Job Posting

CHUM | Duluth, MN
Salary Range: $45,000 - $55,000 based on experience

Job Description: Grant Writer
Exempt: Yes
Date: January 27, 2022
Supervisor: Executive Director Prepared
by: John Cole
Salary Level: $45,000 - $55,000, based on experience
Approved by: Personnel Committee

OVERVIEW
CHUM is people of faith working together to provide basic necessities, foster stable lives, and organize for a just and compassionate community. Forty-four faith-based communities in Duluth are part of CHUM. The core mission of the organization is to provide social safety net for people experiencing homelessness, poverty, and marginalization. CHUM operates an Emergency Shelter, Family Shelter, Drop-in Center with a Health and Wellness Clinic, Winter Warming Centers, Food Shelf, Street Outreach, and supportive services for people living at the Steve O’Neil Apartments and the St. Francis Apartments. CHUM’s advocacy focuses on policy and systems changes to help improve the lives of people who turn to CHUM for services. In 2020, CHUM programs served 7,284 unique individuals.

SUMMARY
Reporting to and working in close collaboration with the Executive Director, the grant writer is responsible for requests made to local foundations, and county, state, and federal funding sources that equate to about $2 million in revenue. CHUM is a comprehensive agency providing services related to issues such as housing, food access, community organizing, and chaplaincy. The successful applicant must be able to understand, articulate, and synthesize these operations to funders. Further, CHUM is a forward-thinking and innovative organization passionately committed to providing social service in a manner which is informed by historic and contemporary forms of marginalization (such as racism, homophobia, and patriarchy). We seek a grant writer who is attuned to these struggles and committed to utilizing grant funding as a way to promote this work. CHUM is seeking a motivated individual who is able to work with minimal oversight and who is able to set goals, meet deadlines, and play an important role in the development of CHUM’s vital services.

• The successful candidate will be able to craft funding proposals and related budgets in a clear and compelling manner.
• Excellent writing, analytical, and research skills are essential, with mastery of Microsoft Office Word and Excel.
• Candidates must be self-motivated, detail-oriented, and highly-organized, and have experience using online databases and other resources essential to institutional fundraising.
• Candidates must possess an ability to work well under pressure, meet and exceed deadlines, and the ability to seek and synthesize information and communicate in a compelling and succinct form.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
Include the following, with other duties as assigned:

• Developing and writing grant proposals to foundations and other grant-making organizations, persuasively communicating the organization’s mission and programs to potential funders;
• Assembling and submitting grant letters of inquiry, proposals, budgets and reports;
• Establishing and maintaining relationships with philanthropic institutions;
• Maintaining our SalesForce grant and donation management database for project management ensuring timely submission of letters of inquiry, proposal deadlines, and reports;
• Prioritizing projects to keep multiple projects moving in a timely manner, meet deadlines and manage supplemental material required for proposals.

QUALIFICATION REQUIREMENTS
Education and/or Experience: Bachelor's Degree, plus at least 2 years experience in institutional fundraising. People of color are strongly encouraged to apply.

Language Skills: Ability to read, analyze, and interpret professional periodicals and governmental regulations. Ability to write proposals, reports and general business correspondence. Ability to effectively present information and respond to questions from funders.

Mathematical Skills: Ability to add, subtract, multiply, and divide in all units of measure, using whole numbers, common fractions, and decimals. Ability to compute rate, ratio, and percent and to draw and interpret graphs. Mastery of Excel. Ability to construct budgets and financial reports required for institutional fundraising.

Reasoning Ability: Ability to solve practical problems and deal with a variety of concrete variables in situations where only limited standardization exists. Ability to interpret a variety of instructions furnished in written, oral, diagram, or schedule form.

Other Skills and Abilities: Self motivation; must be flexible, adaptable and resourceful.

PHYSICAL DEMANDS
The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions:

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee is required to talk, hear, stand, walk and sit. The employee is occasionally required to: use hands to finger, handle, or feel objects, tools, or controls; reach with hands and arms; stoop, kneel, crouch, or crawl; and taste or smell.
• The employee must frequently lift and/or move up to 25 pounds and occasionally lift and/or move up to 40 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.

WORK ENVIRONMENT
The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions:

• While performing the duties of this job, the employee may work from home and might need to travel to various CHUM locations.
• The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate to occasionally noisy.

APPLICATION DEADLINE
Please send a cover letter and resume by e-mail to chum@chumduluth.org with “Grant Writer” in the subject line. Resumes will be reviewed as received and the position will be open until filled.