Grant Writer

ORGANIZATION OVERVIEW
Conga Kids' mission is to promote social-and-emotional well-being through social dance. We believe that magic is created at the intersection of community, dance, and music - and harnessing that magic can transform lives. Our in-school residency programs work with 4th and 5th grade students to provide a celebratory introduction to social dance forms of the African Diaspora and the social-and-emotional lessons that can be learned from them. Our diverse dance curriculum includes explorations of styles like Merengue, Cumbia, Samba, Rumba, Salsa, Vernacular Jazz, and various Street/ Hip Hop styles. Conga Kids works at school sites throughout greater Los Angeles County and Orange County. The program expects to serve over 25,000 students in the 2022/2023 school year (in-school; after-school; summer school; and community based)

POSITION SUMMARY

The Grant Writer will oversee all materials related to the grant application process and its administration, from identifying and qualifying prospects, writing proposals and reports, collecting data, budgets, and all relevant documents from various departments for submission required follow-up. Additionally, the Position supports the Organization by supplying content for all relevant purposes, including annual appeal solicitation, email appeal, website development, annual report, interim reports to the Board of Directors, and special projects.

The position will identify, define and develop funding sources (corporations, foundations, donors) to support existing and planned program and growth. Additionally, the Grant Writer will support writing and submission of grant proposals to local, state and federal, funding agencies. Grant management of existing grants is a critical part of the responsibilities.

Primary responsibilities include preparation of proposals and grant applications, and performance of responsible professional and administrative work in researching, identifying, developing and responding to public and private grant opportunities in areas that support Conga Kids’ programs. The position is also responsible for collecting, analyzing, and reporting data on the performance of program activities.

DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

• Maintenance and retention of existing grant partners

• Enter, monitor, and tracks data

• Grant Writer will be responsible for minimum threshold of new grant funding and oversight, growth, and receipt of existing grant relationships

• Gather proposal information by identifying information sources, coordinating submissions and collections, and identifying and communicating risks associated with proposals.

• Develop proposal by assembling information including project nature, objectives/outcomes/deliverables, implementation, methods, timetable, staffing, budget, performance standards, and evaluation.

• Write, revise, and edit drafts, including executive summaries, conclusions, and organization credentials.

• Prepare electronic or hard copies presentations.

• Accomplishes organizational goals by accepting ownership for accomplishing new and different requests and exploring opportunities to add value to job accomplishments.

• Research and identify new grant opportunities and categories to match Conga Kids’ priorities

• Generates high-quality proposals, narratives, applications and supporting documents in response to solicitations consistent with all policies and procedures of Conga Kids, and the requirements and guidelines of the funding agencies

• Generates revenues for Conga Kids programs through timely submission of well-researched, well written and well-documented grant proposals

• Maintains primary responsibility for grant schedules and tracking grants

• Serves as a liaison to all funding agencies and organizations

• Coordinates and follows-up on the progress of submitted proposals

• Develops and maintains a master file on pending grants and contracts

• Remains up-to-date on current issues relative to grant proposals

• Other duties as assigned

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE

• The Organization's expectation is for the candidate to have previous experience and success in securing Local, Regional, State, Federal, corporate, governmental, and foundation grants. Existing relationships and understanding of grants in the arts and education space are critical.

• Bachelor's degree in English, Journalism, Media, or related field

• Minimum of 3-year experience in grant writing, prospect research, general fundraising, or a minimum of 3 years comparable and transferable skills acquired in a professional setting

• Previous grant budget development and management

• A proven record of securing major grants with certifiable references

• Knowledge of grant application process, scoring criteria and funding cycles

• Ability to work effectively under pressure

• Excellent writing and verbal skills

• Be highly organized with the ability to implement systems and follow-up processes

• Proficiency in research, interpreting, and analyzing diverse data

• Excellent Computer skills (Microsoft Office Word, Access, PowerPoint and Excel), and database management skills

• Motivated self-starter with the ability to work collaboratively and independently with purpose and accuracy in a fast-paced environment.

WORK ENVIRONMENT

• Sedentary, sitting, walking, occasional lifting (overhead, waist level) from floor, bending, frequent near vision use for reading and computer use. Flexibility to work remotely and from a corporate office environment.