Organization: Aspire
Job Title: Director, Grants
Team: Philanthropy
Department: Philanthropy
Date Revised: January 2025
Reports To: Vice President, Philanthropy
FLSA: Exempt
Position Summary:
The Director, Grants reports to the VP, Philanthropy and will be responsible for driving growth and revenue at Aspire. This includes increasing funding from foundations, corporations, other institutional funders, public entities, and government departments, and building relationships with all these constituencies for greater impact. This position will contribute to the Philanthropy team’s ability to reach and exceed organizational goals.
Position Responsibilities:
The following represents the primary position responsibilities, but other related duties may be assigned to meet the organization's needs.
Strategy & Planning
- Translate big-picture vision and funding priorities into strategy, calendar, messaging, and proposals for grant funders.
- Guide collaborative conversations with program team(s) to develop grant related materials, narratives, applications, budgets, and reporting information.
- Develop, update, and manage the centralized library for organizational and program narratives, data, and other key information, such as demographics, to streamline the grant management process year over year.
- Maintain comprehensive grant records.
Grants
- Collaborate with consultant support(s) regarding prospecting, research, and identifying, networking with, and collaborating with new potential funders to grow Aspire’s grants pipeline and funding.
- Lead the grant proposal process for both all private and public funding opportunities.
- Establish a deep understanding of Aspire’s Programs; partner with key Aspire team members by initiating ongoing communication to analyze funding needs, gaps, and opportunities.
- Serve as the primary technical writer for high-quality grants and proposals. Build trust and strong relationships with funders and prospective funders (external) and with team members (internal).
- Partner closely with program and finance team members to include compelling information in proposals, such as data, budgets, logic models, realistic outcomes/benchmarks, and evaluation data.
- Lead the grants post-award process internally.
- Record grant awards and review/provide support to the Philanthropy Coordinator regarding grant-related acknowledgment materials.
- Ensure proper grant budgeting, implementation, reporting requirements, modification requests, and close-out within grantors' deadlines.
- Ensure compliance with regulations for all funding sources, inclusive of government agencies/departments.
- Build and expand the pipeline of prospective funders.
- Steward current funder relationships with funder visits, ongoing communication, and updates above and beyond funder requirements.
- Manage grants calendar and CRM systems to ensure accurate records and up-to-date database of current and potential funders, grants proposal and reporting deadlines, and grants applied for, lost, and won.
- Provide consistent updates to the VP, Philanthropy demonstrating status and progress to goal for grant-related funding.
- Manage a portfolio of 5-10 top strategic partners and build strong, mutually beneficial relationships with those that have a grant-related/foundation fundraising focus and opportunity.
- Communicate with the Director, Marketing and/or Marketing Specialist regarding grant and funding notices to facilitate recognition when appropriate.
Team Collaboration & Leadership
- Manage consultant relationships
- Support the entire Philanthropy team by communicating funding priorities and assisting with messaging and proposals for individual fundraising, events, etc.
- Connect and build relationships with community leaders, business leaders, family members, Board members, and others to promote and articulate Aspire’s mission, vision, and strategic needs to the greater community.
- Recommend and participate in the development and implementation of team goals, objectives, and systems, contributing to the effectiveness and efficiency of the Philanthropy team.
- Participate or assist during special events.
- Promote a positive culture that aligns with Aspire’s shared values during all interactions with Aspire stakeholders.
- Actively participate in professional development to enhance knowledge.
Reporting to this Position: None; Manage consultant relationships
Required Education & Experience:
- Bachelor’s Degree or equivalent work experience
- 5+ years of professional experience in grant writing and fundraising
- Successful track record for securing grants of $100,000+ and significant multi-year commitments from institutional donors.
- 5+ years of experience crafting LOIs, concept papers, proposals, and stewardship materials with an aptitude for creating budgets, designing logic models, and drafting compelling case statements.
- 5+ years of experience tracking communication and donor activity in a CRM database.
Additional Licensing/Certifications:
- Valid driver’s license with good driving record
Required Skills, Knowledge & Abilities:
- Superior knowledge of and proven experience writing proposals to large corporate, foundation, and government.
- Strong storyteller with demonstrated superior writing, research, project management, and organizational skills.
- The ability to develop strong professional relationships with existing and potential supporters to build meaningful, long-term mutually rewarding relationships.
- Ability to successfully execute multiple, simultaneous projects on time with quality results.
- Ability to thrive in a fast-paced environment and work collaboratively with team members located on- and off-site.
- Skilled in cross-departmental communications and project management.
- Curiosity and ability to learn quickly, ask thoughtful questions and synthesize information.
Preferred Skills, Knowledge & Abilities:
- Understanding of technical and financial requirements for large grants.
- Experience working within the health and human service sector.
- Grant Professional Certification (GPC) preferred.
- Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) certification preferred.
Leadership Competencies:
- Achieves Results: Consistently achieving results, even under tough circumstances.
- Builds Effective Teams: Building strong-identity teams that apply their diverse skills and perspectives to achieve common goals.
- Cultivates Innovation: Creating new & better ways for the organization to be successful.
- Makes Quality Decisions: Making good & timely decisions that keep the organization moving forward.
- Tackles the Tough Issues: Stepping up to address difficult issues, saying what needs to be said.
Aspire Values (POWER):
P = We believe anything is possible
· Empower others to achieve their dreams.
· Be open to new ideas
· Offer solutions to solve problems
O = We all own it
· Be a team player and lend a hand to others
· Speak up when you see or hear something that doesn’t seem right
· Show pride and take care of Aspire
W = We welcome everyone
· Greet everybody and be friendly
· Embrace diversity and celebrate belonging
· Treat others how you would like to be treated
E = We evolve and try new things
· Help think of new ways to make Aspire better
· Seek feedback from others to improve
· Accept mistakes and learn from them.
R = We build powerful relationships
· Show respect and build trust
· Be timely in responding to one another
· Take the time to get to know one another
The salary range is $78,000 - $83,000.
Applications accepted online only at: https://aspirechicago.com/director-grants
