Development & Grants Specialist

Caritas of Austin • Austin, TX

3d • $45,000 - $55,000 • Onsite

About The Position

The Development & Grants Specialist will have regular interaction with all Caritas of Austin departments, community constituents including donors and volunteers, and clients. This in-office position must be able to accurately complete assignments within a given timeline, problem solve, and work well under pressure. The highly motivated, organized, and passionate individual who holds this position will assist with implementation of lower-level grant writing/ grant submission, administration needs, fundraising, stewardship, and donor database activities to support Caritas of Austin’s work and mission. This full-time position requires meticulous attention to detail, excellent time management skills, strong written and verbal communication, and the ability to manage multiple projects at once. The ideal candidate should enjoy working as part of a team but also be able to take initiative on all job duties. The ideal candidate is someone who is interested in expanding their professional fundraising career, has a passion to share the Caritas of Austin voice, loves data, writing, and analytical work, and enjoys behind-the-scenes work in support of a great mission. The Development & Grants Specialist will provide support for fundraising and communication activities at Caritas of Austin.

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree preferred (or a comparable background of training and experience).
• Minimum two years’ experience working in customer relations and database management.
• Working knowledge of nonprofit fundraising practices.
• Excellent organizational/project management skills with a particular focus on managing details and meeting deadlines.
• Ability to work independently on projects with minimal supervision.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills.
• Very strong attention to detail.
• Strong interpersonal skills and confidence speaking with diverse populations and representing agency in the community.
• Ability to maintain confidentiality of all internal donor and client information.
• Ability to creatively problem solve.
• Ability to respond with sensitivity and awareness to those with diverse cultural, ethnic, social backgrounds, values, attitudes, and languages.
• Microsoft Office proficiency and experience (Word and Excel), along with a great eye for detail.
• Strong technical skills and facility in learning new software.
• Collaborates well with internal and external stakeholders.

Nice To Haves

• Experience working on special events and fundraising campaigns a plus.
• Experience with Instrumentl preferred.

Responsibilities

• Database Daily use of the donor database (Instrumentl/ Rasiers Edge) to support fundraising, constituent communications, stewardship, and cultivation. All acknowledgement mailings, ensuring that letters are mailed within 48 hours after letters are finalized each week. Develop calendars, task lists and reports in grants database including reports related to donors and strategy, ensuring accuracy. Maintain accurate constituent records including updating grantor and donor information and identifying duplicate, inaccurate or incomplete constituent records.
• Donor and Grantor Relations Create thoughtful, engaging donor acknowledgement touch points to appropriately steward donors. Create thoughtful and appropriate grant acknowledgment letters and reports to fulfill grantor requirements and compliance. Maintain small portfolio of donors between $1,000 and $2,000 and ensure timely stewardship and follow up with gifts and honor requests. Maintain portfolio of grants from $500 - $15,000 range and ensure timely stewardship and follow up with grantor awards, declines, and requests. Complete grant assignments including but not limited to: Letters of Intent, Grant Applications, Mid and Final reports, Case for Support, research for funder backgrounds to be shared with the team. Support Grants & Contracts strategists with their project management tasks for large grants $100,000+ including government grants. Attend workshops, conferences, and other external meetings to network and strengthen grant-writing and stewardship skills. Support in-kind donations including fielding donor calls, communicating program needs, stewardship, and cultivation of in-kind donors, and organizing internal distribution of donated goods and accepting goods. Support the Development Manager in implementing the stewardship plan to cultivate and retain donors and grantors.
• General Development Support Coordinate direct mailings for Acknowledgment Letters and Board Post Cards including approving final materials, managing postage, and general project logistics. Work with Data Analyst team to ensure mailing lists are accurate. Provide day-off and ongoing support for Songs of Hope including trainings, volunteering, set up and break down of event. Maintain supplies for the Development team including placing orders as needed with the printer. Maintain relationships with Programs to keep track of changing programmatic needs and funding gaps as well as general program processes and changes. Attend and actively participate in all of Caritas’ special events including Songs of Hope, ThunderCloud Subs Turkey Trot (held on Thanksgiving Day), and other events as needed. Support the Development Team by presenting to funders and helping assist with Corporate and Grantor presentations. Support the Development team on all other fundraising and communication projects as needed.

Benefits

• Employer paid health, dental, vision, life, short-term disability, and long-term disability insurance for employees.
• 14 Paid Holidays per year.
• 20 days of accrued PTO in year one with increases up to 31 days per year.
• Retirement plan with employer match.
• Discounted Rates on Gold’s Gym and Legal Shield memberships.
• Mileage Reimbursement.
• Monthly Phone Stipend.
• Monthly Paid Parking for employees who office from Downtown Location.

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level