Job Description for a Grant Development Officer
Grant development officers, sometimes called development directors, development associates or grant writers, are responsible for fundraising for nonprofit organizations. These companies can include large operations such as universities and nationally recognized groups like the Girl Scouts, or they can be smaller organizations like a local food bank, a public radio or television station or an inner-city charter school. The main function of the job is to raise money for the group.
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Types of Fundraisers
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According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, professionals in the grant-development industry can raise money in a variety of ways, including soliciting money from individual donors, requesting nonmonetary donations (like cars), planning fundraising events, launching giving campaigns via mail, email and phone, and applying for grants. All employees in the development department likely will contribute to every level of fundraising, but a grant development officer will focus more on grant writing.
Researching Grants
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Depending on how large and how old the organization is, a large part of the position will involve finding new grants. The federal government remains a large monetary supporter of nonprofits. Federal branches like the National Institutes of Health, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services offer grant opportunities to qualifying institutions. Grant seekers use grants.gov as a primary resource.
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Writing Grants
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Writing grants is a two-part process: developing a grant proposal and writing a grant proposal. Websites such as federalgrantswire.com are resources for new grant writers (or experienced writers who need a refresher) to see the basics outlined. When gearing up to write grants, expect to spend anywhere from two to six weeks on each proposal, from start to finish. Aside from writing, grant development officers need to spend time requesting community support for the organization and showing a rough draft of the proposal to someone outside the company for feedback. Time also is needed to collect data for the proposal, including biographies of board members, and outlining how the money will be spent.
Grant Renewal
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Grant renewal is as important as writing and securing grants. Larger and/or older organizations often maintain large grants for longer periods of time, so it is the responsibility of the development department to ensure the organization continues to be eligible for the grants and submit the necessary paperwork.
Other Fundraising Duties
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A grant development officer's time may not be 100 percent allotted to writing, depending on the size of an organization. A large part of the job could include maintaining donor lists, writing fundraising emails to potential donors or groups and training other members of the staff on grant writing, editing and research.
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References
- Photo Credit writer on the tracks image by Trevor Goodwin from Fotolia.com
