Grant Coordinator

The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan serves as a common solicitor, storehouse and distributor of food on behalf of its Partner Agencies which are non-profit, charitable organizations serving those in need.

Today the Food Bank of Eastern Michigan provides over 40 million pounds of food each year to those in need through more than 700 partner agencies. Partner Agencies consist of local soup kitchens, shelters, and food pantries who strive to feed the more than 300,000 people in eastern Michigan who are food insecure. The excellent relationships established within the Food Bank’s 22 county service area and throughout the state has allowed for numerous programs and initiatives to help fight hunger.

The Grants Coordinator is primarily responsible for developing, writing and reporting on grant proposals to foundations, corporations and other grant-making organizations, and will persuasively communicate the Food Bank’s mission and programs to potential funders.  This position will ensure superior customer service to all internal team members and other stakeholders of the organization. All activities will support the organization’s mission, culture and strategic plan objectives.

ESSENTIAL FUNCTIONS

• Create and maintain a positive work environment in alignment with the Company core values.
• assemble and submit grant requests
• Manage special projects that were awarded grant funds by ensuring completion of goals, expenditure of funds, and submission of reports.
• Manage all aspects of internal grant program with the with assistance of other departments to include communication with agency partners, grant submission, review meetings, and reporting.
• conduct prospect research; and maintain a calendar of submissions and other deadlines.
• Develop and write grant proposals to foundations and other grant-making organizations, including Feeding America affiliated grants, persuasively communicating the organization’s mission and programs to potential funders
• Assemble and submit grant requests, letters of inquiry, proposals, budgets and presentations
• Establish and maintain personal contacts and relationships with foundations, corporations, and program officers
• Manage internal grant program including communication with agency partners, grant submission, grant review, and reporting
• Work with finance team to submit targeted federal and state grants
• Ensure prompt acknowledgement of grant awards
• Maintain calendar to ensure timely submission of letters of inquiry, proposal deadlines, and reports
• Conduct prospect research for new potential grant funding
• Prioritize projects to keep multiple projects moving in a timely manner, meet deadlines, and manage supplemental material required for proposals
• Management of the grant process and regularly updating key stakeholders of grant status
• Write reports to government, corporate, foundations, and other funders
• Manage consistency of messaging and data used in outreach, communications, and other applications
• Collaborate with other departments (operations, programs, finance, etc.) to ensure funding requests are properly structured and any outside partnerships are properly vetted
• Participate in and lead special projects as needed
• Other ad hoc duties as requested by management
• Know and adhere to organizational policies and procedures, and work as an integral member of the development team
• Work effectively with stakeholders from diverse populations, revealing sensitivity, understanding and acceptance of others.
• Perform other duties as assigned

EDUCATION

• Bachelor’s Degree required

EXPERIENCE

• 3+ years of grant writing experience

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS, ABILITIES

• Demonstrates a high level of integrity, accuracy, positivity, dependability, and ability to work collaboratively with others
• Must possess excellent verbal and written communication skills
• Must be proficient in various programs including, but not limited to, Microsoft Office Suite, Adobe and donor databases
• Must present professionally to both internal and external stakeholders
• Must possess a high level of organizational skills, and ability to multitask and prioritize workloads in a fast-paced, ever-changing environment
• Must have excellent time management skills
• Proven ability to work under pressure and meet deadlines
• Self-motivated to take initiative in driving new projects and creating new relationships
• Demonstrated ability to solve problems and formulate recommendations
• Ability to critically assess opportunities, problems and issues, and coherently present assessments to internal and external decision makers
• Thorough understanding of local, state and federal funding sources and the ability to locate potential sources for funding
• Ability to interpret financial data and prepare budgets and financial grant reports.
• Ability to be discreet with personal information that may be needed for some grants such as employee salaries or upcoming projects

WORKING CONDITIONS

Work is performed in an office environment day to day with desk work and computer usage to organize development activities and events, to raise money to support the mission. Work hours in development can vary due to events, food drives, dinners and outside activities throughout the community and will involve evenings and weekends.

The above statements are intended to describe the general nature and level of work being performed by people assigned to this job.  They are not intended to be an exhaustive list of all responsibilities, duties, and skills required of personnel so classified.

The Food Bank of Eastern Michigan is an Equal Opportunity Employer.