Trusts & Grants Lead

Benefits:

25 days holiday, pro-rata, 5.5% Employer Pension Contribution including Life Cover, Occupational Sick Pay Benefits & Enhanced Maternity, Adoption and Paternity Leave and Pay, plus more

Trusts, Grants & Foundations Fundraising Manager

Fare Share Midlands is the region’s largest food redistribution charity, tackling inequality, transforming lives and ensuring no good food goes to waste. We rescue surplus food and redistribute it to 650 local charities and community organisations, feeding 60,000 people every week. We also invest in communities, providing education, training and volunteering opportunities, helping over 700 individuals to date to build a better future.

Together, we’re fighting hunger, reducing food waste and creating opportunities across the Midlands. Learn more here or read our latest Annual Report Snapshot by going to our website.

The Trusts & Grants Lead is responsible for delivering income from trusts, foundations and statutory funders through proactive prospect research, high quality applications, relationship management and timely reporting, contributing directly to Fare Share Midlands’ income targets and growth plans.

• Manage a portfolio of trust, foundation and grant funders
• Writing applications and reports
• Budget management for restricted funds
• Working with FSM and FSUK colleagues on bids
• Build strong relationships with programme officers, grant managers, funding panels.
• Managing restricted funding compliance
• Coordinating evaluation and evidence collection for funder reports
• Monitoring funder requirements and deadlines
• Identify a pipeline of new opportunities in trusts, grants, foundations and corporate to secure new income for Fare Share Midlands
• Maintain a rolling 12 to 18 month pipeline
• Regular prospect research using databases (e.g. funds online, the charity commission website, idox etc)
• Prioritising opportunities by value, likelihood and strategic fit
• Assisting on project development working with colleagues to build in the needs and preferences of funders to ensure projects can attract support

• Professional stewardship of trusts and foundations funders
• Managing funder communications in line with grant agreements
• Working with the stewardship officer and comms team to identify and develop impact stories and relevant data.

• Writing funder-facing materials
• Ensuring clarity, evidence and compliance in all submissions
• Coordinating case studies and impact data for bids

• Reporting calendar management
• Income forecasting for trusts & grants
• Document management for funder requirements

• Consistently securing income from trusts, foundations and statutory funders in line with agreed targets
• Maintaining a strong, well-researched pipeline of trust and grant opportunities
• Submitting high-quality funding applications and reports to deadline
• Achieving a healthy success rate across applications through strong prospecting and proposal quality
• Ensuring full compliance with restricted funding requirements
• Building positive, professional relationships with funding partners
• Providing accurate income forecasting and pipeline reporting
• Bringing creativity and passion in communicating FSM’s central mission to inspire funders to support us.
• Demonstrable experience of restricted funding
• Ability to manage multiple deadlines
• Strong analytical and written skills
• Confidence working with budgets and impact data
• Experience of supporting or developing fundraising partnerships and maximising fundraising opportunities
• Experience of securing gifts from trusts, grants and foundations
• Experience in writing compelling funding applications and impact reporting
• Experience in prospecting for new business and stewarding donors face to face
• Willingness to work flexibly including events and occasional weekends.
• To subscribe to the ethos, vision and mission of Fare Share Midlands
• Full clean driving license and have access to a vehicle so that travel between depots or to stakeholder meetings is possible (all travel costs reimbursed)