Grants Assistant (Volunteer)

Grant Assistant (Volunteer)

PromiseGiving | Grants, Institutional Funding & Development Support

Organization: Mentor A Promise (MAP)

Division: PromiseGiving

Location: Remote

Type: Volunteer Development Role

Commitment: Approximately 5–10 hours per week

Minimum Commitment: 6-month commitment required

Works Closely With: Grant Writers, Grant Researchers, Development Leadership, Finance, PromisePrograms, PromiseMeasure, PromiseResearch, and Executive Leadership

About Mentor A Promise

Mentor A Promise (MAP) is a New York City–based nonprofit supporting children and youth ages 5–18 experiencing housing instability through mentorship, literacy, education, social-emotional learning, creative expression, storytelling, and community-centered opportunity.

As MAP continues to grow, sustainable funding is essential to strengthening programs, developing organizational capacity, and expanding opportunities for children and families.

About PromiseGiving

PromiseGiving is MAP’s fundraising, grants, philanthropy, and development division.

The division works to build a diversified and sustainable funding strategy through foundations, institutional funders, corporate relationships, individual giving, grants, and other philanthropic opportunities.

Strong grant development requires more than good writing. It requires research, organization, accurate information, strong systems, deadlines, collaboration, and consistent follow-through.

Role Overview

Mentor A Promise is seeking a highly organized and motivated Grant Assistant to support MAP’s grant development and institutional fundraising work.

The Grant Assistant will provide essential research, administrative, writing, and coordination support throughout the grant lifecycle—from identifying potential opportunities and organizing application materials to tracking deadlines, preparing supporting documents, and maintaining grant records.

This is an excellent opportunity for someone interested in learning how nonprofit fundraising and grant development operate while making a meaningful contribution to a growing organization.

Key Responsibilities

Grant Research

• Research foundation, corporate, government, and other institutional funding opportunities.
• Review eligibility requirements, funding priorities, geographic restrictions, deadlines, and application requirements.
• Help identify opportunities aligned with MAP’s mission, programs, and organizational priorities.
• Prepare concise summaries of prospective funders and opportunities.
• Maintain organized records of funding prospects.

Grant Application Support

• Assist grant writers with preparing applications, proposals, letters of inquiry, and supporting materials.
• Gather organizational information required for applications.
• Help organize program descriptions, budgets, impact information, leadership information, and attachments.
• Proofread applications for completeness, clarity, consistency, and formatting.
• Review application requirements and help ensure all required components are included before submission.
• Support online grant application preparation and submission processes as assigned.

Grant Tracking & Administration

• Maintain MAP’s grant calendar and deadline-tracking systems.
• Track prospects through stages such as research, qualification, application, submission, award, reporting, and renewal.
• Maintain accurate records of submitted and pending applications.
• Organize grant agreements, correspondence, applications, reports, and supporting documentation.
• Track follow-up items and remind appropriate team members of upcoming deadlines.
• Help maintain an accessible institutional library of commonly requested grant materials.

Data & Impact Support

• Collaborate with PromiseMeasure and program teams to gather accurate program and impact information.
• Help organize statistics, outcomes, participant information, and other approved data for proposals.
• Maintain consistency in organizational facts and figures used across applications.
• Flag conflicting, outdated, or unsupported information rather than making assumptions.
• Help ensure grant narratives are supported by accurate organizational information.

Grant Reporting Support

• Assist with tracking grant reporting requirements and deadlines.
• Gather information needed for interim and final reports.
• Organize program accomplishments, outcomes, financial information, and supporting materials.
• Help maintain records of funder requirements and commitments.
• Support preparation of renewal applications and follow-up materials.

Cross-Division Coordination

Work with relevant MAP teams to gather information needed for funding opportunities, including:

• PromisePrograms — program activities and needs
• PromiseMeasure — outcomes and impact data
• PromiseResearch — research and supporting evidence
• Finance & Accounting — approved budgets and financial information
• PromiseBridge — partnerships and external relationships
• Executive Leadership — organizational strategy and priorities

The Grant Assistant should never independently create financial, programmatic, or impact information when verified information is unavailable.

Qualifications

Strong candidates may have experience or interest in:

• Grant writing
• Grant research
• Nonprofit development
• Fundraising
• Research
• Communications
• Administrative support
• Project coordination
• Philanthropy
• Public or nonprofit administration

Strong candidates will demonstrate:

• Excellent organization and attention to detail
• Strong research and writing skills
• Ability to follow detailed application instructions
• Strong proofreading ability
• Reliability and consistent follow-through
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines
• Comfort working with spreadsheets, documents, and online systems
• Ability to maintain accurate records
• Professional written communication
• Willingness to learn nonprofit fundraising and grant processes
• Commitment to MAP’s mission

Experience with Google Workspace, Microsoft Office, grant databases, CRM platforms, or grant-management systems is valued but not required.

What Success Looks Like

Success means:

• Grant opportunities are researched thoughtfully rather than pursued indiscriminately.
• Deadlines are visible and rarely become surprises.
• Grant writers receive organized and accurate supporting information.
• Application requirements are carefully reviewed.
• Organizational documents are easy to locate.
• Submitted proposals and reports are properly tracked.
• Funding information remains accurate and consistent.
• Grant records become stronger and more organized over time.
• The development team can spend more time building compelling proposals because the systems supporting that work are dependable.

Why This Role Matters

A successful grant application may begin with a writer, but it depends on an entire system behind the writing.

Someone found the opportunity.

Someone checked the eligibility.

Someone tracked the deadline.

Someone gathered the data.

Someone located the documents.

Someone checked that every requirement was answered.

Someone made sure nothing important was missed.

The Grant Assistant helps hold those pieces together.

Research carefully. Organize thoughtfully. Track relentlessly. Help turn funding opportunities into resources that strengthen the mission.

Commitment

• Approximately 5–10 hours per week
• Minimum 6-month commitment required
• Fully remote
• Consistent participation in development-team responsibilities
• Ability to work across multiple grant deadlines
• Timely, professional communication and follow-through

What You’ll Gain

• Hands-on experience across the nonprofit grant lifecycle
• Experience researching foundations and institutional funders
• Exposure to grant writing, reporting, prospect research, and development operations
• Collaboration with grant writers, researchers, program leaders, finance professionals, and executive leadership
• Opportunities to strengthen professional research, writing, project-management, and fundraising skills
• Professional references and letters of recommendation
• Meaningful experience helping secure resources that support children and families experiencing housing instability

How to Apply

Interested candidates should apply directly through Idealist and submit:

• Resume
• Brief statement of interest

Please highlight relevant experience or interest in grants, fundraising, research, writing, nonprofit development, administration, philanthropy, or project coordination.

Prior professional grant experience is not required. We welcome candidates who are eager to learn, exceptionally organized, careful with details, and committed to developing their skills.

Every strong proposal has strong preparation behind it. Help us build the systems, research, and organization that make successful grant development possible.

Thank you for your interest in volunteering with Mentor A Promise. At this time, volunteer opportunities are limited to individuals based in the United States due to legal, safeguarding, data-privacy, and programmatic requirements. We appreciate your interest in our mission and your understanding of these requirements.