Grants Associate

Grants Associate

The Immigrant and Refugee Community Organization (IRCO) is a non-profit organization established in 1976 to serve immigrants, refugees, and the broader community in Portland, Oregon. Our mission is to welcome, serve and empower refugees, immigrants and people across cultures and generations to reach their full potential.

This position is part of IRCO Grants Team, which is broadly tasked with researching, writing, and submitting proposals to fund our programs and services as well as a wide variety of necessary administrative support for Grants Team projects and activities such as conducting donor and systems research, project planning and communications, writing, budgeting, and planning, and conducting, and/or assisting with meetings and events.

The work is both creative and technical. Grants Associates work closely with and report to the Grants Team's Assistant Manager who provides regular input and support and reports directly to the Deputy Director of Advancement. The Associate will have multiple focus areas for their work necessitating a strong understanding of these IRCO programming sectors and Divisions yet may be asked to support any area of IRCO's work as a part of the Grants Team.

Essential Functions:

• Gather information on funders, donors, systems and other topics to develop programming and other projects in line with IRCO's mission and vision.
• Respond to time sensitive research to support team members tasked with managing a portfolio of donors/funders.
• Conduct regular research (internally and externally) on assigned sectors/divisions of IRCO programming to set goals and develop funding for this work. Document key documents, meetings, tasks, and decisions in shared file systems and virtual work spaces.
• Conduct analysis on opportunities for funding in line with organization decision making/approval processes, team procedures, and IRCO Program Standards.
• Maintain complete and timely records of contact information, contacts, deadlines, and other interactions with donors, funders, and other constituents in the Donor Perfect database.
• When assigned and approved, carry out proposal and project planning in line with team and IRCO procedures. This includes developing and communicating templates, workplans and timelines, and providing reminders and check-ins with team members to ensure assigned projects and proposals are progressing within established deadlines.
• Research, prepare, draft, and edit proposals for funding and submission of materials (including but not limited to narratives, budgets, and attachments) for review by Management and/or Grants Specialists.
• Play a key role in planning, drafting, and/or securing all required proposal attachments including letters of commitment/memoranda of understanding, work plans, organizational charts, logic models, and job descriptions.
• Review assigned proposals to carry out needed content and/or clerical edits and to ensure they are accurate, aligned with funders requested scope of work, and are correctly formatted.
• Prepare and submit completed proposals on deadlines and follow all guidelines and submission requirements.
• Support agency partnerships by following up on/routing communications and drafting letters of support, letters of commitment, or memoranda of understanding. These are often time-sensitive projects. Update Assistant Manager of these important requests and develop internal timeline/deadlines and approval steps.
• Take initiative to provide regular updates to Assistant Manager on task assignments and progress including task requests, issues, or delays. Strategize task prioritization, collaboration, and issue of escalation (e.g. to Deputy Director of Development or other leadership) to accurately complete all assignments within established time frames.
• Compose and type reports, forms, spreadsheets, and related materials, analysis and statistical support for focus areas and for special projects as assigned
• Regularly read, copy, scan, email, compile, and document a variety of professional correspondence; material is often confidential and should be treated as such.
• Support the development, improvement, and implementation of internal grant…