Background

Since its founding in the early 1990s, the Rainwater Charitable Foundation (RCF or Foundation) has focused on helping vulnerable children in the United States, believing that high-quality education and boosting the economic well-being of families can transform the life trajectories of children and families. A second focus area is medical research into neurodegenerative diseases (specifically tauopathies) with the ultimate goal of finding a cure for these diseases. Employing the same strategies that the late Richard Rainwater used for investing, the Foundation seeks out successful programs around the country/world with proven, measurable success, strong leadership and the ability to scale for greater impact.

RCF is the largest education funder in the North Texas region and one of the largest foundations in Texas. The Rainwater Charitable Foundation is a private foundation organized as a trust. The foundation’s gifts are designated by Rainwater family member Distribution Trustees.

For more information: http://www.rainwatercharitablefoundation.org/

The Role

The Grants and Research Coordinator (GRC) is an internal facing role working closely with Accounting/Finance and program staff to support the Foundation’s grantmaking activities, including the Foundation’s Family Economic Development, Medical Research, and other grantmaking programs. The GRC provides operational and administrative support specifically to the Family Economic Development (FED) Team and the Medical Research (MED) Team to ensure compliance with the Foundation’s internal policies as well as external IRS private foundation requirements. The GRC will also support the FED Team in researching grantmaking strategies, data analysis, and outcomes reporting.

The GRC is responsible for assisting the Foundation team to: a) keep track of grantmaking operations - including monitoring grants from the initial grant approval through grant disbursement, and including but not limited to, a) ensuring grant compliance and providing effective, accurate and timely program reporting to aid decision making throughout the grantmaking process, b) ensure all grant program expenses are documented, approved, and appropriate within RCF and private foundation rules and guidelines, in coordination with Accounting/Finance staff, c) support program teams through the grantmaking process including processes within the Foundation’s grantmaking software, and d) assist with special projects as assigned.

The Foundation seeks a strong individual with excellent organizational, interpersonal, technical, analytical, problem-solving and communication skills. Ideal candidates will have a minimum of 3 years of experience in a professional setting. Solid project management and data organizational skills are required. Experience with Salesforce grants management system is a plus, but not required. The successful candidate will be a collaborative colleague who can work effectively in a small and dynamic office.

The GRC will report to the Senior Principal - Family Economic Development Team, as direct supervisor, and the Director of Research Partnerships, Business Development & Drug Discovery Lead.

Key responsibilities:

Grants Administration

Stay up to date on new releases and new capabilities of the Foundation’s grant management system and coordinate any training needs with Foundation staff on this system.
Assist with administration of Foundation Donor Advised Funds including Foundation advisor recommendations, ensuring all approvals are documented, monitoring accounts, and monthly reporting to trustees/officers.
Coordinate new grantee due diligence including confirmation of eligibility and communicating with grantees to gather information.
Create draft grant agreements, and gift letters/ acknowledgements, obtaining all approvals/signatures required and ensuring documentation is properly maintained.
Attend regular (monthly) grant docket meetings with program staff and create progress reports outlining the Foundation’s grantmaking activities.
Attend regular meetings with key program staff (such as Med staff and FED Program staff) to coordinate grantmaking plans as necessary.
Support MED team to process work orders and purchase orders for appropriate approval, ensure all approvals are documented, including related grant agreements and signatures from Tau Consortium grantees.
Support MED and FED program teams and RCF officers to manage legal projects as needed.
Perform other duties as assigned.

Maintain budgets, records and reports in compliance with Foundation procedures

Ensure all grant and program expense disbursements are reviewed and properly approved and completed when submitted to Finance/Accounting for disbursement.
Ensure receipt of all grant acknowledgement forms for IRS regulatory filings.
Conduct required Expenditure Reporting - tracking, creating templates for grantees, and staying in communication with them to ensure reporting is completed for inclusion with 990PF.
Coordinate W-9s or equivalent for regulatory purposes (1099) for grant, program or administrative payments to individuals or entities as required.
Contact grantees or other program disbursement recipients (contractors, service providers, etc.) to ensure completion of award, grant or program payment, and follow-up as necessary (lost payment, returned check, address errors, etc.).
Support Tax & Finance team with grantmaking and program-related disclosures in annual federal tax filings and financial audit.
Work with Accounting/ Finance team to update monthly trustee reports.
Create reports related to budgets and grant approvals as requested.

Support Grantmaking Research

Support the FED Team in researching and understanding current and potential grantmaking strategies
Consolidate research findings and data analysis into summary reports and decks.
Work collaboratively with the FED team to identify key takeaways, data insights, and open questions to drive strategic planning for the overall grantmaking efforts.
Work collaboratively with FED team to identify and create a schedule of data needs and data analysis efforts throughout the year to support program evaluation and key questions related to the overall grantmaking strategy.
Work collaboratively with the FED team to create a list of key programmatic questions and creating a plan to identify and obtain the necessary information to answer those questions.

Qualifications and Experience

The ideal candidate will possess:

Bachelor’s Degree (or demonstrated experience in lieu of degree)
Commitment and passion to the mission and core values of the Rainwater Charitable Foundation
Advanced computer skills including MS Office applications, MS Access, communication applications such as Dropbox, etc., and other computational software. Experience with Salesforce or other grants management systems a plus
Excellent organizational and communication skills
Experience in curating research materials and building presentation decks outlining key takeaways
Project management experience
Demonstrated sensitivity to confidential matters
Willingness to learn new skills

Rainwater Charitable Foundation

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Grants and Research Coordinator (GRC)