Director, Grant Development

Position Summary

The Director, Grant Development is responsible for researching, writing, coordinating, and submitting compelling grant proposals, reports, and stewardship communications that support United Way of Greater Atlanta's fundraising and community impact priorities. This position serves as a key member of the Office of Development team, partnering closely with Corporate Relations, Individual Giving, Community Impact, Finance, and Executive Leadership to secure philanthropic support from private foundations, family foundations, corporate foundations, government agencies, and other grant-making organizations.

The Director, Grant Development manages the full grant lifecycle, including prospect research, proposal development, submission management, grant tracking, reporting, and compliance. The role ensures that grant opportunities are pursued strategically, deadlines are met, funder requirements are fulfilled, and funding outcomes are accurately documented and reported.

Essential Responsibilities

Grant Strategy, Development, Management, and Reporting

• Research, identify, and evaluate grant opportunities that align with United Way of Greater Atlanta’s strategic priorities, community impact goals, and annual fundraising needs.
• Develop, write, edit, and submit compelling grant proposals, letters of inquiry, applications, sponsorship requests, reports, and stewardship communications that clearly communicate organizational impact and funding priorities.
• Manage the full grant lifecycle, including prospect research, proposal development, submission coordination, compliance tracking, reporting deadlines, funder stewardship, and accurate documentation within donor and grants management systems.
• Collaborate with Community Impact, Finance, Development, Corporate Relations, Individual Giving, and Executive Leadership to gather programmatic, financial, and impact data needed for proposals, reports, dashboards, and funder updates.
• Monitor philanthropic trends, maintain funder profiles and briefing materials, and provide strategic recommendations to support cultivation, solicitation, renewal, and institutional partnership growth.
• Track and report proposal activity, grant revenue secured, pipeline performance, funder deliverables, and outcomes to support departmental planning, forecasting, data integrity, and annual fundraising goals.

Qualifications

Education

• Bachelor's degree in Communications, English, Journalism, Nonprofit Management, Public Administration, Public Policy, Business, or a related field required.

Experience

• Minimum of 3-5 years of professional grant writing, foundation relations, fundraising, or nonprofit development experience.
• Demonstrated success securing foundation, corporate, and/or government grants.
• Experience managing multiple projects and deadlines simultaneously.
• Experience working within a CRM or grants management system preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

• Exceptional writing, editing, proofreading, and storytelling skills.
• Strong research and analytical capabilities.
• Ability to synthesize complex data into clear and persuasive narratives.
• Excellent project management, organizational, and time-management skills.
• Strong interpersonal skills and ability to collaborate across departments.
• Ability to manage confidential information with discretion.
• Detail-oriented with strong follow-through and accountability.
• Proficiency in Microsoft Office applications, including Word, Excel, Outlook, and PowerPoint.
• Ability to work independently while managing multiple priorities in a fast-paced environment.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) - Optional to includ

• Number of grant proposals submitted.
• Total grant dollars requested.
• Total grant dollars awarded.
• Proposal submission accuracy and on-time completion rate.
• Timeliness of grant reporting and compliance submissions.
• New funding prospects identified and qualified.
• Grant renewal and retention rate.
• Contribution toward annual fundraising and revenue goals.