Associate Director, Scholarships & Grants Management

Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta; Atlanta (GA); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 130,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Hybrid schedule

Two wellness rooms

Parking downtown Atlanta or MARTA card

Cell phone stipend

Employee Donor Advised Fund (DAF)

Job summary

The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta is seeking an Associate Director, Scholarships & Grants Management to lead the scholarship portfolio, oversee discretionary grantmaking, and supervise the Scholarships and Grants Associate. Reporting to the Vice President, Community Impact, you will ensure donor intent is honored through data-driven oversight and strong program management.

This role blends relationship development with systems oversight, including collaboration with Finance, IT, and

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree and 8+ years of professional experience relevant to the responsibilities; or equivalent experience.
• A community-perspective with equity and inclusion commitments.
• Experience managing donor relationships at senior levels.
• Experience setting due-diligence standards and managing systems and platforms.
• Proven leadership to supervise staff and drive cross‑department collaboration.
• Strong communication and relationship-building abilities.

Responsibilities

• Lead donor relationships and develop scholarship funds and programs.
• Direct end-to-end scholarship and discretionary grantmaking operations.
• Oversee portfolio budgets, dashboards, and reporting; ensure equity and donor intent.
• Manage cross-functional partnerships with Finance, Shared Services, IT, and Philanthropy.
• Supervise the Scholarships and Grants Associate and support staff development.

Skills

Donor relations

Leadership

Portfolio management

Data analysis

Communication

Strategic planning

Education

Bachelor’s degree; 8+ years experience

Tools

Asana

Foundant SLM

GLM

Microsoft Office

Excel

PowerPoint

Word

Outlook

Blackbaud philanthropy

Job description

• Four mental health days

Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta

Associate Director, Scholarships & Grants Management

POSITION: Full-time Exempt

DEPARTMENT: Community Impact

REPORTS TO: Vice President, Community Impact

About The Organization

The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta is one of the nation's largest community foundations, with over $1.7 billion in assets and more than seven decades of philanthropic leadership. Through grants, donor services, and civic partnerships, CFGA advances equity and opportunity across 23 counties in the Greater Atlanta region.

The Role

WHERE PHILANTHROPY MEETS COMMUNITY IMPACT

Reporting to the Vice President, Community Impact, the Associate Director, Scholarships & Grants Management provides strategic leadership for the Foundation’s scholarship portfolio and discretionary grantmaking operations. The Associate Director leads scholarship donor stewardship and development, directs end-to-end scholarship and discretionary grant administration, and supervises a Scholarships and Grant Associate. Working with program leadership and cross-functional partners, the role oversees discretionary portfolio budgets, establishes due-diligence standards, and guides systems implementation and process improvement. The position combines relationship management, data-informed portfolio oversight, and people development to ensure equitable, effective administration aligned with donor intent.

Key Responsibilities

What You’ll Do

Scholarship Donor Relationships and Development

• Lead approximately 30 scholarship funds and aligned donor relationships, providing strategy, stewardship, and guidance on fund design, use, and impact.
• Lead a supporting organization scholarship partnership, overseeing strategy and coordination.
• Partner with the Philanthropy department to coordinate donor referrals and scholarship-fund relationship handoffs.
• Lead cultivation, scoping, and onboarding of new scholarship donors and programs, including active prospects, referred by the Philanthropy department; develop standard program packages for donor conversations.
• Coordinate with the Marketing and Communications department on all external facing communication and collateral on scholarships including for donor cultivation and stewardship, and storytelling on the programmatic impact of the scholarships portfolio
• Represent the scholarship portfolio to donors, families, community and university partners, and external stakeholders, including donor and recognition events.

Scholarship and Grantmaking Portfolio Leadership

• Direct end-to-end scholarship and discretionary grantmaking operations, ensuring quality, timeliness, equity, and alignment with donor intent.
• Partner with the Director, Community Impact to oversee approximately $12M in scholarships and $10M in discretionary grants, monitoring commitments, payouts, and budget variances.
• Set and monitor scholarship portfolio indicators, dashboards, and reporting; use analysis to identify improvements, additional services, and opportunities to strengthen scholar retention and postsecondary persistence.
• Develop annual workplans, cycle calendars, and resource plans for scholarships and discretionary grants, aligning staffing with portfolio volume and complexity.
• Partner with the Director, Community Impact to establish and maintain scholarship and discretionary grant due-diligence standards aligned with industry best practices.
• Partner with the Director, Community Impact to use data to guide scholarship and discretionary grantmaking strategy, reporting, and decisions.

Systems Ownership and Cross-Functional Leadership

• Serve as the department liaison to Finance and Shared Services for scholarship and discretionary grant transaction handoffs, disbursements, reconciliation, and payment resolution.
• Partner with Shared Services to establish scholarship and discretionary grant compliance standards covering eligibility, applicant and grantee risk, award terms, expenditure responsibility, and reporting; ensure adherence to IRS and Foundation requirements.
• Partner with General Counsel on scholarship and discretionary grant agreements and contracts; provide expertise on scholarship regulations and best practices.
• Partner with IT to oversee implementation, configuration, and change management for Asana and Foundant’s Scholarship Lifecycle Management (SLM) and Grants Lifecycle Management (GLM) platforms.
• Establish departmental relationship-management workflows for fiscally sponsored organizations; manage select fiscally sponsored relationships.
• Improve scholarship and discretionary grant policies, processes, and workflows; maintain documentation and lead cross-role training.
• Support Foundation-wide initiatives and represent Community Impact operations on cross-departmental projects.

People Leadership and Development

• Supervise and develop a high-performing Scholarships and Grants Associate, including recruiting, hiring, orienting, coaching, performance management and professional development.
• Set shared standards, priorities, and accountability for the Scholarships and Grants Associate.
• Model equitable, accountable, and community-centered leadership aligned with the Foundation’s core values.

Qualifications

WHAT YOU BRING

• Bachelor’s degree and 8+ years of professional experience relevant to the responsibilities outlined, including people leadership; or equivalent experience.
• A community perspective informed by both lived experience and professional engagement; an asset-based view on community.
• A clear commitment to equity of opportunity and a genuine respect for diversity, equity and inclusion.
• Demonstrated experience managing donor, funder, or client relationships at a senior level.
• Demonstrated experience setting due-diligence, compliance, or grantmaking standards, and managing aligned systems and platforms.
• Demonstrated leadership skills and the ability to manage and motivate direct reports to strong performance and engagement.
• Demonstrated experience managing cross-department workflows and relationships.
• Strong strategic, budgeting, portfolio management, and data-analysis skills; flexible, resourceful self-starter able to manage multiple competing priorities.
• Exceptional verbal and written communication skills.
• Experience with grants or scholarship systems; Foundant and Blackbaud philanthropy products preferred.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite including Outlook, Excel, PowerPoint and Word.
• Demonstrated success in building and maintaining constructive partnerships across departments and navigating professional relationships with care and emotional intelligence.
• Commitment to the CFGA mission of equity and shared prosperity for all.

HYBRID SCHEDULE

• The Community Foundation operates in a hybrid working environment with staff working in-office three days per week and the opportunity to work two days remote per week if in good standing.

Physical Requirements

• Prolonged periods sitting at a desk and working on a computer
• Must be able to lift up to 15 pounds at times

Compensation & Benefits

• To be determined based upon experience and qualifications within the anticipated salary range of $110,000-$130,000. This position is exempt, and employee is eligible for the Foundation’s competitive health and benefits plan which includes:

Paid time off

• Two weeks accrued paid vacation
• Two weeks accrued paid sick leave
• Four mental health days
• Two personal days
• Two floating holidays
• Ten holidays

Benefits

• All benefits effective on date of hire – no waiting period
• 100% employer-paid benefits (medical, dental, vision) for employee-only insurance plans
• 100% employer-pay life insurance and AD&D
• 100% employer-paid short-term disability and long-term disability
• 100% employer-paid parking downtown Atlanta or monthly MARTA card
• Affordable plans for legal insurance, critical illness, supplemental life, and more
• Immediate eligibility to contribute to a 403(b) plan, plus a 6% employer-paid contribution after one year of employment—regardless of employee contributions.
• Cell phone stipend
• Employee Donor Advised Fund (DAF) after one year of employment
• Employee Assistance Program and more!

Retirement

• Immediate eligibility to contribute to a 403(b) plan, plus a 6% employer-paid contribution after one year of employment—regardless of employee contributions.

Culture, Learning & Development

• Individual Development Plans (IDPs) for each team member include training, resources, development opportunities, etc.
• Two Wellness Rooms for mental health with self-care items
• Fun monthly employee engagement activities

The Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws.

Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta values diversity and inclusion; we honor the diverse needs, strengths, voices, and backgrounds of all individuals in our regional community.

Role Posted: November 6, 2026