The Fountain of Funding: Strategies for Securing Financial Support for your Project February 22, 2012 Sarah Jennings, Director of Development for Corporations & Foundations Pamela M. Salela, Associate Professor, Director of Central Illinois Nonprofit Resource Center, Brookens Library Don Long, Grants & Contracts Coordinator, VC Academic Affairs William Kline, Assistant Professor, Liberal & Integrative Studies University of Illinois at Springfield

Central Illinois Nonprofit Resource Center Pamela M. Salela, Associate Professor CINRC Coordinator Brookens Library Pamela M. Salela, Associate Professor CINRC Coordinator Brookens Library

Affiliations  Foundation Center –Publications & Training –Reference Guide for Researchers –Webinars (live as well as archived)  Donors Forum of Illinois –Publications –Workshops (Chicago)  GoodWorksConnect.org –Community resources including Land of Lincoln…

Resources  Databases –Foundation Directory Online –Foundation Grants to Individuals Online  Print Materials –Directories –Manuals –Budget tools

Select Bibliography of Directories  Directory of Research Grants AS911.A2 D  Annual Register of Grant Support: A Directory of Funding Sources AS911.A2 A  The Grants Register: The Complete Guide to Postgraduate Funding Worldwide AS911.A2 G Directory HV7.I  Grants for Higher Education AS911.A2 G

Workshops  Faculty/Staff  Course specific  Online  Community

University of Illinois at Springfield Office of Development

Corporate and Foundation Relations  Help you find private funding sources –Prospect research –Initial conversations and meetings w/funders  Help you develop your proposals –Internal and external procedures –Grant seeking basics and guides acultystaff/cfgrantmaking.html acultystaff/cfgrantmaking.html –Proposal Development form

Corporate Giving  Corporations provide around 5% of total private giving  Various pockets –In-kind, Sponsorship, Grants, Gifts  Most follow strict giving guidelines  Many link giving with talent acquisition  Senior management may influence  May allocate based upon market

Foundation Grant Making  Foundations provide around 14% of total private giving  Fit their mission; Follow their guidelines  Engage in pre-proposal discussions  RFPs, Guidelines, Invitations  Letters of Interest/Intent  No assumptions –Research each Foundation (4 general types) –Be clear about your project

Getting Funded  Reviewers need convincing –Reviewers may not be experts –Show benefits beyond the classroom –A new way of solving a problem- Innovation –Data supports your idea –‘Intend’ vs. ‘will’  Listen to colleagues  Rejection is okay? –The national success rate is… –Reviewer notes are your map to success

University of Illinois at Springfield Grants & Contracts Office

Assistance provided by G&C Office  Identification of external funding sources  Interpretation of sponsor guidelines and requirements  Assistance with all stages of proposal development  Official submission of proposals to outside sponsors, including electronic submissions through grants.gov, Fastlane, etc.  Assistance with protocols for research involving human and/or animal subjects  Assistance with intellectual property issues  Assistance with export issues  Assistance with conflict of interest issues  A webpage with links to relevant information, and downloadable forms

Where to look for funding  IRIS campus only!  Google  Association listserves, funder newsletters, etc.  Grants.gov  Colleagues  Council on Undergraduate Research

UIS Provost Funding  Summer Competitive Scholarly Research Grant Program (SCRGP)  Strategic Academic Initiatives Grant (SAIG) Program  Scholarly Presentation Support Program  Federal agency home pages (ed.gov)  State agency home pages html

UIS requirements for proposals & awards All proposals submitted to external sponsors by UIS faculty, staff and students require internal approval using the UIS Internal Clearance Form. (may take 3 or 4 days to process after it is submitted to the grants office depending on signature requirements) All awards must be officially accepted by the campus, and must be signed by the proper authority.

Proposal Writing Tips DO:  Follow directions –Read and follow the format and assembly instructions  Learn as much about your funder as you can, including what they funded in the past  Use language that is simple and direct  Repeat the funder’s language back to them  Include tables, flowcharts and diagrams when they are useful  Check for modifications to the RFP often  Assemble required addendums and forms early

Tips continued …  Consider including a logic model  Proofread –Have someone not familiar with your work read your proposal  Prepare a detailed and justifiable budget –Align budget with objectives and measurable outcomes  Talk to staff at the funding agency  Ask for reviewer comments  Volunteer to serve as a proposal reviewer

Tips continued… DO NOT:  Go over the number of pages allotted  Pad your budget with items that can’t be justified  Assume that reviewers are experts in your field  Wait until the last minute – to write or to submit  Wait until the “perfect time” to submit  Send the same proposal off to multiple funders  Get discouraged!!

Suggestions for Success  Establish a track record with peer reviewed publications  Do your research. Know current “best practice” related to your grant topic  Show institutional support –List all available resources even if you haven’t tapped into them yet  Find collaborators –Colleagues down the hall, at another campus –Attend professional conferences

Resources for Grant Writing  Kellogg Foundation Logic Model Development Guide  Grant Experts Nonprofit Website –  US Dept. of Health & Human Services –  NSF Publications –  Thompson Publishing –Winning Strategies for Developing Proposals and Managing Grants, 3 rd Edition