RFP-Grant Writer

Position closed 2/24

We are no longer accepting grant writer Proposals, but we welcome you to fill out our Request for Qualifications so we can contact you regarding future contract work. We are also developing a referral list to share with other community organizations. 


Request for Proposals: Contract Grant Writer

Posted: February 15, 2023; Closed February 24, 2023
PDF of RFP

SUBMISSION DEADLINE: Friday, February 24 at 6 p.m.-PST
PROPOSED START DATE: No later than Wednesday, March 15, 2023
CONTACT: Stephanie Sarles, Vision Coordinator at coordinator@siuslawvision.org

 ABOUT SIUSLAW VISION

Siuslaw Vision is a grassroots effort dedicated to building a better community together through enhancing opportunities in western Lane County –– the Siuslaw region. The organization supports local residents in implementing a community-developed Vision by connecting, convening, and catalyzing. We achieve this through our unique emphasis on a ‘Community Building Approach’. Siuslaw Vision is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

The Community Building Approach If selected to work with Siuslaw Vision, you will likely hear us mention our community-led approach to our work. We often use a model, the Community Building Approach, developed by the Ford Family Foundation’s Rural Community Building Department and the communities with which they work.  The Community Building Approach puts rural residents and local groups at the center of the process as they build their community’s future in an inclusive and comprehensive way. It is centered on four Community Building Principles:

  1. Go to where the people are
  2. Start with what you know and build on what you have
  3. Be profoundly inclusive
  4. Keep the community at the center of the work

Along with this, we use the six Community Building Practices:

  1. Listen to Learn
  2. Engage to Mobilize
  3. Skill Up, Branch Out
  4. Plan Together
  5. Create Change
  6. Celebrate and Reflect

To join Siuslaw Vision as a Grant Writer is to share in the struggles and successes of building a stronger, more resilient community, in an effort to enhance our region now, and preserve this community for future generations. Your work with Siuslaw Vision will be meaningful, rewarding, and valued!

OVERVIEW OF THE ROLE

Siuslaw Vision seeks a Contract Grant Writer to work approximately four to six hours per week on a six month contract basis with a possible option to renew the contract for an additional six months. Preference will be given to experienced grant writers living in the Siuslaw or greater Lane County region; however, we are willing to consider promising new local grant writers who are one to two years into their grant writing career and have had early success. An understanding of life in rural or ‘small town’ America is crucial. The full description relates to our ideal candidate, but you are welcome to apply if you are passionate about this project and fulfill the core requirements necessary to succeed in this role.

Qualifications

  • Respondent should, ideally, have three to five (3-5) years of experience as a successful grant writer, with a proven track record of competently sourcing, developing, writing, and submitting successful requests for foundation, corporate or business, and government sources of funding.
  • Highly organized, with the ability to work on multiple assignments at the same time, including identifying and implementing needed systems and follow-up processes –– such as maintaining a grants tracker, working adeptly with multiple draft versions, and more.
  • Have excellent writing skills and an ability to write persuasive proposals aligned with funder requirements, as demonstrated by clear and compelling proposal samples.
  • Possess strong budget preparation skills.
  • Expert computer skills in Microsoft Office Word, Excel or equivalent programs, and online grant submission systems are critical to succeeding in this role.
  • Able to effectively work –– and maintain interpersonal skills –– under pressure, use excellent judgment, and produce high-quality work within tight time constraints.
  • A willingness to maintain flexibility, especially as different grants may require more outreach and follow-up than others.
DELIVERABLES

The Contract Grant Writer will be responsible for supporting all facets of Siuslaw Vision’s grant writing and submission process. Although your primary task is grant writing, as time allows, we hope this position will be able to support the Siuslaw Vision team with comprehensive grants management, including but not limited to: funding prospect identification, proposal preparation, development of funding plans, grant reporting, grant training for Vision staff and volunteers, and other related services. 

Scope of Services

  • Learn more about Siuslaw Vision’s work, history, and future goals by meeting with and working with the Siuslaw Team (board, staff and volunteers), reviewing previous proposals and other written documentation, reviewing Siuslaw Vision’s website, and more.
  • Identify potential funding opportunities and ensure alignment of values and mission; track these opportunities and share them with Siuslaw Vision team members.
  • Support all grant-writing duties ranging from writing initial “letters of interest” to full requests and supplemental information. This includes gathering information from the Siuslaw Vision team, attending or leading meetings to plan requests, and keeping Siuslaw Vision team apprised of what additional information or documents are needed to complete a persuasive, concise and high quality grant request.
  • Develop and share a proposal timeline with the Siuslaw Vision team for each request, make requested edits or revisions to drafts in a timely manner, and ensure that you submit proposals via mail or online prior to the application deadline.
  • Provide information necessary to help Siuslaw Vision team members in managing awards, and support award management including interim and final reporting, if and as time allows.
  • Use information provided by Siuslaw Vision team to develop grant request budgets for project, capacity, and capital budgets, along with budget narratives that comply with funder requirements, and which complement the overall proposed programming narrative.
  • Serve as “point person,” ready to assume ownership of securing all required supplemental documentation or helping the Siuslaw Vision team collect this information. This may include drafting and collecting signed copies of support letters, references or testimonials, insurance certificates, supplemental project information (e.g.,maps, images), or other documents requested by the funder.
  • If and as hours allow, submit the proposal via print or online submission, after receiving final approval from the Siuslaw Vision team. Or, provide the completed application packet to Siuslaw Vision team members for submission, after receiving final approval from the Siuslaw Vision team.
  • Hours permitting, share your knowledge of grants and funding, and further the collaborative nature of our work, by providing Siuslaw Vision staff and volunteers with grant training and other information about the grant identification, solicitation and management processes.
  • If requested by Siuslaw Vision’s team, professionally represent the friendly face of Siuslaw Vision when attending applicable pre-proposal workshops or webinars. Brief the Siuslaw Vision team with information from workshops or webinars to support the planning of funding requests.
COST SUMMARY

Siuslaw Vision anticipates employing a Contract Grant Writer on a contract retainer for approximately four to six hours per week over the course of six months, with the option to renew this contract an additional six months. The overall budget allocated for the first six months of this position is $5,000 or roughly $833.33 per month for 20-hours per month of contract grant writing. Please confirm that you can meet these requirements by submitting a ‘fee schedule’ or ‘cost summary’, which specifies whether invoices will be submitted on an hourly or flat-fee basis. In return, Siuslaw Vision hopes the selected Contract Grant Writer will help us secure a minimum of $25,000 in public and private source grant revenue for the 2023 year. Please anticipate the secured grant minimum increasing in the 2024 year, should both parties choose to renew the contract.

TERMS

Once selected, the Contract Grant Writer is expected to begin work no later than Wednesday, March 15th, 2023. The Grant Writer must be prepared to hit the ground running and immediately begin working with the Siuslaw Vision team in developing proposals, as there are several upcoming submission deadlines for funding opportunities in March and April 2023. Please indicate your availability to begin work in your response to this RFP. The initial contract is for six months and expires on September 14th. Though there may be an option to renew the contract for an additional six months (September 15th, 2023 to March 15th, 2024), Siuslaw Vision makes no promises or guarantees of renewal and is under no obligation to renew if the scope of our needs changes, or if the partnership between Siuslaw Vision and the selected Grant Writer is not deemed an appropriate fit.

DISCLOSURES

Siuslaw Vision requires that respondents disclose any potential conflict of interest they are aware of. The award of a contract is subject to provisions of all federal, state, and municipal laws. All respondents must disclose with their proposals the name of any officer, director, or agent who is also an employee or board member of Siuslaw Vision.

HOW TO APPLY

To be considered for this role, please submit a written response that includes the following elements. If you are a applying as part of company that offers grant writing services, please only include information specific to the primary individual who will work with Siuslaw Vision for items 1 through 6 below.

Proposal Narrative (not to exceed a total of 4-5 pages)
  1. A brief introductory letter (single page or less) summarizing your interest in this role and why you believe you are the most qualified candidate. Please ensure this includes the name and contact information of the grant writer applying for this opportunity.
  2. A maximum of three pages outlining your relevant work experience, and including responses to the following questions:
    1. In your opinion, what aspect of a grant proposal is most important in securing funds?
    2. How do you approach identification and vetting of public and private funding opportunities?
    3. In a few sentences, tell us about a particularly noteworthy or complex grant you secured. What made it special?
  3. One page maximum highlighting recent grants you have secured including the name of the funding entity, award amount, and very brief description of what funding was secured to support (e.g. “To build community garden beds,” “toward a program director’s salary,” “for a teen mentoring program). Include an approximation of how many grants you have written over the course of your experience as a grant writer.
  4. Cost summary, which indicates your ability to provide the required services on an hourly or flat-fee basis, not to exceed Siuslaw Vision’s budget for the role. Please also indicate your availability to begin work no later than March 15th.
  5. Disclosure Statement (if applicable), which reveals any actual or potential conflict of interest you are aware of or suspect you may encounter in relation to Siuslaw Vision, our work, or our partners.
Additional Information (required, no page limit)
  1. Two samples from your grant writing portfolio. Feel free to redact any sensitive information or omit the financial and/or personnel portions of the request.
  2.  Please also complete this form, which helps us build a database of diversely skilled contractors whose areas of expertise and interest can help support Siuslaw Vision and the greater Siuslaw Region. If any sections are redundant with the information you have provided in your Proposal Narrative, please feel free to reference your Narrative in the form. Completing this form does not obligate you to any future work with or for Siuslaw Vision, and your information will not be shared outside of the Siuslaw Vision team unless you indicate you’d like to be part of our public reference directory.

Please submit these documents as a single PDF package to Stephanie Sarles, Vision Coordinator at coordinator@siuslawvision.org.

Proposals must be received by 6 p.m.-PST on Friday, February 24, 2023. We look forward to hearing from you!  

Reports to: Siuslaw Vision Board of Directors

To learn more about the Siuslaw Vision, visit www.SiuslawVision.org.

For any questions related to this RFP, please contact Stephanie Sarles, Siuslaw Vision Coordinator, at coordinator@siuslawvision.org.

Siuslaw Vision celebrates diversity and inclusion. We value all people without regard to race, color, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability, age, marital/family status, or veteran status.

Download a PDF version of the RFP: https://siuslawvision.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Siuslaw-Vision-_-Grant-Writer-RFP-Feb-2023.pdf

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