Corporate, Foundation and Research Relations
SPONSORED PROJECTS ADMINISTRATION
SLA Faculty Workshop
“Writing a Successful Grant Proposal”
• Kevin Gotham (Assoc. Dean, Sociology Prof, and former
NSF Program Director)
• Lou Franchina (Office of Development, Corporate and
Foundation Relations (CFR))
• Kathleen Kozar, Director, Sponsored Projects
Administration (SPA))
• Norey Laug (Associate Director, Sponsored Projects
Administration (SPA))
• Chris Dunn (Assoc. Prof Spanish and Portuguese and
NEH award winner)
Presentation Topics
1. Introduction to Grant Writing
2. Working with the Office of Corporate and Foundation
Relations (CFR)
3. Working with the Sponsored Projects Administration
(SPA)
3. Proposal Development Strategies for Investigators
Why Does Tulane Want You
to Write Grants?
• High visibility for the university
• Overhead or indirect costs help balance the
university budget and pay for administration
• Contributes to prestige and national ranking of
the university
Why Do You Want to Write Grants
and Pursue External Funding?
• Summer salary, course release, reduced teaching load,
travel, funds for equipment
• Raises your research visibility
• Opens doors to consulting, collaborative research, new
research agendas, etc.
• Increases opportunities for writing, national &
international presentations, and shaping public policy
• Grants will help you make tenure
What Can Tulane Do
to Help You Write Grants?
• Provide information about funding opportunities
• Provide assistance in filling out forms
• Provide names of key persons at governmental agencies
• Serve as a liaison to private foundations
• Provide assistance with proposal development, budgets,
IRB, and stewardship reporting
• Keep you informed of deadlines
Corporate and Foundation Relations
(CFR)
• The Office of Corporate and Foundation
Relations is part of the Development
Office and resides at 1555 Poydras Street.
• We work with non-governmental funding
sources.
What Do We Do?
• CFR can assist with:

Funder identification
• Funder communication
» Leveraging existing funder relationships
» Building new funder relationships
• Proposal development
» Identifying internal collaborators
•
•
•
•
•
•
Proposal writing
Proposal review
Budget review
Securing leadership signatures
Proposal submission
Reporting and stewardship
What Don’t We Do?
– Government funding
– Student funding
– Funding from other colleges or universities
– Funding that can only be awarded directly to
faculty members and not Tulane
– When in doubt, ask me!
What Foundations Fund
• Programming
– Seed funding for new programs
– Expansion funding
– Gap funding
• Research
– Interdisciplinary Research
Why Funders Fund
• Foundations distribute money in order to fulfill
their self-defined mission.
• They must give away 5 percent of their assets
every year or face IRS penalties.
• Corporations typically fund to increase their
visibility and credibility in areas where they
operate.
• Corporations often desire publicity for their
giving.
Before You Begin
• Do your homework
– Institutional priorities, in kind matches, and
collaborations matter
– Dig to see if the funder is a good fit
– Relationship building through Corporate and
Foundation Relations
Some Thoughts on Funders
• If you are early on project, small grants:
– Professional organizations:
• American Psychological Association
• American Sociological Association
• American Historical Association, etc.
– Look internally for seed grants
Some Thoughts on Funders
• Later on – focus on foundations that match
both the TYPE and the SUBJECT of the
project:
– Russell Sage FDN:
• type: research; Subject: Economics
• Consider fellowships:
ACLS, Wilson, Open Society, etc.
What Foundations Want
• Who, What, When, Where, Why,
and How?
• You learned it in kindergarten:
– Follow the directions
– Answer the questions
– Speak clearly
– Be honest
Follow the Directions
• If the funder does not allow for indirect
costs:
– Do: Create a budget that shows indirect costs
as part of the university’s contribution to the
project.
– Don’t: Request that the funder pay any part
of indirect costs.
Follow Directions
If they tell you to submit this:
Applicant Organization:
Tulane University
Project Title:
Project Title Here
Principal Investigator:
Principal Investigator Name Here.
Grant Start Date:
September, 2009
Grant End Date:
September, 2012
Budget Category
Personnel
$240,000
Non-Funder
Support
$360,000
$104,000
$25,000
Funder Support
Total
$600,000
$129,000
Other Direct Cost
Purchased Services
$30,000
$30,000
Indirect Cost
$37,400
$37,400
Grand Total
$411,400
$385,000
$796,400
Follow Directions
Don’t submit this:
Year 1
Funder
Year 2
Recipient
Funder
Year 3
Recipient
Funder
Recipient
Personnel
0.00
40,000.00
20,000.00
40,000.00
Faculty-Outreach
20,000.00
0.00
20,000.00
0.00
20,000.00
0.00
Coordinator
25,000.00
0.00
25,000.00
0.00
25,000.00
0.00
Office of Ed
30,000.00
10,000.00
25,000.00
10,000.00
10,000.00 10,000.00
Dean's office
0.00
45,000.00
0.00
45,000.00
0.00 45,000.00
Clerical support
0.00
25,000.00
25,000.00
25,000.00
Consultant
30,000.00
0.00
0.00
Faculty
30,000.00
0.00
0.00
0.00
20,000.00
Faculty
20,000.00 40,000.00
Stipends
faculty
Travel
Supplies
Indirect Costs
TOTALS
10,000.00
0.00
0.00
12,000.00
5,000.00
14,500.00
159,500
0.00
0.00
134,200
0.00
0.00
0.00
20,000.00 10,000.00
12,000.00
5,000.00
12,200.00
125,000
0.00
0.00
5,000.00
10,700.00
125,000
117,700
135,000
Follow
Directions
Sometimes
you are
limited
to this . . .
Follow
Directions
. . . other
times, you
can be more
creative
A Word About Budgets
• Must flow from the narrative
• Must follow guidelines
• Total cost
• Don’t forget to include funding to carry out
evaluation
Answer the Questions
• The funder asks for your organization’s
mission.
• Don’t write this:
Answer the Questions
The Center for Public Service reflects Tulane University's renewed
sense of purpose within a city and region rising from devastation.
Recognizing that active, civic engagement builds strong, healthy
communities and responsible citizens, the Center for Public Service
merges academic inquiry with sustained civic engagement. CPS is a
forum for students, faculty and community partners to work together to
address urgent and long-term social challenges and opportunities
within the Gulf Coast Region. With the implementation of the
undergraduate public service graduation requirement, many non-profit
organizations with in the community have benefited from over 125,000
hours of service in 2008-2009. This impact has help to expand their
efforts to become more visible to the communities they serve and to
dedicate more finances to projects instead of having to cut back on
their impact due to the lack of human resources.
Answer the Questions
– Do write this:
• The mission of the Center for Public Service is to
develop a civically engaged student body by
supporting Tulane University’s diverse communitybased research and service activities as well as to
serve as an intellectual and physical space for
sustained university/community partnerships.
Speak Clearly
• Don’t use acronyms (At all!! Ever!!)
– Most especially don’t use them to refer to your
organization
Speak Clearly
• Instead of this:
“The CBZ has been a primary partner with
the HCNA and its CSED in Hurricane
Katrina recovery efforts.”
Speak Clearly
• Say this
“The Organization has been a primary partner
with the Holy Cross Neighborhood
Association and its Center for Special
Education in Hurricane Katrina recovery
efforts.”
Speak Clearly
• Use lay language
• Instead of this:
Speak Clearly
The meeting of often conservative religious,
ethnic and class values regarding gender
roles and sexuality with diasporic migrations
through this fluid maritime space,
determined by labor consignments, social
violence, natural disasters and/or desires of
freedom or economic opportunity created a
unique and vibrant cultural cauldron.
Speak Clearly
• Say this:
• As people migrated to new areas in the
wake of natural disaster or in search of
employment, vastly different cultures
began to interact.
Speak Clearly
Speak Clearly
• Strunk and White: The Elements of Style
• Simple sentences
• Conventions of standard English
• File or folder of ideas and tips
Speak Clearly
• Organization matters
– Use their guidelines as section titles
OR
- Use standard proposal section titles:
• Summary, Intro, Need Statement, Objectives and
Methods, Evaluation, Budget and Sustainability,
Conclusion
Be Honest
• You will most likely have to report back to
the funder
• Tell your story, but don’t exaggerate
Proposal Development Strategies
• Develop a long-term research plan with clear goals
(create a plan not just a proposal)
– What do you intend to do and why is your research
important?
– What work has already been done and how are you going
to do your research (data collection and analysis)?
• Conceive of the final product before writing the
proposal(s)
• Research multiple funders to identify whose
priorities fund projects similar to yours
Proposal Development Strategies
• Familiarize yourself with funding sources and
proposal guidelines
• Check:
–
–
–
–
–
–
–
eligibility
average size of awards
maximum amount available
previous awards
proposal requirements and format
deadlines
evaluation criteria and process
Proposal Development Strategies
• Speak with a program director, previous
reviewers, successful colleagues
• If possible, request proposals from past
awardees
• Outline the details of the project before writing:
narrative, timetable, methods and data sources,
budget, personnel, institutional commitment
– Determine available resources
– Realistically assess needs
Components of a Successful Proposal
• A successful proposal is one that is thoughtfully
planned, well prepared, and concisely packaged
• Base the proposal on a good idea that fills a gap
in the knowledge of your discipline
–
–
–
–
–
Survey the literature
Contact Investigators working on topic
Obtain preliminary data
Prepare a brief concept paper
Discuss with colleagues/mentors
• Use concise, direct, and straightforward
language (no jargon)
Components of a Successful Proposal
• Write to the audience that will review your
proposal
• Explain the urgency and timeliness of your work
• Provide evidence that you can successfully
complete the project
• Read guidelines at least three times
• Follow directions completely
Components of a Successful Proposal
• Stress benefits instead of features
• Explain how you will collect the data and
evaluate the findings (data management plan)
• Explain the value-added nature of the research
– Why should any one care about your work?
– Answer the “so what” question
• If appropriate, describe how you will disseminate
the findings
Components of a Successful Proposal
• Understand the importance of the abstract (first
impression)
• Understand that you will need to revise the first
draft
• Make sure well in advance that key institutional
officials are aware of your proposal and are
ready to sign-off on it
• Check deadlines carefully
Start Early and Don’t Be Shy
• Write, rewrite, and rewrite again
• Get critiques from mentors, previous members of review
panels, and program directors
• Network
• Think ahead (six months, minimum)
Start Early and Don’t Be Shy
• Be aware of the scope: “too ambitious” versus “too
narrow.”
• Make it easy for reviewers: simplify and streamline
(make sure to get the overall idea across); pay attention
to details; keep in mind that the reviewer may not be an
expert in your specific field
• Convince the reviewers that your proposal is the one to
support
• USP (Unique Selling Proposition)
Conclusions
•
Funders are looking to fund research that is bold,
original, innovative, and transformative
•
Pay attention to the funding agency’s goals and
review criteria as you craft your proposal
•
Ask for advice
•
Revise your proposal and submit again
Resources
• The Grantsmanship Center http://www.tgci.com
• Chronicle of Philanthropy http://philanthropy.com/
• Foundation Center http://foundationcenter.org/
• Foundation Directory Online access:
– NOPL, Technology Division, 504.596.2580
Thank You!
Thank You!
Thank You!