Director of Grant Writing

About the Community Economic Defense Project (CEDP) & CED Law 

Our Mission

We partner with low-income and working people to build economic and racial equity. We do this by confronting economic abuse and investing in community wealth. We use an ever-evolving set of legal, economic and advocacy tools to challenge and dismantle unjust systems, building quickly towards a world where all people have what they need to live and thrive. 

Our Organization

The Community Economic Defense Project (CEDP) is a Colorado-based nonprofit. Launched in 2020 as the COVID-19 Eviction Defense Project, our organization was formed to keep our neighbors housed during the pandemic. Working with clients, we built  a “one-stop-shop”  approach to eviction, foreclosure, and homelessness prevention that centers the legal and financial needs of housing-insecure families and uses a variety of tools to keep them housed. 

Our team now serves more than 1,000 people per month, bringing together housing lawyers, economists, data analysts, policy-experts, organizers, and technologists to serve our clients. In the previous two years, we have distributed more than $100 million in aid and served more than 40,000 Coloradans. We have also contributed to the passage of major legislation to prevent eviction, stop economic abuse, and make credit and life-saving medication cheaper.  CEDP’s model has been cited as a best practice by the White House, HUD, the Urban Institute, and in the media.

Building on our work to stop evictions, CEDP has further expanded its integrated services model to include disaster response, predatory towing, debt collection, benefit access & navigation, long-term rental assistance, and homelessness response. Similar to CEDP’s work on rental housing, these efforts offer a continuum of care that includes navigation and advisory services, targeted payments, legal support, and the ability to participate in advocacy. 

More about the Director of Grant Writing Role:

The Director of Grant Writing  is a member of the Strategy Team and manages the proposals and processes that keep CEDP funded to advance its mission. The Director is responsible for researching, preparing, submitting, and managing funding proposals/reports – including nonprofit grants, government procurements, and other contracts – that support CEDP goals and meet funder guidelines and criteria. This person serves as the primary writer for grants and public procurements, manages the relationship cultivation process with funders, engages in compliance reporting, and supports special project initiatives. This position requires strong writing, data analysis, program budgeting, outcome measurement, and project management skills. 

In this role you will:

• Lead funding proposal development and submission. This will involve drafting proposal content, organizing proposal materials, and submitting and monitoring applications, including: 
  • Researching new funding and business development opportunities on a local, state, and federal level
  • Manage relationship cultivation process between CEDP leaders, funders, and other strategic partners on a local, state, and national level
  • Drafting proposals/LOIs, grant application narratives, and budgets, and collaborate to finalize with program staff, finance, and Co-CEOs
  • Submitting grant applications via paper or online portals
  • Maintaining master calendar of grants and prospects, and all associated files and correspondence
  • Develop templates and tools to aid in grant writing and planning
  • Maintaining a library of grant support documents including resumes, staff bios, IRS forms, Board lists, org charts, etc.
  • Facilitate grant contracts/agreements
• Maintain grant compliance and reporting and including outcome measurement—taking responsibility for meeting high standards of effectiveness, timeliness, and completeness, including:
  • Monitoring and maintaining funder reporting schedules and requirements
  • Tracking progress toward organizational and programmatic outcomes and goals
  • Drafting compelling progress reports and targeted program updates (e.g. blog posts, press releases, social media posts) to funders that fully capture programmatic success
  • Assembling all necessary supporting materials and documents including budget reports, outcome measurements, success stories, etc.; submit reports to funders.  
• Research statistics, trends and data for grant proposals, including:
  • Performing research and data-gathering—both from external sources and program data
  • Assisting in development of presentations for various stakeholders
• Drafting of end of year programmatic and donor reports
• Other duties as assigned

Position Requirements: 

• 5+ years of experience in fundraising, writing for grants & public procurements, and/or grants management
• Demonstrated ability to lead the grant management process for the entire life cycle 
• Demonstrated persuasive writing and editing skills, including ability to convey complex information in a clear manner to a diverse audience
• Strong administrative skills, with the ability to set priorities and manage multiple tasks under minimal supervision in an effective and efficient manner
• Demonstrated ability to develop and manage standard processes for grant management across multiple program teams
• Familiarity and experience working with government and private funders – both Colorado-based and nationwide – a plus
• Ability to work under pressure and respond to deadlines without sacrificing quality
• Intermediate to expert skills in Microsoft Office (specifically Word, Excel and PowerPoint)

Additional Details: 

• The position includes competitive pay, flexible time off, benefits package (including medical, dental, vision), and 401k. 
• A competitive  salary of $83,000 a year 
• Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis but must be received by May 15, 2024
• The estimated time to complete the recruitment process will be by June 1, 2024
• As in-person work is sometimes required, all employees at CEDP & CED Law are expected to maintain current vaccination status in keeping with CDC recommendations.
• CEDP is an equal opportunity employer, committed to creating an inclusive environment for all employees. Employment decisions are made without regard of race, color, religion, national origin, age, sex, marital status, ancestry, physical or mental disability, veteran status, gender identity, sexual orientation, or any other legally protected status.