Overview of Grants Submission Process
Warren Calderone
Director, Foundation, Government and
Corporate Relations
Co-Director, Shepherd University Research
Corporation (SURC)
External Funding Goals
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Faculty development
Student service
Student learning and research experience
Budget relief/new sources of funding
Student and faculty recruitment
University reputation and prestige
SURC Organization
President Suzanne Shipley, Atty. Alan Perdue,
Deborah Judd
VPs Diane Melby and Christopher Ames
Co-Directors: Warren Calderone (Director,
Foundation, Govt. and Corp. Relations) and Dr.
Colleen Nolan (Dean, SNSM)
SURC Grant Roles
– Build a “grant seeking culture” at Shepherd:
encourage faculty and staff to apply for external grant
or contract support
– Serve as a sounding board for grant ideas and assist in
getting those ideas, and eventual grant proposals,
approved by executive staff
– Help faculty and staff find grant opportunities and
assist with the preparation and submission of grant
proposals, including budgets
– Assist the PI/PD, and the Finance office, in post-award
activities (e.g., report submission tracking)
Tools
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Pre-Proposal Form and Concept Paper
Grant policies and procedures
SURC website
McAllister and Quinn resources
Proposal development and submission
Budget development/justification
Proposal review and approval
Timeline
Funding Announcement
Proposal Development
Internal Review: SURC
and Executive Staff
2 WEEKS PRIOR!
Grant Due Date
First Grant Writer
In the beginning: Concept
Two general tracks:
Idea
Search for funders
RFP/FOA
Align concept/idea
Concept Paper
• One to two page description of idea
• Briefly explain:
– Need
– Objectives
– Activities and timeframe
– Personnel involved
– Funding amount with any cost sharing
– If applicable, grant criteria (e.g., NSF)
Funding Sources
Public and Private
• Public: Federal (grants.gov); State; local
• Private: Corporate, family, and other
foundations (Foundation Center search engine:
free access at library)
Exploring the Fit
– Organizational– mission, vision, values
– Organizational readiness
– Partner requirements
– Competitive
– Regulations or “strings attached”
– Source of cash or in-kind match, if applicable
– Eligibility: lead applicant or partner
– Deadline(s)
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PND
Pre-proposal form
• “Early warning system”
• Faculty or staff member describes a potential
project where external funding is needed
• Alerts Administration to potential grant
submission and any support (e.g., matching
funds, space, in-kind or other University
commitments) that may be needed.
Pre-proposal form (cont.)
• Time-sensitive form: need as much advance
notice as possible to secure approval from
Executive Staff. Submit form at least 45
days before the grant due date.
• Form is processed electronically
• Executive approval of pre-proposal form is
no guarantee of final approval of proposal.
The proposal still has to go through internal
review and approval before submission.
Key Proposal Items
Needs Assessment or
Problem Statement
Program Evaluation
or Outcomes
Assessment
Goals and
Objectives
Plan of
Action/Activities
to Address Need
Proposal Development
Proposed Program
• Be prescriptive about who you will serve,
what and how you will serve them, who will
conduct activities, where and when activities
will occur
• Establish a realistic timeline
• Literature review to support project
Proposal Development
Sustainability
•What will happen after the funding ends?
•List matching funds, in-kind, revenue, etc.
Dissemination
•How will you distribute results? Think usual
(papers, posters, web, etc.) and innovative.
•Funders like to be acknowledged!
Proposal Review and Processing-Federal
• Preliminary Review
• Reviewers Selected
• Peer Review Panel (ad
hoc, internal)
• Program Officer
Recommendation
• Division Director
Review
• Business Review
• Award Finalized
Post-Award
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Celebrate!
Budget negotiation sometimes involved
PI/institution sign grant award
Hold a post-award meeting with team:
key staff, Finance, and evaluator
• Be cognizant of reporting dates
If you do not win
If you do not win
1. Don’t be discouraged. Success rates are
low. Take a comprehensive approach to
win.
2. Read the reviews carefully, if provided,
and ask colleagues to do the same.
3. Discuss reviews with program officer.
4. Address reviews within resubmission.
MOUs
• Proposals where Shepherd is not the lead applicant or
fiscal agent
• Partnering with another organization that has received
a grant award
• Need to develop a memorandum of understanding
(MOU) between Shepherd and that organization,
describing exactly the obligations and responsibilities
of all parties
• Developed by our legal counsel
Grant Myths
I don’t need to worry about
the grant deadline
Grant Myths
I don’t need to be
involved—we have a
grant writer
Grant Myths
• Cost sharing is not a problem
• We don’t have to be that
careful about in-kind cost
sharing—no one is going to
check
Grant Myths
We don’t have to respond
to everything in the RFP
Grant Myths
Fonts, margins, page limits,
etc. are not that important
Who cares about a few
typoes!
Grant Myths
• After we get the award,
we’re on easy street
• It doesn’t matter if I don’t
submit grant reports
Summary
• SURC is here to help
• The earlier you start the process,
the better: allow sufficient time
for executive staff review and
approval
Thank you!
Warren Calderone
wcaldero@shepherd.edu
876-5065
304-671-2509