Grant Writer

Organization: SF Civic Tech

Location: San Francisco, CA (Hybrid)

Commitment: Approximately 5–10 hours/week (flexible)

About SF Civic Tech

SF Civic Tech is an all-volunteer nonprofit bringing together software developers, designers, data scientists and people of all stripes interested in building civic technologies for the public good.

Our projects are:

• Open source
• Volunteer-driven
• Not-for-profit
• In service of the public good

With the goal of expanding our capabilities, we are building a dedicated grant writing team to help secure funding from government agencies, corporate sponsors and philanthropic organizations.

The Opportunity

We're looking for motivated volunteer grant writers who want to help build an early-stage civic technology organization.

We need people who are experienced in grant writing for nonprofits or would like to learn this skillset in a real-world context. You'll collaborate with our Board of Directors and its Fundraising Committee in particular to apply for and secure grant funding from various sources.

This is an opportunity to help shape the long-term sustainability of an ambitious nonprofit while gaining experience with institutional fundraising and nonprofit development.

Responsibilities

• Research grant opportunities from foundations, corporations, and government agencies.
• Help determine strategic fit between funding opportunities and SF Civic Tech initiatives.
• Draft grant proposals, letters of inquiry, and supporting narratives.
• Work with technical project teams to gather program information and measurable outcomes.
• Maintain grant calendars and submission timelines.
• Assist with proposal reviews and editing.
• Support reporting requirements for awarded grants when applicable.
• Help build reusable proposal templates and organizational materials.

Ideal Qualifications

We welcome applicants from a variety of backgrounds, including:

• Grant writing
• Nonprofit development
• Technical writing
• Communications
• Philanthropy

Experience writing successful grants is highly desired but not required.

We value candidates who are:

• Excellent writers and editors
• Highly organized
• Self-directed and proactive
• Fast learners
• Able to create effective work products with little direction
• Interested in civic technology and the public-interest
• Reliable
• Collaborative

Areas of Interest

Our work spans topics including:

• Creating civic engagement through local events
• Supporting the local school district and educational programs
• Improving earthquake preparedness
• Reducing flooding by caretaking the city’s drains
• Improving bike lane safety by reporting issues
• Analyzing trends in police spending and outcomes
• Connecting the homeless to reliable internet and relevant resources
• …and more.

We facilitate the creation and innovation of ongoing public interest projects by the tech community in San Francisco.

What You'll Gain

Although this is an unpaid volunteer position, contributors will have the opportunity to:

• Help build a growing civic technology nonprofit.
• Collaborate with experienced engineers, designers and community builders.
• Develop institutional grant writing experience.
• Build a portfolio of real-world nonprofit fundraising work.
• Contribute directly to projects with measurable public impact.
• Receive acknowledgment for significant contributions where appropriate.

Commitment

We recognize that volunteers have other responsibilities. We're looking for people who can contribute consistently and communicate proactively. Most volunteers contribute approximately 5–10 hours per week, with increased activity around major grant deadlines.

Apply Now

If you’re a collaborative, strategic thinker with a passion for grant writing and non-profit impact in your local community, we’d love to hear from you.