Grants and Research Manager

Role Overview

• Conduct thorough prospect research to identify and prioritize new grant opportunities from private foundations, corporate giving programs, and other aligned philanthropic sources.
• Prepare, write, and submit high-quality letters of inquiry (LOIs), full grant proposals, budgets, narratives, and supporting materials that clearly articulate needs, impact, outcomes, and alignment with funder priorities.
• Collaborate with program staff, finance, leadership, and other departments to gather necessary data, statistics, outcomes, and stories to strengthen proposals.
• Manage the full grants lifecycle: track deadlines via a grants calendar, ensure compliance with all application guidelines and reporting requirements, submit applications on time, and prepare timely interim and final reports for funded grants.
• Maintain accurate records in the donor database/CRM, including grant tracking, awards, reporting schedules, and funder communications.
• Cultivate and steward relationships with foundation and corporate program officers as needed, including follow-up correspondence and site visit preparation.
• Perform in-depth prospect research on individual major donors and high-capacity philanthropists using wealth screening tools, public records, news sources, and other databases.
• Draft personalized major gift proposals, concept papers, case statements, gift illustrations, and stewardship reports tailored to individual donor interests and giving history.
• Support major and principal gift officers (and leadership as needed) in preparing donor meetings by providing background research, talking points, and proposal materials.
• Assist in strategy development for major donor cultivation and solicitation as assigned, working closely with the Major Donor Communications Manager on related communications and materials.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in English, Communications, Nonprofit Management, Public Administration, or a related field (or equivalent experience).
• 4+ years of professional grant writing experience in a nonprofit setting, with a demonstrated track record of successfully securing six
• and seven-figure grants.
• Strong prospect research skills, including experience using online databases, wealth screening tools, and public records for both institutional and individual donors.
• Exceptional writing, editing, and proofreading skills with the ability to produce clear, compelling, persuasive, and error-free documents under tight deadlines.
• Excellent analytical and research abilities; proficiency in synthesizing complex information into accessible narratives.
• Highly organized with strong project management skills; ability to manage multiple competing deadlines and priorities.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (especially Word and Excel); experience with donor/CRM databases (e.g., Raiser's Edge, Salesforce).

Benefits

• Health insurance
• Professional development
• Flexible work arrangements