Grants and Partnerships Manager

Overview

Who We Are

The average graduation rate from a four-year college in America is over 60%. However, it is only 20% for first-generation students and a mere 4% for foster youth. 25% of foster youth graduates will be homeless after graduation.

At Ready to Succeed, we are changing these ratios everyday, one student at a time.

Ready to Succeed (RTS) empowers foster youth college students to graduate, launch and accelerate their careers, and reach their full potential. We offer our RTS Scholars a unique combination of personalized college and career coaching, connections to industry professionals, placements in paid internships, and access to financial and mental health resources.

Our program is a proven path to career success.

📌 Here’s What This Role is All About

Grants & Partnerships Manager supports RTS’s $5M+ annual fundraising program by leading grantseeking efforts and maintaining strong development operations, including donor and grant-related data in Salesforce. Reporting to the Director of Development & Partnerships, the Manager delivers timely, high-quality proposals and reports, strengthens funder relationships, and ensures accurate, efficient Salesforce workflows that support RTS’s institutional fundraising. With guidance from the Director and Senior Director, this role manages the full grant lifecycle—prospect research, proposal development, submission, and reporting—and will also support the 10th anniversary campaign (2025–26).

🛠 What You’ll Be Up To Day-to-Day

Grants Management (Primary Focus)

• Under the supervision of the Director of Development, manage the full grant lifecycle, including prospect research, proposal development, submission, reporting and stewardship.
• Manage and steward relationships with institutional funders: ensuring timely, professional and high-quality responses to requests for information; initiating proactive communications, program updates, event invitations, scholar ‘good news’ and other stewardship communications; proposing, arranging and choreographing meetings and site-visits, and presenting RTS for new or expanded funding opportunities.
• Draft compelling, tailored proposals and reports that clearly communicate RTS’s mission, programs, and impact. Partner with Programming staff, scholars and alumni to keep an updated library of current scholar content.
• As needed, join Sr.Director of Development and the Director of Development for specific pitches and presentations.
• Prepare detailed, accurate grant reports and progress updates for a diverse array of funders and grantmakers.
• Maintain a grants calendar in Salesforce, ensuring adherence to deadlines for LOIs, proposal submissions, interim reporting, and other administrative requirements.
• Partner with the Director, Senior Director, and Finance to develop budgets and financial documents for proposals and reports.
• Oversee all data entry into Salesforce related to grants and institutional funders, including gift processing, grant agreements, funder acknowledgements, and other administrative requirements for grant compliance and performance documentation.
• Manage freelance and contract grant writers as needed, ensuring alignment with RTS’s priorities, deadlines, and quality standards.
• Collaborate with Programs and other departments to capture scholar stories, outcome data, and program assets that bring RTS’s impact to life in grant proposals and reports.
• Ensure RTS’s boilerplate language for proposals remains fresh, compelling, and up to date, reflecting current programs, outcomes, and impact.

Development Operations

• Serve as the point person for Salesforce and any other fundraising tools ensuring donor, funder, corporate partner, and grant information is consistently and accurately maintained.
• Enter, update, and track gifts, contacts, grant records, notes, tasks, and documentation to support efficient fundraising workflows.
• Build and run Salesforce reports and dashboards to support fundraising analysis, grants management, board reporting, and campaign planning.
• Support data and materials needed for the 10th anniversary campaign, ensuring Salesforce records and reports accurately reflect campaign progress.
• Coordinate with the…