The National Building Museum inspires curiosity about the world we design and build.
We are a private non-profit institution that transforms understanding of the history and impact of architecture, engineering, landscape architecture, and design. The National Building Museum educates, entertains, and engages people about the built environment and challenges them to advocate for a sustainable and equitable future.
Position Description
We are in a tremendous period of growth and seeking a Manager of Foundation Relations to significantly advance the impact of the Museum through strategic and effective grant writing and management. This position will be an important thought partner and help develop and manage the execution of a comprehensive foundation and government fundraising program designed to increase the amount of support from institutions over the next several years. They will work across the Museum to identify strategic grant opportunities, cultivate and build relationships with current and new funders, and spreadhead application preparation and post-award management with appropriate staff. They will be a key member of a fast-paced team and organization, reporting to and working closely with the Director of Foundations & Strategic Initiatives.
Essential Duties and Responsibilities
Proposal Development
- Develop strategies to advance the Museum’s impact by researching and identifying grant opportunities, generating new proposals, and maintaining effective communication ties with funder prospects.
- Analyze application requirements and guidance from funders and work closely with colleagues in curatorial, education, collections, finance, and senior leadership to develop project goals, objectives, performance measures, work plans, and project budgets.
- Cultivates foundation donors through research and relationship-building, tailoring engagement strategies to their interests and actively growing the Museum’s pipeline of foundation, government, and corporate grant prospects.
- Write compelling letters of inquiry, concept papers, and grant proposals that exhibit strong writing skills and that align funders’ interests with the Museum’s strategic goals and needs.
- Coordinate proposal development meetings with relevant staff to ensure proper buy-in and engagement during the application preparation and proposal-writing process.
- Compile and submit application/proposal materials in alignment with funder requirements and deadlines.
- Forges excellent working relationships with curatorial, education, and programmatic staff to gather content and understand programs for which funding is being sought.
Grant Management
- Coordinate grant management activities including timely processing of all grant-related documents, preparing and submitting required reports to funders, and ensuring effective execution of grant deliverables.
- Collaborate with program and finance staff to manage financial reporting requirements, including tracking spend down of expenses and submitting invoices and payment requests.
- Work across teams to gather data, anecdotes, documentation, and/or supplementary materials related to grant-funded activities for reporting and stewardship purposes.
- Write engaging grant reports that reflect the conditions of the grant agreement.
- Develop strategies to provide top quality stewardship to foundation and government funders, proactively building relationships through personalized outreach, invitations to relevant events, and donor meetings and visits.
Other
- Track grant opportunities, deadlines, contractual obligations, and relevant interactions in the constituent relationship management (CRM) database, Altru.
- Attend relevant meetings/conferences, representing the Museum and staying abreast of philanthropic trends and best practices for museums.
- Serve as a member of the External Affairs & Development team, participating in department meetings and activities, and assisting with department priorities.
