Nonprofit Grant Research and Application Specialist

We are hiring an experienced Nonprofit Grant Research and Application Specialist to identify, evaluate, organize, draft, and manage grant opportunities for a U.S.-based nonprofit focused on financial wellness, economic mobility, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and community empowerment.

This is not a general virtual assistant role. You must understand how to research U.S. grant opportunities, determine true eligibility and funder alignment, write persuasive applications, manage deadlines, and organize supporting documents.

Your work must be accurate. You will never invent statistics, partnerships, program results, organizational history, budgets, credentials, or other information to complete an application.

Your Responsibilities

* Research grants from private foundations, corporations, banks, community foundations, and government agencies.
* Identify opportunities aligned with our mission, programs, location, target population, and organizational capacity.
* Review eligibility requirements before recommending that we apply.
* Evaluate each opportunity based on fit, competitiveness, funding amount, deadline, restrictions, and application workload.
* Maintain a complete grant prospect database and rolling 12-month grant calendar.
* Draft letters of inquiry, concept papers, grant applications, proposals, and follow-up responses.
* Write program descriptions, needs statements, goals, activities, outcomes, evaluation plans, and sustainability narratives.
* Customize every application to the funder instead of submitting generic proposals.
* Coordinate required attachments, including budgets, board information, policies, IRS documents, financial records, and program materials.
* Track application status, decisions, reporting deadlines, renewal dates, and funder communications.
* Maintain an organized library of approved organizational language and supporting documents.
* Research funder history, past grantees, geographic priorities, and typical award amounts.
* Clearly identify missing information before drafting unsupported answers.
* Submit applications only after receiving approval.
* Provide a weekly report showing opportunities researched, rejected, approved, drafted, submitted, and awaiting decisions.

Required Qualifications

* At least three years of grant research or grant-writing experience.
* Experience supporting U.S.-based nonprofit organizations.
* Strong written English with excellent grammar and attention to detail.
* Experience researching private foundation and corporate grants.
* Ability to distinguish basic eligibility from strong funder alignment.
* Experience managing several applications and deadlines at the same time.
* Ability to review lengthy guidelines and identify critical requirements.
* Strong organizational, research, fact-checking, and documentation skills.
* Experience developing grant calendars and prospect-tracking systems.
* Comfortable working independently and requesting clarification when information is missing.
* Reliable internet, computer, and professional workspace.
* Willingness to complete a paid skills assessment.

Preferred Experience

Preference will be given to applicants with experience in:

* Financial literacy or financial wellness
* Economic mobility
* Workforce development
* Career pathways
* Small-business development
* Entrepreneurship
* Community development
* Underserved communities
* Adult education
* Capacity-building grants
* Program development
* Grants.gov or SAM.gov
* Candid or Foundation Directory
* Instrumentl, GrantStation, Foundant or Submittable
* Google Drive, Google Docs, Google Sheets and project-management systems

Nonnegotiable Accuracy Standards

You must never:

* Guarantee that a grant will be awarded.
* Invent organizational facts, statistics, outcomes, partnerships, budgets or participant numbers.
* Submit an application without approval.
* Apply for opportunities that do not meet the eligibility requirements.
* Reuse generic language without adapting it to the funder.
* Present loans, contracts, sponsorships or tax credits as grants without clearly identifying the difference.
* use AI-generated content without reviewing every fact and statement.
* Hide missing information instead of requesting clarification.

Accuracy and funder alignment are more important than application volume.

Performance Expectations

You will be measured on:

* Quality of grant opportunities identified
* Accuracy of eligibility reviews
* Strength of funder alignment
* Quality of written applications
* Completion of applications before deadlines
* Organization of grant records and supporting documents
* Accuracy of submitted information
* Number of strong applications completed
* Reporting and follow-up management
* Communication, reliability, and attention to detail

You will not be evaluated solely on grants awarded because funders control final decisions. You will be evaluated on whether your work gives the organization the strongest reasonable opportunity to compete.

How to Apply

Please submit the following:

1. A brief introduction describing your nonprofit grant experience.
2. The number of years you have worked with U.S.-based nonprofits.
3. The types of grants you have researched or written.
4. The industries or nonprofit causes you have supported.
5. The grant-research databases and submission platforms you have used.
6. Two redacted grant-writing samples.
7. One example of a grant opportunity you advised an organization not to pursue and why.
8. A description of how you determine whether a nonprofit is competitive for a grant.
9. Your availability and preferred working hours.
10. Your expected hourly or monthly compensation.

Application Assessment

Qualified finalists will receive a paid skills assignment.

You will review a grant opportunity and prepare:

* An eligibility assessment
* A funder-alignment assessment
* A summary of required attachments
* Risks or missing information
* An apply, do not apply, or investigate recommendation
* A short draft project summary using only the information provided

Applications without relevant writing samples will not be considered.

Attention-to-Detail Requirement

To confirm that you read the entire job description, include the following phrase in the subject line of your application:

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