage online proposal submissions, including translating online forms into accessible working documents for internal collaboration.
Maintain an up-to-date understanding of Thousand Current’s priorities, programs, and goals.
Relationship Management (approximately 20%)
Manage relationships with a portfolio of foundations and other institutional funders, maintaining an engaged relationship and ongoing insights into funding priorities.
Serve as the organization's primary contact for a portfolio of institutional donors.
Execute timely thank you calls and emails to a portfolio of institutional donors.
Steward their portfolio through sending strategic program updates, engaging in key philanthropic spaces and facilitating periodic update calls
Maintain an accurate record of stewardship steps and contact information for the mid-level donor cohort in the Salesforce database.
Collaborate with the team to meet goals in both stewardship and cultivation of relationships.
Perform other related duties as assigned and/or requested.
Management & Administration (approximately 10%)
Lead the development of resources and processes to facilitate internal collaboration, effectiveness, and impact, including:
Create timelines and manage project plans that allow for meeting multiple, often competing deadlines.
Develop formal, internal processes for grant writing operations, ensuring efficiency and transparency for the entire life cycle of each funder.
Work with the Global Programs Team to gather and maintain content and program narratives that make a strong case for funding.
Support the tracking and administering of grants.
Assist in preparation for funder meetings, reviews, and evaluations; participate as appropriate.
Participate in organization-wide learning, cross-program partnership, and administrative efficiency (10%)
Along with all other staff, this position contributes to Thousand Currents’ culture of teamwork and continuous learning and does what it takes to ensure that Thousand Currents staff collaborate and support each other within and across programs and excel in an environment where every member takes care of their own basic administrative needs. This includes but is not limited to:
Showing up fully for learning and planning activities, including staff meetings, retreats, trainings, planning, and strategy sessions;
Pitching in when needed for organization-wide activities, such as the Thousand Currents Academy, annual events, fundraising drives, partner visits etc.
Supervising and project management of relevant volunteers and interns, and ensuring that they have a positive learning experience at Thousand Currents; and
Managing your own regular administration, including timely submission of receipts, reimbursement requests, scheduling, travel planning, ling HR paperwork etc.
Qualifications
3 - 5 years of combined experience in grant writing and/or grants management.
Superb writing and strategic thinking capabilities, including proficiency distilling content from multiple sources into one cohesive narrative.
Strong verbal communication skills via phone, video, and email; the ability to present ideas and concepts clearly.
Ability to manage relationships with colleagues to move projects forward and elicit input from a diverse range of stakeholders.
Excellent project management skills, proofreading experience, and strong attention to detail.
Ability to work gracefully under pressure and produce high-quality work within tight time constraints; accountability for meeting deadlines.
Ability to prioritize and manage shifting duties.
Adaptable, flexible, and willing to grow with the needs of the organization.
Impeccable judgment and discretion in dealing with sensitive information.
Fluency in spoken and written English.
Strong experience using a race, class, gender, and decolonization lens in verbal and written communications.
Strongly Preferred
Programmatic familiarity and experience aligned with our areas of focus, including climate justice, food sovereignty, and economic justice.
Familiarity with nonprofit fundraising practices.
Ability to work as part of a team across several time zones.
Good problem-solving skills and the ability to troubleshoot.
A willingness to learn new skills, systems, and frameworks.
Experience working across cultures and differences, including comfort working with people of color and transgender and gender-expansive people.
Demonstrated commitment to Thousand Current’s mission, vision, and values.
Experience with Slack, Asana, GSuite, Microsoft Office, Zoom, and Salesforce.
Experience working in social justice movements.
Compensation and Benefits
Thousand Currents practices a non-negotiable salary policy to foster pay equity. The salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. The salary for this role is $97,000 with a generous benefits package, including:
100% premium paid health, dental, and vision insurance coverage for you and your family (if applicable).
Short and long term disability, life, and AD&D insurance.
The organization also provides wellness reimbursement, work from home reimbursement, and an opportunity to participate in our retirement plan with 4% matching contribution.
Additionally, Thousand Currents offers 13 paid flexible holidays, 10 sick days, and vacation at an accrual rate of 15 days per year for the first two years.
Internal systems that engender a culture of mutual accountability to personal ecology, transparency, open communication, and opportunities for professional, personal, and leadership development.
PHYSICAL REQUIREMENTS:  The physical demands of this position are light with the expectation that the staff person can exert up to 20 lbs. of force occasionally, and/or up to 10 lbs. of force frequently, and/or a negligible amount of force constantly to move objects. Light work usually requires walking or standing to a significant degree.  Physical demands are in excess of those of sedentary work. The position requires frequent computer use at a workstation.  As Thousand Currents staff work in a number of locations and come together for meetings on occasion, all staff must be able to travel by car and plane to meetings at locations nationally and internationally. Availability to travel and maintenance of a valid passport is required.  Thousand Currents will make reasonable accommodations in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990. This job description and its physical requirements will be reviewed periodically as duties and responsibilities change with business necessity.  Essential and marginal job functions are subject to modification.
EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY: Thousand Currentsis an equal opportunity employer. We strongly encourage and seek applications from women, people of colour, and bilingual and bicultural individuals, as well as members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender communities. Applicants shall not be discriminated against because of race, religion, sex, national origin, ethnicity, age, disability, political affiliation, sexual orientation, gender identity, colour, marital status, or medical condition including acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) and AIDS-related conditions.