Grants Fundraiser

We are seeking a skilled and experienced Grants Fundraiser with a proven track record of success, to secure vital funding for our services for individuals with a learning disability and autistic people. You will play a central role in our charity, responsible for driving forward one of our key income streams.  

The Trusts & Foundations Fundraising Manager will develop a robust pipeline of potential funders and devise a plan to achieve our annual income target of £225,000 from repeat and new funders.  You will research and apply to charitable trusts for grants of varying sizes, including multi-year funding, while maintaining excellent stewardship to encourage repeat donations. 

It’s an exciting time to join us, with innovative services, outcomes monitoring data, case studies, photos and testimonials and some cases for support already drafted.  Whilst our priority is to raise funds for our existing services, we have plans for new service developments which will appeal to charitable trusts, corporate foundations and institutional donors (TNLCF).  We have a broad appeal with a range of diverse services from playschemes, social groups for autistic teenagers, arts and drama sessions, family support, employability and independent living skills.

You will collaborate closely with the CEO, Head of Finance and Operations and Service Managers to align fundraising efforts with organisational goals and future plans.  You will work alongside the Marketing Manager to gather materials to enhance our applications.

You will be persuasive communicator with excellent written skills and able to present our work in an emotive way, whilst upholding our organisational values.

With a minimum of 2 years’ successful experience in grant fundraising, preferably in a small local charity setting.  Ability to work collaboratively with various stakeholders and understand the intricacies of our services to match to funders’ criteria. 

Key Responsibilities

·        To increase LinkAble’s income secured from Trusts and Foundations by developing a ‘Case for Support’ for each of our core projects.

·        To co-ordinate a ‘database’ of current grant funders, with their history of support and project reporting deadlines.

·        To research and develop a pipeline of potential trusts and foundations to approach, noting application deadlines and average giving levels with criteria to inform your approach.

·        To submit high quality grant applications ahead of deadlines that have a good chance of success

·        To provide stewardship of existing donors to capitalise on their support over time, ensure all gifts are thanked appropriately, sending regular update reports, annual report and supporter newsletters.

·        Work with the Marketing Manager to access resources such as photos, quotes, case studies and to ensure the charity is presented in a way that is consistent with our branding.

·        To work at part of the LinkAble team and attend fundraising events, challenge events and social activities.

·        To work with colleagues across the team to develop fundraising projects and to package core costs in a way that is attractive to funders.

·        To work closely with the Corporate and Community Fundraising Manager where there is cross over between corporate and community support and grant funding.

·        To work with service managers to develop project budgets to present our work to funders in a tangible way that offers good value for money and matches the funders average giving level.

·        Ensure all fundraising activities are ethical and carried out in line with our values, policies and procedures and within relevant legal frameworks

·        Monitor the trust and foundations fundraising budget, highlighting variances against the budget at an early stage and taking corrective action.

·        Contribute to writing tenders for new contracts as part of the bid team and support colleagues

·        Bring a positive, flexible and team working approach to work, working effectively on your own and as part of a small enthusiastic team.

All LinkAble staff are expected to be aware of and follow the organisation’s policies and procedures, with particular attention to equality and diversity and safeguarding.

All employees in the organisation are expected to display a high standard of teamwork. This includes cooperating in undertaking work of absent colleagues or assisting others where the workload is particularly high. Accordingly there may be a requirement, from time to time, to undertake other duties.