Grants and Stewardship Manager

Thread•Baltimore, MD

About The Position

The Grants & Stewardship Manager is the operational manager responsible for Thread’s development framework. Reporting to the Director of Development, the role leads the creation, submission, management, stewardship, and continuous improvement of foundation, corporate, government, and institutional grants, ensuring exceptional funder experiences throughout the grant lifecycle. The manager coordinates institutional fundraising by working with leaders across Thread to turn organizational strategy, program outcomes, financial information, and community impact into compelling proposals, reports, and stewardship communications. The role owns the systems, processes, calendars, reporting structures, and relationship management practices that support institutional philanthropy and funder confidence in Thread’s mission and impact. Working across the Development Team and the broader organization, the manager advances a culture of excellence, accountability, continuous improvement, and relationship-centered philanthropy. The role also supports cross-functional development initiatives, organizational reporting and planning, accurate grant compliance and documentation, and improved fundraising operations through data analysis and appropriate use of emerging technologies.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree or an equivalent combination of education and relevant professional experience.
At least four years of progressively responsible experience in grant writing, institutional fundraising, philanthropy, development operations, nonprofit management, or a related field.
Demonstrated success developing competitive grant proposals for foundation, corporate, and government funders.
Exceptional writing, editing, research, and storytelling skills, including the ability to communicate organizational impact through proposals and stewardship communications.
Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple complex projects and competing deadlines.
Experience using Salesforce or comparable CRM platforms, Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, and fundraising technologies.
Ability to analyze quantitative and qualitative information and translate complex information into compelling narratives.
Excellent interpersonal, presentation, facilitation, and relationship-building skills, with the ability to collaborate across departments and with external stakeholders.
Demonstrated commitment to equity, belonging, continuous learning, operational excellence, and relationship-centered philanthropy.
Ability to communicate clearly and consistently model Thread’s core values and core competencies.

Responsibilities

Own Thread’s development framework and ensure institutional fundraising strategies align with organizational priorities and long-term sustainability.
Lead the creation, writing, and submission of grant proposals, letters of intent, funding applications, and renewal requests for foundation, corporate, government, and institutional funders.
Research prospective funding opportunities and assess their alignment with organizational priorities and fundraising strategy.
Coordinate proposal development by gathering programmatic, financial, evaluation, and organizational information from staff.
Partner with the Director of Development to prioritize grant opportunities, manage institutional fundraising strategy, and strengthen the grants pipeline.
Manage the full grant lifecycle, from prospect identification through proposal submission, award management, reporting, renewal, and stewardship.
Own the development calendar and coordinate proposal deadlines, reporting requirements, stewardship touchpoints, renewal timelines, site visits, and internal milestones.
Coordinate timely, accurate, and compelling grant reports with program, finance, communications, and data teams.
Develop implementation and reporting schedules after grant awards and monitor compliance with grant requirements and deliverables.
Participate in funder meetings, site visits, presentations, and stewardship activities, including preparation, follow-up, and documentation.
Coordinate stewardship activities and communications that strengthen relationships with institutional funders and philanthropic partners.
Prepare meeting materials, relationship histories, briefings, talking points, and follow-up communications for Development staff and executive leadership.
Maintain accurate records of funder interactions, stewardship activities, relationship history, and engagement notes in Salesforce.
Support engagement opportunities that deepen funder relationships and encourage continued investment in Thread’s mission.
Collaborate with program, finance, communications, data strategy and operations, and executive leadership to ensure proposals and reports accurately reflect organizational priorities and measurable outcomes.
Support the annual report, strategic planning updates, institutional communications, and other development initiatives.
Coordinate tracking, acknowledgment, and reporting of in-kind contributions and maintain accurate organizational records.
Contribute to Development Team initiatives supporting fundraising, donor engagement, and organizational growth.
Use Salesforce and organizational systems to monitor proposal activity, stewardship, reporting requirements, grant performance, and institutional fundraising outcomes.
Develop dashboards, reports, tracking systems, and performance metrics to improve visibility into fundraising performance and organizational capacity.
Analyze funding trends, grant outcomes, stewardship activities, and organizational performance to identify opportunities for improvement.
Maintain documentation supporting compliance, forecasting, reporting, and strategic planning, and provide insights for organizational decision-making and fundraising strategy.
Evaluate institutional fundraising processes, stewardship practices, reporting systems, and workflows for effectiveness and efficiency improvements.
Leverage emerging technologies, including AI-assisted research, proposal development, workflow automation, document management, reporting, and knowledge management tools, while maintaining human judgment, accuracy, confidentiality, and relationship-centered stewardship.
Monitor philanthropy, institutional fundraising, nonprofit, and grantmaking trends and foster collaboration, learning, innovation, and continuous improvement.
Model, teach, and coach Thread’s core competencies; connect outcomes to organizational imperatives; and share personal and professional growth with young people, volunteers, collaborators, and staff.
Complete other duties and strategic initiatives as assigned.