Director of Grants and Strategic Funding
About The Position
YWCA USA is on a mission to eliminate racism, empower women, and promote peace, justice, freedom, and dignity for all. We are one of the oldest and largest women's organizations in the nation, serving over 2 million women, girls, and their families. YWCA has been at the forefront of the most pressing social movements — from voting rights to civil rights, from affordable housing to pay equity, from violence prevention to health care reform. Today, we combine programming and advocacy to drive institutional change in three key areas: racial justice and civil rights, empowerment and economic advancement, and health and safety. For 143 years, YWCA of Rochester and Monroe County has been a powerful resource in our community. With strong leadership and thorough strategic planning, the agency continues to grow and adapt to meet the changing needs of individuals and families. The Director of Grants and Strategic Funding leads the organization’s institutional fundraising strategy, grants management systems, and funding infrastructure. This role oversees the full grant lifecycle – from prospect research and proposal development through award management, compliance, reporting, and renewal – while ensuring operational excellence, data integrity, and sustainable revenue growth. As the central project manager for the institutional fundraising portfolio, this role coordinates funding opportunities, stakeholders, timelines, and deliverables across the organization. The Director works collaboratively across executive leadership, program leadership and finance to align funding opportunities with strategic priorities, program needs, and organizational capacity while cultivating and strengthening relationships with government agencies, foundations, corporations, and other institutional funders.
Requirements
- Bachelor’s degree in public administration, Nonprofit Management, Communications, Business Administration, English, or a related field required.
- Minimum of five years of progressively responsible experience in grant development, institutional fundraising, or nonprofit resource development.
- Demonstrated success securing, managing, and stewarding government, foundation, and corporate grants.
Nice To Haves
- Master’s degree preferred.
Responsibilities
- Develop and execute a comprehensive institutional funding strategy aligned with organizational priorities and growth objectives.
- Lead and maintain ownership of the grants management ecosystem, including processes, workflows, databases, reporting tools, funding pipelines, and compliance systems.
- Serve as the project manager for the institutional funding portfolio, coordinating timelines, deliverables, stakeholders, and resources to ensure successful grant submissions, compliance, reporting, and renewals.
- Identify, cultivate, and pursue institutional funding opportunities while building and maintaining strategic relationships with funders.
- Monitor emerging funding trends and opportunities with a focus on diversifying and strengthening organizational revenue streams.
- Lead the development and review of compelling grant proposals, narratives, and supporting materials that effectively communicate organizational impact and funding needs.
- Oversee grant administration activities, including award management, reporting schedules, compliance monitoring, audits, site visits and documentation.
- Partner with executive and program leadership to identify funding priorities, evaluate strategic opportunities and support organizational growth initiatives.
- Develop and maintain dashboards, grant calendars, funding forecasts, and performance metrics that provide visibility into funding activities.
- Create and implement standardized processes that strengthen efficiency, accountability, and organizational readiness.
- Provide leadership and technical guidance regarding grant compliance, reporting requirements, and funding expectations.
- Prepare executive-level reports and recommendations regarding funding performance, pipeline health, and strategic opportunities.
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What This Job Offers
Job Type
Full-time
Career Level
Director
