Grant Manager and Development Writer

Wake Forest University; United States; On-site; USD 60,000 - 75,000; Full time

Job summary

Wake Forest University’s Reynolda Campus seeks a seasoned Grant Writer to develop and manage proposals for Reynolda House Museum of American Art and Reynolda Gardens. You will gather content, craft compelling narratives, and build budgets to support fundraising goals.

The role collaborates with senior leadership to deliver stewardship reports, track expenditures, and research new funding sources while ensuring deadlines and agency guidelines are met.

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree required; 3–5 years related experience preferred.
• Outstanding written communication skills.
• Ability to research, plan, organize and manage projects.
• Proven grant writing success in humanities/non-profit funding.
• Experience with Federal grants preferred.
• Ability to meet deadlines and manage a grant calendar.
• Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills.
• Clear, persuasive writing ability.
• Attention to detail and accuracy.
• Budgeting experience.
• Familiarity with Google Apps and Microsoft Office.
• Experience with Blackbaud ALTRU, CRM, Workday, and grant research tools.

Responsibilities

• Draft and edit proposals and grant applications for Reynolda House and Reynolda Gardens, including content gathering, research, and budgeting.
• Coordinate pre-award and post-award activities for grants and assist in preparation/submission of proposals.
• Prepare stewardship reports and sponsor reports; manage reporting deliverables and grant expenditures.
• Collaborate across departments to compile data on demographics, attendance, surveys, and marketing metrics.
• Develop budgets and final financial reports for grant applications with staff and budget managers.
• Research prospective funding sources and make recommendations for new grants.
• Draft related correspondence for donor cultivation and executive leadership.
• Assist in administrative needs for fundraising efforts and departmental operations.

Skills

Written communication

Project management

Grant writing

Federal grants

Deadline management

Interpersonal skills

Clear writing

Attention to detail

Budgeting

Office suite

Grant software

Confidentiality

Project coordination

Communication

Analytical thinking

Flexible schedule

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Grant software

Job description

Job Description Summary

Researches, develops, submits, and monitors corporate, foundation, and government grant requests and strategies to meet institutional fundraising goals for Reynolda House and Reynolda Gardens. Collects and analyzes key data points to support grant requests, provides project management support for institutional initiatives, assists in the coordination of major giving proposals, and provides strong development writing for letters and publication articles.

Job Description About Reynolda

Reynolda is set on 170 acres in Winston-Salem, N.C. and comprises Reynolda House Museum of American Art, Reynolda Gardens and Reynolda Village Shops and Restaurants. The Museum presents a renowned art collection in a historic and incomparable setting: the original 1917 interiors of Katharine and R. J. Reynolds’s 34,000-square-foot home. Its collection is a chronology of American art and featured exhibitions are offered in the Museum’s Babcock Wing Gallery and historic house bedrooms. The Gardens serve as a 134-acre outdoor horticultural oasis open to the public year-round, complete with colorful formal gardens, nature trails and a greenhouse. In the Village, the estate’s historic buildings are now home to a vibrant mix of boutiques, restaurants, shops and services. Affiliated with and adjacent to the Reynolda Campus of Wake Forest University, plan your visit at reynolda.org and use the free mobile app, Reynolda Revealed, to self-tour the estate.

Essential Functions

• Drafts and edits proposals and grant applications for Reynolda House and Reynolda Gardens including gathering, researching, and developing content and supporting materials, editing proposals, and developing budgets.
• Coordinates pre-award and/or post-award activities for grants. Pre-award activities include assisting Museum staff in the development, preparation, and submission of grant proposals.
• Post-award activities include the establishment of accounts in the financial accounting system, re-budgeting of funds, timely stewardship reports, and making or reporting changes to the award or expenditures.
• Collaborates cross-departmentally to compile and maintain relevant data including staff and visitor demographics, attendance data, survey responses, and marketing metrics.
• Completes and provides relevant data for state and national statistical surveys for museum and garden non-profit organizations.
• Supports Director of Advancement and External Affairs, Director of Reynolda Gardens, Executive Director of Reynolda House, and Deputy Director in managing strategic initiatives for Reynolda House and Reynolda Gardens including defining project scopes, establishing fundraising goals, prospect management, content creation, and project deadlines.
• Prepares stewardship, mid-term, and final grant reports for Reynolda House and Reynolda Gardens, including stewardship of exhibition and program/event sponsors and benefit deliverables to sponsors.
• Ensures that all applications meet agency and Museum/Gardens guidelines and published timetables and deadlines.
• Develops budgets for grant applications and assembles final financial reports of expended funds with staff project managers, Reynolda House financial manager, and Wake Forest grants budget manager.
• Conducts prospect research and makes recommendations for new funding sources.
• Drafts related correspondence for stewardship and donor cultivation for Executive Director and Director of Advancement and External Affairs.
• Assists the Director of Advancement and External Affairs with administrative needs for fundraising efforts as well as Departmental operations.
• Performs other related duties as assigned.

Minimum Qualifications

Bachelor’s degree required plus three to five years of related experience preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, Abilities

• Outstanding written communication skills
• Ability to research, plan, organize, and manage projects
• Proven success in grant writing in the humanities/non-profit industry and knowledge of state, federal, private, and public funding agencies
• Experience with Federal grants preferred
• Ability to manage deadlines for self and others and maintain an up-to-date grant and sponsorship calendar for submission of proposals and stewardship reports.
• Strong interpersonal and motivational skills and ability to work well within a team environment.
• Demonstrated ability to write clearly and persuasively.
• Attention to detail and accuracy are essential.
• Accounting and budgeting experience preferred.
• Demonstrated ability to navigate Google Apps and Microsoft Office software, especially Excel, is essential.
• Experience and fluency with, or ability to learn, Blackbaud ALTRU and CRM, Workday, Grant Research software including Foundation Directory Online, Grants.gov, and ease with learning new software applications.
• Ability to handle confidential materials and donor information with discretion.
• Ability to organize workflow and coordinate multiple concurrent activities in a high-volume environment, including the ability to set and meet realistic project timelines.
• Ability to communicate clearly and effectively with internal and external colleagues.
• Creative decision-making skills; research, analytical, and critical thinking skills.
• Ability to work evenings and weekends, as necessary.

Supervisory Responsibility

Responsible for own work only.

Additional Job Description

This position is not eligible for sponsorship of non-immigrant or immigrant visa status through Wake Forest University. All eligible applicants are encouraged to apply.

Time Type Requirement

Full time

Note to Applicant

This position profile identifies the key responsibilities and expectations for performance. It cannot encompass all specific job tasks that an employee may be required to perform. Employees are required to follow any other job-related instructions and perform job-related duties as may be reasonably assigned by his/her supervisor. In order to provide a safe and productive learning and living community, Wake Forest University conducts background investigations and drug screens for all final staff candidates being considered for employment.

Equal Opportunity Statement

The University is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes all qualified candidates to apply without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, age, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information, disability and military or veteran status.

Accommodations for Applicants

If you are an individual with a disability and need an accommodation to participate in the application or interview process, please contact [e-mail] or [phone].

About WFU

Wake Forest University, formed in 1834, has experienced decades of growth and innovation. WFU is a distinctive university that combines a liberal arts core with graduate and professional schools and innovative research programs. The University embraces the teacher-scholar ideal, which prizes the personal interaction between students and faculty. It is a place where exceptional teaching, fundamental research and discovery, and the engagement of faculty and students in the classroom and the laboratory are paramount. Wake Forest University is a community that seeks the enlightenment and freedom which come through diligent study and learning. Its higher goal, however, is to give life to the University motto "Pro Humanitate," as members translate a passion for knowledge into compassionate service. The community shares a tradition that embraces freedom and integrity and acknowledges the worth of the individual. The heritage, established by the school's founders and nurtured by succeeding generations, promotes a democratic spirit arising from open-mindedness and discourse. Wake Forest fosters compassion and caring for others. Its collective strength and character are derived from the values and distinctive experiences of each individual; therefore, it affirms the richness of human intellect and culture and its contribution to knowledge, faith, reason, and dialogue. Furthermore, it strives toward a society in which good will, respect, and equality prevail. To that end, Wake Forest University rejects hatred and bigotry in any form and promotes justice, honor, and mutual trust. The University is comprised of: the undergraduate college, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Divinity, School of Law, and School of Medicine (located on the Bowman Gray campus with Wake Forest University Baptist Medical Center) and today enrolls about 4,846 undergraduates and 2,823 students in graduate programs at its principal location, the Reynolda campus. Students at Wake Forest University enjoy a great deal of access to and interaction with world-class faculty both in and out of the classroom setting with a student-faculty ratio of 11:1. Wake Forest employs approximately 2,772 full and part-time faculty and staff. Wake Forest is a collegiate university offering a vibrant, intellectual community with a rich cultural life, an impressive array of facilities, and a strong athletics program competing in the fifteen-team Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC). Since its founding, the university has adopted the motto “pro humanitate,” which is exemplified by a deep institutional commitment to public service and engagement with the world. Wake Forest has a strong commitment to holistic, eight-dimensional well-being for students, faculty and staff as evidenced in the Thrive initiative. Winston-Salem, North Carolina Wake Forest is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, a beautiful, mid-sized city centrally located in the Piedmont-Triad region of North Carolina. Winston-Salem is a family-friendly city with high quality schools, numerous outdoor recreational activities and events, and is known for its vibrant and thriving arts scene. Winston-Salem residents enjoy close proximity to the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains (1.5 hours) and Atlantic beaches (4 hours), a moderate climate with four distinct seasons, a very reasonable cost of living, and an eclectic variety of restaurants, wine bars, and breweries for dining with friends and family. Winston-Salem offers many of the amenities of a large city but with the sense of community and quality of life of a smaller town.