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
http://library.uis.edu/cinrc
Pamela M. Salela, Associate Professor
CINRC Coordinator
Brookens Library
psale2@uis.edu
217-206-6783
University of Illinois at Springfield
Affiliations
 Foundation Center
http://foundationcenter.org
– Publications & Training
– Reference Guide for Researchers
http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/guides/research.html
– Webinars (live as well as archived)
http://foundationcenter.org/events/archive/webinars.html
 Donors Forum of Illinois
http://donorsforum.org
– Publications
– Workshops (Chicago)
 GoodWorksConnect.org
– Community resources including Land of Lincoln…
Resources
 Databases
– Foundation Directory Online
http://fconline.fdncenter.org/ipl.pl
– Foundation Grants to Individuals Online
http://gtionline.fdncenter.org/ipl.php
 Print Materials
– Directories
– Manuals
– Budget tools
Select Bibliography of Directories
 Directory of Research Grants
AS911 .A2 D5 2008
 Annual Register of Grant Support: A Directory of
Funding Sources AS911 .A2 A67 2008
 The Grants Register: The Complete Guide to
Postgraduate Funding Worldwide
AS911 .A2 G734 2009 Directory
HV7 .I56 2005
 Grants for Higher Education
AS911 .A2 G7247 2007
Workshops
Faculty/Staff
Course specific
Online
Community
Office of Development
http://www.uis.edu/development
Sarah Jennings, Director
217-206-7389
University of Illinois at Springfield
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
http://www.uis.edu/development/audiences/f
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
Grants & Contracts Office
http://www.uis.edu/grants
Donald Long, Coordinator
Grants & Contracts
206-7409
University of Illinois at Springfield
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 www.uis.edu/grants
Where to look for funding
 IRIS www.library.uiuc.edu/iris campus only!
 Google
 Association listserves, funder newsletters,
etc.
 Grants.gov
 Colleagues
 Council on Undergraduate Research
www.cur.org
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
www.uis.edu/academicaffairs/faculty/index.
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 www.wkkf.org
 Grant Experts Nonprofit Website
– www.grantexperts.info
 US Dept. of Health & Human Services
– http://grants.nih.gov/grants/grant_tips.htm
 NSF Publications
– http://www.nsf.gov/publications/
 Thompson Publishing www.thom
– Winning Strategies for Developing Proposals
and Managing Grants, 3rd Edition