Yes. Contacting us before approaching a foundation is required by the university—and working with us will significantly increase your likelihood of success. Some foundations require that you approach them through our office; some limit the number of proposals RIT can submit and require that our office coordinate them. Even if you meet a program officer at a conference, through a colleague, or over social media, we ask that you connect with us before making an approach. We will guide you through RIT internal submission processes and provide expertise and support for relationship and proposal development.

Yes. We have developed relationships with the university’s foundation donors and continue to initiate and expand these every day. Where we do not yet have connections, we are eager to get started developing them with you and for RIT.

The OFR team reviews foundation opportunities daily. We are always eager to meet with you and to learn about your work and your funding needs, then conduct research to identify your strongest opportunities and support your throughout the process.

In some cases OFR staff may write proposals or sections of proposals, but we will always look to you as the subject matter expert. In many cases, it is best for you to create the first draft – but we will work together to determine the strategy that will work best for you. We can also provide edits and feedback, keeping a close eye on the best way to highlight the synergies between your work and the foundation’s priorities to increase your likelihood of success.

In most cases, OFR staff manage RIT’s institutional accounts in foundation portals. We will work with you to identify the submission requirements and to coordinate submission.

OFR will support coordination on grant reporting. You will be the authority on what was accomplished or produced, but we can support completing and submitting a report that aligns with the funder requirements – and especially that will position you, your work, and RIT positively as we seek to cultivate long-lasting relationships with funders. Often, as with proposals, reports must be submitted through the foundation’s grant portal. In these cases, we will handle the upload and submission of the report. When a portal is not required, we will facilitate report submission through a meeting, via email, or presentation, as appropriate.

This can be one of the most challenging questions to answer. Each have their own process and determine who to fund by weighing priorities, expertise, relationship, and many other factors – including, in some cases, the competition. We will work closely with you to ensure that you are moving forward in a process giving you the greatest likelihood of success.