Fund Development Manager

Position Overview:

The Fund Development Manager will split his/her time between C.O.P.E. (28 hours per week) and its fiscally sponsored organization, Inland Empire Black Worker Center (12 hours per week) overseeing the planning, administration, and management of all grant activities within the organizations, under the direction of the Executive Director. This role involves identifying funding opportunities, planning and executing fundraising events, writing and submitting grant proposals, managing grant budgets, ensuring compliance with funding requirements, and reporting to both internal and external stakeholders. The position requires close collaboration with program directors, our finance team, and external partners to support the organization's mission through effective fundraising strategies.

Organization Overview:

Congregations Organized for Prophetic Engagement (COPE) is a 501(c)3 faith-based organization established in 2000 by a core group of pastors. Based in the Inland Empire C.O.P.E. is a Black-led and faith-rooted organization that builds the capacity of clergy and community leaders to protect and revitalize the neighborhoods in which they live, work and worship. C.O.P.E. accomplishes this mission through leadership development, proactive grassroots community organizing and civic engagement. We recruit, train, and develop grassroots leaders, youth, and adults in the principles of community organizing to identify and develop systemic solutions to the conditions they face.

The mission of the Inland Empire Black Worker Center (IEBWC) is to build Black Worker-centered movement that organizes to attain quality jobs, economic and social mobility, and policy change to ensure Black Workers, their families, and their community thrive.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

Institutional Giving & Grants

• Proactively research and identify local, regional, and national funding opportunities from foundations, corporations, and government agencies that align with the organization’s mission and programs.
• Lead the development, writing, and submission of high-quality grant proposals, letters of inquiry, and funding applications to institutional donors.
• Develop and maintain a grants calendar to ensure timely submission of proposals and reports, and to track deadlines and renewal cycles.
• Partner with program staff to design fundable projects and initiatives, aligning proposals with strategic organizational goals and community needs.
• Develop and execute foundation and corporate fundraising strategy, ensuring a diversified institutional funding portfolio.
• Collaborate across departments and programs to manage the grant proposal writing and reporting, ensuring timely and high-quality submissions.
• Ensure timely stewardship of institutional donors, including the creation of impact reports and engagement opportunities.
• Consult and collaborate with leadership on securing and managing multi-year grants and large-scale funding partnerships.
• Design and implement annual major giving campaigns, monitoring and reporting on the progress of campaigns, adjusting strategies as needed to meet goals.

Cultivating Donor & Partner Relationships

• Build relationship management strategies with key funders, cultivating new funding opportunities.
• Identify and cultivate relationships with individual donors, corporate donors, foundation representatives, and other funding partners, securing private/major gifts and ongoing support.
• Conduct research and profiling of potential donors to understand their giving capacity and areas of interest, using this information to tailor engagement strategies.
• Translate program outcomes into compelling stories and materials that communicate the organization’s impact to donors and stakeholders across multiple platforms.
• Plan, coordinate, and execute special fundraising events and donor engagement activities to increase visibility and support for the organization.
• Identify and pursue new partnerships and funding sources through networking, attending community events, and leveraging existing contacts.

Compliance & Management

• Monitor active grants for compliance with funding guidelines, deliverables, timelines, and budgets.
• Collect, analyze, and compile program data for narrative and financial reports to funders, ensuring timely and accurate reporting.
• Work closely with finance, organizing, and administrative teams to ensure accurate budgeting, expenditure tracking, and documentation for all grants.
• Work closely with the Executive Team to set realistic fundraising goals and manage the development budget, ensuring that fundraising activities are strategic and cost-effective
• Ensure all grant-related documentation, including contracts, correspondences, and reports, are well-organized and maintained in COPE’s database or CRM system.
• Other duties as assigned.

Requirements:

• Working knowledge of grassroots advocacy and/or community action organization experience is required.
• Commitment to faith-based and liberatory values and COPE’s multi-issue areas including Housing Justice, Education Justice, Criminal Justice Reform, and Health Equity
• Resonate with IEBWC’s commitment to the principles of the Nguzo Saba and the theory of Systems Change, working to promote and facilitate workforce development, economic justice, community organizing, whole-worker wellness, worker justice, policy advocacy, and entrepreneurship.
• Ability to maintain a high level of professionalism, confidentiality, and discretion is mandatory.
• Research skills along with excellent verbal/written communication skills, critical thinking skills and ability to work in a team setting as well as be self-directed are required competencies
• Excellent interpersonal skills and the ability to contribute positively to organizational culture by being solutions-oriented and a team player
• Commitment to professional growth and demonstrates commitment, integrity, dedication and positive behavior.
• Must be flexible, highly organized, creative and detail-oriented with the ability to set and meet deadlines.
• Must be able to work in-person as well as virtually
• Able to gain cooperation from others and work collaboratively towards solutions that generally benefit all involved parties.
• Be proficient in Google Suite, Microsoft Word and Excel, email, and other computer-based systems. Tech savvy candidates with experience in various digital platforms are ideal.
• Be available for local and statewide travel as needed.

Qualifications:

• Education and Experience: Bachelor’s degree in Business, Communications, Marketing, Nonprofit Management, or related field preferred. A minimum of 3-5 years of experience in fundraising, grant writing, donor relations, or a similar role, preferably in a nonprofit environment.
• Skills and Competencies:
  • Proven track record of successful fundraising, grant writing, and donor management.
  • Strong event planning and management skills.
  • Excellent communication, presentation, and interpersonal skills.
• Knowledge: Understanding of the Inland Empire’s philanthropic landscape and a passion for social justice and economic equity.