How do I get started?
Should I contact the Office of Foundation Relations or the Office of Sponsored Research Services?
How do I find the right foundation to fund my project?
How can the Office of Foundation Relations help me?
What are the different types of foundations?
What approvals will I need?
Who contacts the foundation?
How do I actually apply for funding?
If the foundation provides no specific guidelines, what should my proposal include?
Do foundations allow indirect costs?
How long does it take to get foundation funding?
What are my obligations if I receive funding?
What are RFPs and Limited Applications?

How do I get started?

Securing funds from a private foundation requires your involvement. YOU are usually the best spokesperson for your project.

Talk with your department chairperson and your dean about your ideas and how to carry them forward. Determine what institutional support there may be for your project; often foundations want to see that the institution has made its own financial commitment to the project being proposed. Also, your department chair and dean will need to approve any applications for outside funding. Once you have a sense of what internal support will be available, we will be in a better position to secure external support.

Should I contact the Office of Foundation Relations or the Office of Sponsored Research Services?

Please contact Foundation Relations if you believe a private foundation might support your project.

Contact the office of Sponsored Research Services if you wish to approach any potential sponsor of your research that is not a private foundation. This would include federal or state funding sources (such as the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Department of Energy, National Endowment for the Humanities, National Endowment for the Arts).

How do I find the right foundation to fund my project?

Private foundations support initiatives that advance their mission and focus. They vary widely in their priorities and areas of focus, and many periodically review and revise their programs in response to changing conditions. Our Funding Resources page offers links to sites where you can learn more about foundations and how they operate.

• While foundations seek projects that address their identified focus areas, they may favor programs that also exhibit one or more of the following characteristics (though this list is not exhaustive): multi-institutional collaboration; interdisciplinary programs; college-community partnerships, especially if in conjunction with local or regional K-12 schools; creative and economical uses of technology for teaching and learning; service to underserved populations; or access to higher education for non-traditional students.


• Foundations often wish to support projects that will have an impact beyond the initiating institution and/or projects that will develop new solutions to global problems.


• Foundations may also seek reassurance that the initiating institution will commit its own resources to the proposed project and that there is a plan in place to continue the project, if appropriate, when the foundation's support is exhausted.

How can the Office of Foundation Relations help me?

Our office maintains relationships with many foundations. In those cases, we can share our direct knowledge of the foundation and provide information or insights not available through its website. Our goal is to make the grant-seeking process easier and more accessible.

We can:

• Offer guidance to those on campus who engage in foundation fundraising.


• Provide briefings and make arrangements for visits to foundations by the president, provost, deans, and faculty, and facilitate visits to campus by foundation officers.


• Provide research information on foundations, and suggest or help to identify appropriate sources of foundation funding for particular projects.


• Stay aware of foundation trends so as to assist RIT faculty and administration in strategy development. Our office reviews and maintains a library of foundation literature, especially annual reports; maintains contact with RIT faculty, staff, and trustees having close connections to particular foundations; develops personal contacts with foundation officers.


• Receive, assess, circulate, and assist in developing responses to foundation RFPs (Requests for Proposals).


• Work with senior staff and faculty to develop proposals that will particularly suit expressed foundation interests.


• Facilitate the submission of a proposal, including required supporting documents and, where appropriate, arrange for cover letters from RIT leadership.


• Provide post-grant assistance, including: institutional acknowledgement (thank you letters), tracking information about your award, and reminders of when reports are due.

What are the different types of Foundations?

• Private/Independent Foundation: A 501(c)(3) organization that is originally funded from one source, that derives revenue from earnings on its investments, and that makes grants to other charitable organizations as opposed to administering its own programs.


• Community Foundation: Most often, a publicly supported organization that makes grants for social, educational, religious, or other charitable purposes in a specific community or region. Funds are derived from many donor sources, and retention of such funds as endowment is usually encouraged; income, including that earned by the endowment, is then used to make grants.


• Corporate Foundation: Corporate foundations are very explicit as to their fields of interest, often limiting grants to causes related to corporate profits and interests, such as the communities where they are headquartered or the communities where they have branches. (Contact the Office of University Corporate Relations with queries regarding Corporate Foundations.)

What approvals will I need?

It depends. You will need, at a minimum, the approvals of your department chair and dean, especially if your project will require time released from other obligations, additional lab or office space, or other additional resources. You may also need the approval of the Provost and /or other Vice Presidents. Generally, Foundation Relations prepare a cover letter from the President to accompany your proposal.

Who contacts the foundation?

The Office of Foundation Relations makes the first contact with the foundation; often we will do this with you. We will work with you to determine how the project can best be presented and by whom. The initial contact might be a phone call, a letter, a proposal, or a meeting. Members of our staff may have personal contacts (program officer, colleague at another institution, faculty member, board member) who can advise on the most effective approach and give additional guidance regarding the funding process.

How do I actually apply for funding?

Each foundation has its own procedures and most maintain websites providing guidance to applicants. Study these carefully, but contact our office as well because websites can sometimes be out of date.

Often the first approach is a 1-2 page succinct presentation of the project in a Letter of Inquiry. On the basis of this letter, the funder may invite submission of a full proposal — the specified length can vary. Some foundations outline detailed requirements for the proposal, while others provide only a general description of what it should include.

If the foundation provides no specific guidelines, what should my proposal include?

There are a number of proposal-writing guides available. One good resource is the Foundation Center, a nonprofit organization that offers a wide variety of resources for dealing with foundations. It offers free, online courses, including a Proposal Writing Short Course and Proposal Budgeting Basics.

Keep in mind that foundations often want their grants to make a significant impact on society, a geographic region, or a discipline, and they want to bestow their grants where the funds will yield the greatest results. When thinking through your proposal, consider the following questions:

• What is the issue to be addressed? Frame your project in the context of a larger issue (global, regional, national, societal) and show how your project will address that issue or otherwise move the field forward. Is the timing propitious?
• Why is RIT the ideal institution to address the issue?
• What will the outcomes be?
• How will you accomplish those outcomes?
• What do you need (time, money, facilities, people) to do it?
• How will you gauge your success?
• Why are you sending this particular proposal to this particular foundation?

Do foundations allow indirect costs?

Facilities & Administration Costs, also called indirect or overhead costs, are costs arising from the normal operation of an institution and not directly attributable to the project being proposed for funding. Some funders, especially government agencies, allow such costs, usually at a rate that has been negotiated between the institute and the Department of Health and Human Services. When such costs are to be recovered, they are built into the proposal budget from the outset. Most foundations, however, prohibit use of their grants for indirect costs and those who allow it, generally set their own rate.

How long does it take to get foundation funding?

It takes months rather than weeks. Funding decisions are often made by boards of directors that meet infrequently and need to receive materials at least one month prior to a meeting. You should contact your department chair, dean, and the Office of Foundation Relations well in advance of your need for funding.

What are my obligations if I receive funding?

Your obligations will be spelled out in a letter you will receive with the grant. Typically, you will be required to provide narrative and financial reports at the close of the grant period. Some foundations provide very detailed reporting instructions, others do not. In the absence of specific directions, your report should track with the proposal you submitted, it's better to show that you accomplished the activities and goals you described there.

What are RFPs and Limited Applications?

A foundation issues a Request for Proposals, or RFP, to solicit proposals that address specific problems that the foundation has identified as priorities. The requirements for the proposals may be quite detailed and may even specify the approach to the problem that the foundation wishes to support. The RFP may also require proposals to meet other criteria such as dollar amount, time limits, or institutional collaboration. When the Office of Foundation Relations receives RFPs, it distributes them as appropriate throughout RIT. Some RFPs limit the number of applications that will be accepted from each institution