Grants Administrator (CWF)

The California Wellness Foundation; Los Angeles, Oakland (CA, CA); On-site; USD 63,000 - 75,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Health plans

401(k) retirement savings plan

Paid time off

Professional development and education

Job summary

The California Wellness Foundation seeks a Grants Administrator to manage the full lifecycle of grant requests, from submission through funds distribution. The role partners with the Grants Management team to enable data-driven decisions and process improvements across the foundation.

Based in Los Angeles or Oakland, the position involves occasional travel between offices and meetings. The candidate should value DEI, robust data systems, and strong compliance with IRS guidelines and foundation

Qualifications

• Minimum of 2 years of relevant work experience in nonprofits, philanthropy, or grants management preferred.
• Strong attention to accuracy and compliance with policies and guidelines.
• Excellent communication skills and ability to build relationships with grantees and staff.

Responsibilities

• Administer grant recommendations from submission to approval and manage related data entry and payments.
• Maintain data integrity in the grants management system (foundationCONNECT) and CRM data.
• Envision and implement process improvements across grants operations.
• Prepare grant-related correspondence, agreements, and reporting notifications.
• Collaborate with Finance to administer weekly grant check requests and processing.
• Support discretionary and matching gift distributions and monitor nonstandard transactions.
• Coordinate with Programs, Finance, Public Affairs, and Operations on strategic initiatives.

Skills

Data entry

Data management

Communication

Microsoft Office

foundationCONNECT

Salesforce

Tools

Excel

Outlook

Word

Job description

Cal Wellness is seeking a Grants Administrator to facilitate and manage the administration of grant requests, from submission of a proposal through the distribution of grant funds. This position will be an important member of the new Grants Management team, which is re-envisioned to be a key strategic partner to teams across the foundation and dedicated to helping the foundation fulfill its mission by making impactful, data-driven decisions. This position requires a strong commitment to accuracy and compliance as well as the ability to envision, recommend, and implement process improvements. The Grants Administrator works in tandem with a counterpart to support the efficient and effective grantmaking operations at the foundation.

The ideal candidate will be inspired by the foundation’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. There will be opportunities for this position to proactively build on the recent implementation of an online grants management system to help streamline processes and improve organizational performance.This position can be in either our Los Angeles and Oakland offices, with some travel required between offices and other meetings/conferences.

Key Responsibilities

• Administer all grant recommendations from submission to approval, which includes conducting data entry and coding, due diligence, scheduling reporting requirements and payments, and ongoing cross-departmental workflow management
• Manage quality control processes and data integrity in the grants management system (foundationCONNECT), ensuring accuracy of grant and other CRM-related data.
• Envision, recommend, and implement process improvements.
• Prepare all grant-related correspondence for review including grant agreements, payment transmittal letters, and reporting notifications.
• Partners with the Finance team to administer weekly grant check requests and processing;
• Support the Director of Grants Management to manage all discretionary and matching gift fund distributions.
• Oversee nonstandard grant transactions and other anomalies related to grantmaking (including amendments, etc.)
• Maintain and enhance a strategic partnership with Programs staff throughout the grantmaking process, with a special focus on pipeline management and budget allocation tracking.
• Contribute to a truly interconnected, cross-departmental working environment by proactively collaborating with the Programs, Finance, Public Affairs, Executive and Operations teams on strategic initiatives.
• Ensure compliance with current IRS charitable giving guidelines and foundation-specific policies;
• Contribute to Grants Management’s customer service initiatives for both internal and external stakeholders, especially for the foundation's grantee portal and all grantmaking policies and practices.
• Assist with identifying issues and improvements to the grant-making process.
• Assist with grants database enhancement, clean-up, and maintenance.
• Assist in training staff and grantees as needed on technology or policy issues and procedure changes that affect them.
• Assist with the preparation and production of all grantmaking-related reports and memos for the foundation.
• Communicate with grantees and internal staff to facilitate timely handling of all grant related matters.

Candidate Profile

• Minimum of 2 years of relevant work experience required; nonprofit, philanthropy, or grants management experience preferred.
• Self-motivated, strategic thinker with a strong commitment to collaboration and relationship building.
• Excellent communication skills, with the ability to create warm and impactful relationships with potential grantees, other non-profit professionals, staff, trustees and consultants.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office Suite (Excel, Outlook and Word).
• Experience with data entry and database management (foundationCONNECT/Salesforce a plus).
• Exceptional organizational skills and attention to detail.
• Demonstrated experience in successfully managing concurrent multiple projects.

Travel

• Occasional domestic travel, primarily between foundation offices in Los Angeles and Oakland, California and other meetings/conferences.

Core Competencies

• The ideal candidate will embody Cal Wellness’ core competencies:
• Live our Core Values: Respect, Integrity, Accountability, Equity, Stewardship, Excellence, Learning, and Trust.
• Drive Towards Innovation: Be bold. Experiment and learn from both successes and failures.
• Make a Difference: Yes, we can. Own our responsibilities and our ability to make positive change.
• Contribute to One Team: We’re in this together. Our success is a collective effort.
• Show Courage: Be thoughtful but act on your convictions. Be open to feedback.

The California Wellness Foundation

The California Wellness Foundation is a private, independent foundation established in 1992 with a mission to protect and improve the health and wellness of the people of California. As one of the largest health-focused foundations in California, with more than $900 million in assets, Cal Wellness is a nationally recognized leader for its strategic core operating support for grantees; public policy grantmaking; and a focus on violence as a public health issue. It is Cal Wellness’ desire to promote equity and level the playing field so that everyone has access to good-paying jobs, healthy and safe neighborhoods, and quality health care services. The Foundation’s current Advancing Wellness grantmaking strategy includes three interrelated portfolios: Bridging the Gaps in Access and Quality Care, Promoting Healthy and Safe Neighborhoods, and Expanding Education and Employment Pathways. Since its founding, Cal Wellness has awarded nearly 9,000 grants totaling more than $1 billion. Its annual operating budget is approximately $13M, and its annual grantmaking is approximately $35M.

As the Foundation looks to the future, it is pursuing new and innovative strategies beyond its core grantmaking to advance its mission, including implementation of new technology systems, development of its public affairs capacity, and establishing mission- and program-related investment portfolios.

Cal Wellness has a diverse staff of approximately 40 located in our Los Angeles and Oakland offices and a diverse 11-member Board located throughout the state of California. The Foundation’s work underscores a belief that wellness requires social justice, a deep commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), and sustained efforts to eliminate systemic barriers that prevent access to health care, education, employment and safety.

For this position, the selected candidates starting salary may range from $63,000 to $75,000,commensurate with skills and experience. Highlights from our benefit package include: a variety of health plans, a generous 401(k) retirement savings plan, paid time off, professional development and educational opportunities, matching gifts, and the opportunity to work at a mission and values driven organization.

The California Wellness Foundation is an equal opportunity employer and welcomes a diverse candidate pool.

The above job description is intended to describe the general nature and level of work performed and is not intended to limit the scope of potential work assignments. This is only a summary of the typical functions of the job and duties may differ from those as outlined above.