Job Description

Grants Manager

Reach Out and Read of Greater New York (ROR GNY) shares the power of reading with over 250,000 children every year by incorporating books into pediatric care and empowering and advising caregivers to read aloud to their children at home. We train doctors and nurse practitioners to provide children with developmentally and linguistically appropriate books to take home during every well-child visit. For most of the families we serve, the books we provide are the first books in the children’s home libraries.

The first five years of life are a crucial time for cognitive growth, with approximately 90% of brain development occurring during that period. Children who start kindergarten cognitively behind rarely catch up, and disparities in early childhood tend to persist throughout school and life. Fighting these trends means responding with bold action, and studies show that caregiver-led guided reading is the single most efficacious way to help young children develop critical thinking skills.

Reach Out and Read is the only literacy organization in the country that engages pediatricians as stewards of childhood literacy and development. We leverage the existing infrastructure to deliver a full dose of literacy support when children need it most.

The Grants Manager of Reach Out and Read of Greater New York plays a critical role in fundraising to support our critical programs. They will ensure the professional functioning of all institutional fundraising operations including our grant calendar, reports, corporate sponsorships, and database reporting and fidelity. The Grants Manager oversees a growing $1m revenue category, is a key member of the team, and reports to the Executive Director.

Specific Responsibilities:

Grants Management

• Develop and maintain a prospect pipeline of corporate, foundation and other institutional grant funders by gathering strategic intelligence to inform cultivation and proposal strategies.
• Prepare background materials and briefing documents to support leadership, meetings, and funding conversations. Draft, edit, and submit compelling letters of inquiry, proposals, and grant reports that clearly communicate ROR GNY’s impact and align with funder priorities.
• Manage stewardship for institutional donors, including regular updates, relationship cultivation, impact communications, and compliance with reporting requirements.
• Track and evaluate program outcomes, synthesizing results for funders, and contributing insights that strengthen proposals and organizational learning.
• Produce written materials for leadership, board members, and other stakeholders related to grants, impact, and institutional partnerships.

Fund Development

• Continuously refine the ROR GNY fundraising program according to best practices in the field
• Oversee Salesforce fundraising data and pull reports upon request for funders, board, and Executive Director. Manage Salesforce campaigns to track revenue streams and ensure accurate entry into Quickbooks and other interfaces.
• Collaborate with staff to write portions of impact reports and donor facing materials that support institutional fundraising goals.
• Prepare IRS Form 990 narratives and support the maintenance of ROR GNY’s profiles on charity rating platforms (GuideStar/Candid, Charity Navigator, BBB, etc.).
• Contribute to organizational fundraising strategies and strategic planning initiatives in partnership with the Executive Director and cross-departmental teams.
• Participate in thought leadership efforts by identifying learnings, trends, and insights that elevate ROR GNY’s positioning with funders and partners
• Work directly with Board Members on fundraising initiatives, presenting at Development and Board meetings.
• Represent the organization externally, including finding opportunities to raise organizational profile.

Database Management/Other

• Manage a $1m annual grants calendar and all reporting. Prepare and update all grant proposals and attachments and ensure that all proposals, reports and supplemental materials are submitted early. Conduct monthly prospect research and manage a corporate and foundation pipeline.
• Proactively and warmly steward institutional relationships increasing their annual commitments and engaging new funders to ROR GNY.
• Support the Board and Advisory Board in fundraising and recruitment
• Monitor progress to goals on a monthly basis and prepare compelling and accurate reports for the Executive Director and Board.
• Execute other related duties and projects as assigned.

Who You Are:

• Excellent oral and written communicator with an engaging and professional demeanor.
• Highly organized and excellent attention to detail, highly skilled at managing multiple, simultaneous priorities
• An industrious self-starter with a continuous learning approach to fundraising

Qualifications:

• Bachelor’s degree required
• Five + years of experience with fundraising, corporate relations, foundation relations, grant writing/research, or equivalent/similar combination.
• Proven track record of success in grant prospecting, writing, management, stewardship, and reporting.
• Demonstrated excellence in written and oral communication.
• Ability to work independently and handle multiple projects simultaneously.
• Exceptional interpersonal and relationship building skills
• Adept at queries, report writing and presenting findings.
• Strong analytical and organizational skills.
• A problem-solving, can-do attitude with top notch planning and prioritizing skills, with a keen eye for detail.
• Ability to balance multiple deadlines simultaneously and meet performance and team fundraising goals.

What You Can Expect:

Reach out and Read has a high-performing, fast-paced, supportive and entrepreneurial culture defined by our commitment to supporting early literacy across Greater New York. We believe in providing our team members with the support, resources, and energy they need to be successful in our organization and in the non-profit field in general. If you take on this position, you can expect to be offered a compensation package, including salary and benefits that would be commensurate with your experience. Some of the benefits we offer to our team include, but are not limited to:

• Medical insurance covered at 80% for employee and family, plus vision and dental insurance
• 15 vacation days and 10 paid holidays, plus sick and personal days, and year-end office closure, and half day summer Fridays.
• Retirement Plan: ROR GNY matches contributions up to 5% after one year
• Professional development trainings funded by the organization
• A supportive, caring, hard-working team dedicated to early literacy
• An opportunity to meaningfully impact the lives of 250,000 children
• Location: Remote , with regular travel, at least 25% of time usually within Greater New York.

Salary: Commensurate with experience between $60,000 – $70,000.

How to Apply:

Applications containing a cover letter, resume, and fundraising sample (redacted for confidentiality) will be evaluated on a rolling basis. In addition to connecting your skills and experience to the role, we encourage you to use the cover letter to express your personality and passion for early literacy (we love book recommendations). Please put “Grants Manager” in the subject line. They should be directed to Emily Marchese, Executive Director, emarchese@reachoutandreadnyc.org No phone calls please. We do not use AI to review materials; each one will be read by the Executive Director.

Reach Out and Read of Greater New York is an equal opportunity employer.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: $60,000.00 - $70,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Dental insurance
• Flexible spending account
• Health insurance
• Paid time off
• Retirement plan
• Vision insurance

Education:

• Bachelor's (Required)

Experience:

• Fundraising: 3 years (Required)

Ability to Commute:

• New York, NY (Required)

Work Location: Hybrid remote in New York, NY

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