WHO WE ARE

At Crisis Text Line, we believe that every person in crisis deserves to be heard, understood, and supported. Our mission is carried forward by people who lead with empathy, integrity, and a deep sense of responsibility to one another and the communities we serve. Over the past decade, our staff and more than 14,000 active volunteers have facilitated 9 million+ conversations with people in crisis, bringing empathy and care to every interaction. In 2025 alone, we supported over 3 million moments of crisis nationwide.

Our Advancement department brings together institutional giving, corporate partnerships, and individual philanthropy to build the funding foundation that makes Crisis Text Line’s mission sustainable and scalable. Together, we are growing a diversified philanthropic portfolio, deepening relationships with foundation and corporate funders, and building the infrastructure, strategy, and storytelling that connect our life-saving work to the resources it deserves.

WHAT YOU’LL DO

As Senior Grants Manager, you will:

• Own the full grants lifecycle from identification to close. Lead the research, writing, submission, and reporting for philanthropic foundation and corporate grants and reports. Manage a robust and growing pipeline with discipline, working backwards from deadlines to ensure nothing falls through the cracks.
• Write compelling, data-rich proposals that win. Translate Crisis Text Line’s programs, clinical insights, and impact data into persuasive narratives for six- and seven-figure asks. Strike the right balance between data, strategy, and mission to make a clear case for why funders should invest.
• Build and steward the grant calendar and pipeline. Serve as the “air traffic controller” for the grants process, maintaining a well-organized calendar in Salesforce with full visibility into submission timelines, renewal windows, reporting deadlines, and projected revenue.
• Create a content library that scales the team. In partnership with marketing and program leadership, develop and maintain reusable grant assets — one-pagers, impact narratives, program descriptions, and boilerplate — so the team can move quickly when opportunities arise.
• Prospect for new funding opportunities. Identify and grow a pipeline of new foundation and corporate grant opportunities aligned with Crisis Text Line’s mission. Monitor mental health funding trends and respond strategically to RFPs and emerging opportunities.
• Collaborate deeply across the organization. Build strong working relationships with program, research, finance, legal, marketing, and technology teams to produce excellent proposals and accurate reports. Manage up, across, and outward with equal ease.
• Drive accountability and process excellence. Set clear expectations for internal contributors, manage competing timelines without hand-holding, and bring a project management mindset to every submission. Create the structures that keep the grants function running smoothly even when priorities shift.

WHO YOU ARE

You may be the right candidate if you are:

• A genuine believer in the mission. You are moved by Crisis Text Line’s work at the intersection of mental health, technology, and equity. You are energized by the urgency of what we do, and you bring that energy into your writing and your relationships.
• An experienced and accomplished grants professional. You bring 7+ years of nonprofit grant writing experience, with a strong track record of securing six- and seven-figure grants from foundations and corporate funders.
• An exceptional writer and storyteller. Your proposals are clear, persuasive, and well-crafted. You write with precision and intentionality, turning complex programs and data into accessible narratives and adapting your voice and framing to match the priorities and language of each funder.
• A project management powerhouse. You are extraordinarily organized. You build timelines, stick to them, and hold others accountable without being a bottleneck. You thrive under deadline pressure and bring calm, systematic thinking to a fast-moving environment.
• A strategic thinker with a bias for execution. You understand how funding strategy, programmatic priorities, and funder interests intersect. You develop tailored, funder-specific approaches and turn internal strategy into actionable cases for investment without waiting to be told exactly what to write.
• A collaborative, cross-functional partner. You are a skilled active listener who takes time to understand the nuance of programs and initiatives. You build trust quickly with colleagues across teams, and you make collaboration feel easy and productive.
• A proactive prospector and relationship builder. You actively identify new funding opportunities and bring a business development mindset to the grants function, helping the team stay ahead of the pipeline rather than chasing it.
• A nimble, self-directed operator. You thrive in organizations that are growing, evolving, and occasionally scrappy. You do not need everything to be figured out before you get started. You ask good questions, make smart judgments, and keep moving.