Position: Community Resource Associate
Location: Portland, OR
Reports to: Chief Program Strategist
Start Timeframe: We seek to have someone in place by mid to late May 2025
Compensation: The salary range for this position is $70,000 to $85,000. Compensation will be commensurate with experience and includes a benefits package that includes medical, dental, and vision insurance, retirement benefits, and a flexible work environment.
About The Collins Foundation
Formed in 1947 by members of the Collins family, the Collins Foundation invests in Oregon nonprofit organizations, both rural and urban, dedicated to improving the quality of life and well-being of the people in their communities. As a funder and partner, we are committed to pursuing equity in how we allocate resources across Oregon's diverse communities and how we shape our internal organizational culture and structures.
The Collins Foundation is an equal opportunity employer committed to creating a work environment that values the cultural and personal perspectives afforded by individual life experiences. The Foundation is a welcoming environment that values diversity, equity, and inclusion within the organization and its grantmaking. As such, The Collins Foundation encourages applicants from diverse backgrounds and seeks to hire qualified staff reflecting the diversity of the communities it serves.
Commitment to Equity
The Collins Foundation believes in an equitable Oregon for all Oregonians. Equity is about justice. It’s an intentional practice of reflection and change to eliminate harm and unfair treatment. When everyone can fully participate in the systems that shape their lives, we all benefit. The Foundation is committed to challenging inequity in Oregon through our grantmaking and continued partnerships with community based changemakers across the state.
The Collins Foundation is making a long-term commitment to an equitable and just Oregon. We will demonstrate that commitment in every aspect of our work and in service to our communities. Please read our full Equity Commitment Statement here.
About the Position
The Foundation seeks to hire a thoughtful and engaged Community Resource Associate to join a team committed to advancing social change and contributing to a more vibrant and equitable Oregon. Strong candidates will arrive with strong community relationships, possess enthusiasm for learning, and be willing to provide creativity, efficiency, effectiveness, and equity to the Foundation's grantmaking program.
This position's core responsibilities include:
Position Responsibilities
Grantmaking Support (50%): The Community Resource Associate will support the Community Resources team in its grantmaking efforts through:
- Research: Conducting research on potential grantees and partners in Oregon and supporting efforts to advance the team's knowledge about the nonprofit sector in Oregon and the issues impacting partners. This includes tasks like conducting organizational exploration through publicly available data, staying connected through partners' communications on social media and newsletters, and supporting Community Resource Strategists with specific issues or geographic-based research.
- Logistics: Supporting the team's community outreach efforts through logistics and scheduling support for the team in the field. This includes tasks like calendar management and scheduling, supporting task management in the relationship management system (RMS), event coordination and planning, researching travel options and booking travel, catering/food and beverage planning, and technology support for in-person, virtual, and hybrid meetings.
Organizational Support (40%): The CRA will sit in a key cross-departmental role to support the organization more broadly:
- Innovation and Collaboration: As the team learns and implements their new RMS, this role will be essential in setting and enforcing data collection and grantmaking process norms across the organization in ways that embrace creative, collaborative, and iterative solutions.
- Data Management: Serving as the first line of defense in keeping data in the RMS clean, accessible, and usable. Tasks may include active duplicate management, correcting, tagging, or updating data, data import and export management, and contributing to the development of methods and systems to assess the Foundation's impact.
- Payments Management: Ensuring timely, accurate, and efficient payment process by coordinating with the Grants Manager and Finance team to support data management in the RMS and sharing finalized grant and payment information with finance. Tasks may include supporting and assisting current grantees and partners working with the Foundation's Finance team to provide timely and accurate payment reporting.
- Organizational culture: Engaging and participating in training and professional development, including but not limited to the Collins Relationship Model of Grantmaking and racial equity and justice.
Community Support (10%): The Community Resource Associate will also dedicate part of their time to supporting the community more broadly through:
- Staying informed on current policies, trends, and emerging issues that advance racial equity in Oregon and supporting the Foundation's strategic priorities.
- Engaging and developing relationships with various nonprofits and interested parties across Oregon's diverse communities.
- Supporting general inquiry responses.
Position Attributes
- Interest in impacting Oregon's nonprofit sector through a strategically placed administrative role
- Curiosity and an impulse to dig deeper, and the ability to make connections between what's happening in the data and what's happening on the ground
- Enthusiasm for creating inclusive and accessible spaces (physical and virtual) that foster community presence as an integral part of the Foundation's strategy
- A commitment to problem-solving, customer-oriented mindset
- Familiarity with database management, simple integrations, data security, and creating and maintaining standard operating procedures
- Understanding the roles of nonprofits in social change and community resilience
- Ability to travel within Oregon, and occasionally nationally, on an as-needed basis
- Demonstrated ability to handle sensitive information effectively and confidentially
- Comfortable with planning and coordinating events and logistics
Personal Attributes
- Experience working effectively with a broad and diverse base of constituents, including people of color, immigrants and refugees, LGBTQ people, people with disabilities, and other people under-represented in philanthropy
- Lived experience of issues or communities the Foundation prioritizes
- A deep-rooted personal interest in, and commitment to, working in a diverse and inclusive work environment that places a high value on equity
- A commitment to fostering a positive workplace culture of collaboration and respect
- Naturally biased toward collaboration and collective solutions
A Note about Qualifications
Studies have shown that people from historically excluded communities (women, LGBTQIA+, Black, Indigenous, people of color, disabled people, immigrants, and/or people of other nationalities) hesitate to apply for jobs when their qualifications don't completely match the job description. If you are interested in the position but don't meet all of the listed criteria, the Foundation still encourages you to apply.
How to Apply
To apply for this position, please submit a resume and cover letter summarizing your background, work, and lived experience that directionally aligns with the description and profile described above to information@collinsfoundation.org. The subject line should read: Community Resource Associate. All applications will be held in strict confidence. Applications received by April 25, 2025, will receive priority consideration. The successful candidate will be selected in mid to late May. No phone calls, please. For more information about The Collins Foundation, visit www.collinsfoundation.org.