Grant Writer

Job Description

For almost 180 years, The City College of New York (originally founded as The Free Academy) has welcomed generations of students to our campus to learn under the guidance of world-class faculty. Together, our students, staff and faculty look to address some of the greatest challenges faced by communities both local to the Harlem and greater New York area, and around the world.

It is in keeping with the tradition of providing access to excellence for our students that the City College Office of Institutional Advancement, Communications & External Relations (OIACER), which manages the Foundation for City College, works to develop and support a strong foundation of resources required to fulfill the educational mission of The City College of New York.

The mission of the Foundation for City College, Inc. is to provide access to educational and research excellence, particularly to students who might not otherwise attend a senior college. Private gifts have the power to advance higher education, which transforms lives and communities and the Foundation strives to enrich the City College experience for students, faculty, and staff, and to work in collaboration with the President of The City College of New York to raise significant financial support from private sources, and to steward the Foundation's assets while serving as advocates for the College.

The Foundation supports a variety of programs at City College, including named professorships, advanced research operations, innovative programs leading to increased student success and campus-wide wellness opportunities, workforce

development initiatives as well as special programs and lectures that bring some of the nation's top intellectuals to our campus. The vision of the Foundation for City College is to be the steward of The City College of New York through the Foundation's position as advocates for the College's endowment and to serve as a leader in accountability, stewardship, and overall commitment to excellence.

The Office of Institutional Advancement, Communications and External Relations (OIACER), on behalf of The Foundation for City College, secures sustainable philanthropy, builds transformational relationships, and advances powerful partnerships in alignment with The City College's mission, vision, and values. As an integral part of this extraordinary higher education enterprise, OIACER is a team-oriented division that upholds collaboration, invests in each colleague's successes, and endeavors to further cement the College's identity, innovation, and impact through private support. A key element in this purposeful work is promoting Community Success—an unwavering commitment to student success, faculty advancement, and staff support. OIACER raises funds and resources that fuel the achievements of students and support the holistic success of our vibrant academic community.

The Grants Writer will report to the Director of Corporate Relations & Foundations Grants at The City College of New York. The Grants Writer will be an essential member of the OIACER team. With a primary focus on advancing the College's mission, vision, values, and top priorities, the Grants Writer will be primarily responsible for identifying, pursuing, and writing grant proposals. This role involves close collaboration with the Director of Corporate Relations & Foundations Grants and other key members of the OIACER team to ensure strategic alignment and maximize funding opportunities. Additional responsibilities include curating stewardship efforts, writing impact reports, composing compelling narratives to foster long-term donor relationships, and providing administrative functions for this area within the department.

Responsibilities include, but are not limited to the following:

• Assist in implementing the Corporate Relations and Foundation Grants team's comprehensive plan that successfully identifies, cultivates, solicits, stewards, and reports on contributions from corporations, foundations, and government funders
• Write exceptional proposals, reports, letters of interest, and other correspondence to foundation, corporate, and government funders to assist in securing transformational funding for critical programs, initiatives, and/or projects
• Works with the Director of Corporate Relations & Foundations Grants and other key members of the OIACER team in identifying and seeking new corporate, foundation, and government sources with a minimum giving capacity of $100,000, and assists in actively engaging the prospect pipeline with help from the OIACER's Prospect Research team

Have a solid understanding of program management requirements and a background in managing complex academic and student success initiatives

• Develop a strong understanding of OIACER/City College's work, programs, priorities, innovations, history, mission, and results, and maintain between 30-50 active institutional relationships and manage a grant portfolio that requires the submission of upwards of 100 proposals a year and requisite reports
• Build strong relationships with colleagues across campus and serve as the primary liaison to ensure compliance with organizational and funder standards for grants/gifts
• Maintain an internal system for collecting, preparing, and assembling all impact reporting requirements for distribution to donors
• Write and provide timely and compelling impact/stewardship reports to new and existing funders
• Assist in implementing a curated and engaging stewardship program and calendaring for foundation, corporate, and government funders
• Remain well-versed in emerging philanthropic trends and best practices in foundation, corporate, and government support
• Assist and collaborate with individual giving colleagues in the development of proposals and stewardship reports when appropriate
• Meet Individual annual fundraising goals and track fundraising activity in Raiser's Edge

Bachelor's degree and four years' related experience required.

Preferred Qualifications:

• Demonstrated exceptional written and oral communication skills
• Demonstrated experience writing large-scale foundation and government grant proposals and responding to RFPs
• Demonstrated history of a successful track record in grant cultivation and in managing grant proposals through the entire grant application and submittal process
• Experience with grant budget creation and tracking
• Strong knowledge of the grant proposal submission and fundraising process
• Strong research skills and knowledge of information sources, and the ability to evaluate and match opportunities to the mission and goals of the organization
• Strong knowledge of Raiser's Edge, Google Suite, Microsoft Office, Asana, Slack, or similar collaborative tools
• Self-motivated with high follow-up, responsiveness, and adherence to deadlines
• Strong organizational and time management skills
• Experience working in a fast, flexible environment with multiple priorities and deadlines
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Ability to maintain a high level of professionalism in all circumstances and to work independently and in a team environment, and with individuals of varying levels of authority
• Willingness to travel and work occasional weekends and evenings
• Willingness to use 3rdparty vendor programs for grant research and management

RFCUNY Employee Benefits and Accruals

The Research Foundation of The City University of New York (RFCUNY) is a nonprofit educational corporation founded in 1963 to provide post-award fiscal and administrative support for CUNY's research and sponsored programs. RFCUNY's services allow CUNY researchers, faculty, and staff to focus on their intellectual curiosity and scientific discoveries, on projects and programs that serve our local and global communities, proposing concrete solutions to society's most pressing challenges.

RFCUNY serves as a fiscal agent and works closely with all the CUNY campus Grants Offices to perform the core functions of post-award financial management for CUNY research projects and sponsored programs. These functions include legal assessment and signing of agreements where RFCUNY is named as a fiscal agent; setting up award accounts; preparing sub-awards and assisting PIs in monitoring the work of the recipients of sub-awards; supporting project directors with hiring and managing research project and sponsored program staff; supporting the purchasing and paying for goods and services with grant and program funds; managing financial aspects of projects including accounts receivable, financial reporting, invoicing, budget monitoring, and cost compliance with uniform guidance; ensuring that sponsor financial requirements are met; monitoring compliance with applicable project and financial management rules and laws; supporting the management of independent and external audits and financial reviews; and providing data, information, management expertise, and other supports to CUNY's research and sponsored programs.

The Research Foundation of the City University of New York is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action/Americans with Disabilities Act/E-Verify Employer. It is the policy of the Research Foundation of CUNY to provide equal employment opportunities free of discrimination based on race, color, age, religion, sex, pregnancy, childbirth, national origin, disability, marital status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, domestic violence victim status, arrest record, criminal conviction history, or any other protected characteristic under applicable law.