Candid & Funding Intelligence Team

The Shepherds Ark is a Christ-centered ministry on a mission to build a sanctuary of hope and justice for both animals and people. We are a volunteer-based ministry dedicated to providing rescue, care, and advocacy for at-risk animals while also addressing the systemic injustice that leads to the destitution of both animals and people.

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About The Animal Cause, Inc.

The Animal Cause, Inc. (TAC) is a 501(c)(3) Christian animal-welfare organization dedicated to saving shelter animals, supporting efforts to reduce shelter overpopulation, and strengthening the systems that serve animals and the people who care for them.

TAC partners with and supports other organizations through volunteer, transport, rescue, consulting, visibility, foster-partnership, and other mission-aligned services. The organization seeks to unite animal advocates, develop collaborative resources, increase awareness, and contribute to lasting improvement in animal welfare.

The Animal Cause is entirely volunteer-based. Its work is supported through donations, grants, fundraising, and in-kind assistance. No organizational representatives currently receive a salary.

Learn more at www.animalcause.org or contact [email protected].

Mission Context

The Animal Cause cannot pursue every funding opportunity that exists. It must identify the opportunities that are realistic, relevant, timely, and strategically useful to the organization.

The Candid & Funding Intelligence Team will help build that capability.

This team will maintain and strengthen TAC's presence in Candid and conduct disciplined research into foundations, corporations, government programs, community funders, capital opportunities, in-kind resources, and other potential sources of support.

The team will help TAC distinguish between

• Opportunities for which TAC is genuinely eligible.
• Opportunities that require additional organizational development.
• Opportunities that may become appropriate in the future.
• Opportunities that are poor fits and should not consume volunteer time.
• Opportunities that require partnerships or other prerequisites.

The objective is not to produce a large list of grants. The objective is to develop a qualified funding intelligence pipeline that gives leadership useful information for making funding decisions.

Position Summary

The Candid & Funding Intelligence Team will serve as TAC's research and intelligence function for institutional funding and nonprofit resources.

The team will

• Maintain and improve TAC's Candid profile.
• Monitor Candid and other reputable funding-research resources.
• Research prospective funders.
• Evaluate mission and program alignment.
• Determine eligibility before recommending an opportunity.
• Research funder history and giving patterns.
• Track deadlines and recurring funding cycles.
• Identify capital, vehicle, equipment, land, technology, capacity-building, and programmatic funding opportunities.
• Maintain accurate research records.
• Provide concise recommendations to TAC leadership.
• Build institutional knowledge that future volunteers can continue using.

As TAC develops, this team may become an ongoing funding intelligence and advisory resource, helping leadership understand changes in the funding environment and identify opportunities that align with TAC's developing programs, services, and national mission.

What You Will Do

Candid

• Audit TAC's current Candid nonprofit profile.
• Review profile completeness, accuracy, and public presentation.
• Review TAC's Candid Seal of Transparency status.
• Identify information that should be updated or strengthened.
• Recommend and, when authorized, implement approved profile improvements.
• Monitor relevant Candid resources and developments.
• Help ensure TAC's organizational information remains accurate and useful to prospective funders.

Funding Research

Research potential funding sources including

• Private foundations.
• Community foundations.
• Corporate giving programs.
• Government opportunities.
• Family foundations.
• Appropriate nonprofit funding programs.
• In-kind resource programs.
• Technology and capacity-building opportunities.
• Vehicle and equipment funding.
• Facility and land opportunities.
• Emergency and disaster-response resources.
• Other mission-aligned institutional funding.

Research opportunities connected to TAC's areas of work, including

• Animal welfare.
• Shelter support.
• Animal visibility.
• Animal transport.
• Veterinary and preventative care.
• Foster and adoption initiatives.
• Volunteer infrastructure.
• Organizational capacity building.
• Technology and digital infrastructure.
• Vehicles and equipment.
• Facilities and land.
• Community resilience.
• Emergency animal response.
• Women founders, women executives, and women-led organizations.
• Other opportunities specifically aligned with TAC's programs and organizational development.

Funder Analysis

For each qualified prospect, evaluate

• Eligibility requirements.
• Geographic priorities.
• Program interests.
• Funding history.
• Typical grant size when available.
• Prior grantees.
• Application cycles.
• Deadlines.
• Restrictions.
• Required organizational documents.
• Matching requirements.
• Partnership requirements.
• Operating-history requirements.
• Financial requirements.
• Capital or asset requirements.
• Relationship-building opportunities.
• Other prerequisites that could affect TAC's ability to apply.

Use appropriate primary and reputable sources, including

• Funder websites.
• Published guidelines.
• Requests for proposals.
• Candid.
• Form 990 filings.
• Grant histories.
• Published lists of prior recipients.
• Other credible funding databases and institutional sources.

Funding Pipeline

Maintain the organization's grant and funding master tracker.

Each qualified opportunity should contain accurate information such as

• Funder.
• Opportunity name.
• Funding category.
• Amount or range when available.
• Eligibility.
• Geographic requirements.
• Program alignment.
• Deadline.
• Application cycle.
• Required documents.
• Prerequisites.
• Source links.
• Research date.
• Recommended priority.
• Follow-up date.
• Research notes.

Prioritize opportunities based on factors such as

Mission Alignment + Eligibility + Timing + Strategic Value + Reasonable Effort

The team should not recommend an opportunity simply because TAC could theoretically submit an application.

Funding Intelligence & Advisory Function

As the organization develops, the team may provide periodic intelligence to leadership regarding

• Newly identified funders.
• Upcoming funding cycles.
• Changes in funder priorities.
• New Candid resources.
• Emerging nonprofit funding programs.
• Capital opportunities.
• Vehicle and equipment opportunities.
• Technology funding.
• Capacity-building funding.
• Partnership-dependent opportunities.
• Opportunities TAC may become eligible for after completing specific organizational milestones.
• Funding trends relevant to animal welfare and nonprofit infrastructure.

The team should help answer a recurring leadership question

“Where should The Animal Cause invest its limited grant-development time?”

This is primarily a research, intelligence, and advisory role.

Grant writing may become part of a future collaboration, but it is not the primary responsibility of this initial role.

Ongoing Responsibilities

Following a successful pilot, the team may continue to

• Maintain TAC's Candid presence.
• Monitor funding opportunities.
• Update the master funding pipeline.
• Track recurring deadlines.
• Conduct periodic prospect research.
• Monitor changes in funder priorities.
• Identify newly available funding programs.
• Flag emerging capital and infrastructure opportunities.
• Provide periodic recommendations to leadership.
• Preserve institutional knowledge for future development volunteers.
• Coordinate with grant writers, leadership, program teams, and fundraising teams when opportunities move into active development.

Required

Skills & Qualifications

• Demonstrated experience with Candid, Foundation Directory, GuideStar, or comparable nonprofit research resources.
• Experience researching institutional funding opportunities.
• Ability to evaluate nonprofit grant eligibility accurately.
• Ability to research foundations through grant histories, Form 990 filings, prior recipients, and published guidelines.
• Strong analytical judgment.
• Excellent attention to detail.
• Strong research and documentation skills.
• Proficiency with Google Sheets or comparable spreadsheet tools.
• Ability to maintain an accurate funding pipeline.
• Ability to summarize complex funding requirements clearly.
• Ability to distinguish promising opportunities from poor-fit opportunities.
• Ability to work independently while following organizational approval procedures.
• Professional discretion when handling organizational information.
• Interest in animal welfare and alignment with TAC's mission and values.

Preferred

• Nonprofit development experience.
• Institutional fundraising experience.
• Prospect-research experience.
• Experience maintaining a Candid nonprofit profile.
• Experience obtaining or maintaining a Candid Seal of Transparency.
• Candid training or coursework.
• Experience interpreting Form 990 filings.
• Experience researching animal-welfare funding.
• Experience researching capital, transportation, land, equipment, technology, or capacity-building funding.
• Grant-writing or letter-of-inquiry experience.
• Professional fundraising credentials.

Credentials are welcomed but not required. Demonstrated ability to conduct rigorous funding research is equally valuable.

Team Model

This opportunity is intentionally structured as a team function rather than a single-person dependency.

The Candid & Funding Intelligence Team may collaborate with

• TAC leadership.
• Fundraising and development volunteers.
• Grant writers.
• Program teams.
• Finance and administration.
• Volunteer Project Management / Execution.
• Marketing and communications.
• Candid and nonprofit visibility volunteers.
• Program-specific teams seeking funding.

The research team identifies and qualifies opportunities. Leadership determines which opportunities TAC will pursue. Authorized grant-development personnel then develop and submit approved applications.

This separation protects the organization from having research, strategy, approval, and submission concentrated in one volunteer role.

Volunteer Eligibility & Conditions

• Applicants must be at least 21 years of age.
• Applicants must be located within and a resident of the United States.
• Consistent weekly availability and reliable communication are required.
• This is an unpaid volunteer position.
• Volunteers must complete TAC's required screening, agreements, confidentiality documentation, and onboarding process.
• Access to organizational accounts and confidential information will be limited according to assignment and authorization.
• Volunteers may not publicly represent The Animal Cause or communicate with funders on its behalf without written authorization.

Mandatory-Service-Hours Policy

This opportunity is not available for court-ordered, probation- or parole-related, diversion-program, judgment-related, school-required, employer-required, or otherwise mandated community-service hours.

The Animal Cause does not monitor, certify, verify, report, or provide documentation for compelled service-hour requirements.

Foundational Scripture

Proverbs 21 5

“The thoughts of the diligent tend only to plenteousness; but of every one that is hasty only to want.”

This principle is particularly applicable to funding research.

TAC seeks to approach resources with diligence rather than desperation, discernment rather than volume, and stewardship rather than haste. A long list of grants is not the objective. The objective is to faithfully examine what is available, understand the requirements, recognize what God has placed within reach, and help leadership steward its time and resources wisely.

The work of this team is therefore not merely administrative research. It is an opportunity to practice diligence, discernment, accuracy, and stewardship in service to God and His creation.

“Whatever you do, do it all to the glory of God.” — 1 Corinthians 10 31

How to Apply Send resume to [email protected]