Volume 14, Number 9: March 5, 2008
FUNDING TIPS
Changes in COS Funding Opportunities
COS released a new version of COS Funding Opportunities March 5. In the coming weeks, the GrantSource Library will communicate with UNC-Chapel Hill COS account holders to update you on the changes and assist you with using the new features designed to make your funding searches more efficient.
The changes will affect only the search, results and records interfaces of the COS Funding Opportunities database. Be assured that all your COS settings, saved searches and tracked records will remain intact.
To schedule an individual consultation or a group workshop on using the COS Funding Opportunities database and funding alerts, contact the GrantSource Library (962-3463).
For more information about COS, click here.
Information about Funding for International Collaborations
The GrantSource Library has added to its online Funding Guides a new section about funding and philanthropy for international organizations. If your research or outreach projects involve international collaborations, these resources may be useful to you and your partners as you search for grants for organizations and/or programs located outside the United States.
For example, the Michigan State University Libraries Grants and Related Resources webpage includes annotated lists of international and foreign grant makers with links to their web sites, as well as books about international grant making.
The World Bank's Foundation Information Center lists foundations that support international programs and organizations, and has direct links to foundation search engines where you can tailor your search by sector or geographic area. The site also has quick links to foundations that fund projects in certain regions (e.g. Africa funders) or by specific topics (e.g. HIV/AIDS funders).
The Grantsmanship Center has several International Funding resource lists available via the "International" tab. Regions covered include Africa; Asia, Australia, New Zealand, & Pacific Islands; Canada; Mexico, Central America, Caribbean, and South America; Europe; and the Middle East.
Funders Online is the European Foundation Centre online public information service on independent funding. It offers access to the websites of more than 500 foundations and corporate funders based or active in Europe.
To view other information resources in the library's International Organizations Funding Guide web page, click here.
The GrantSource Library also has other funding databases, especially COS and InfoEd SPIN, which can be used to search for funding for international projects. For assistance, please contact the GrantSource Library (962-3463).
Guide to Getting an NIH R01
Science's Next Wave has reworked its popular webpage "The NIH R01 Tool Kit" to reflect the many recent changes at the National Institutes of Health (NIH), most notably the transition to electronic applications.
This tool kit is designed to guide biomedical researchers seeking their first R01 grant through the process of preparing and submitting grant applications. Next Wave writers and editors will continue to revise the tool kit to incorporate changes in NIH procedures, new funding opportunities, and new advice on navigating the application process.
We encourage you to bookmark this very useful page and to use it as your starting point when you prepare new NIH research project grants.
Tracking Foundation Giving through Foundation Center's Trend Tracker
The Foundation Center has launched a free online tool to provide better access to information about nonprofit organizations including foundations. The new Trend Tracker is part of Fact Finder, a suite of tools that includes Foundation Finder and 990 Finder, both of which provide access to information on foundations and nonprofit groups.
Trend Tracker allows users to create charts and line graphs with detailed information on the top 20,000 U.S. foundations, including expenditures and giving information. Users can analyze an individual grantmaker's fiscal data or compare up to five foundations.
Trend Tracker covers the years 2000 to 2005, but additional years will be added as data becomes available.
Why You Should Volunteer to Serve as an NSF Reviewer
In addition to providing a great service to the National Science Foundation (NSF) and the science and engineering community, reviewers benefit from reviewing and from serving on panels. As a reviewer you will gain firsthand knowledge of the peer review process; learn about common problems with proposals; discover strategies to write strong proposals; and, through serving on a panel, meet colleagues and NSF program officers managing programs related to your interests.
To learn how you can become a grant reviewer, click here.
K. B. Reynolds Charitable Trust Health Care Division's Funding Priorities
The staff and boards of the Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust recently decided to increase the trust's focus on disease and illness prevention in an attempt to get to the source of some of the obstacles to health and quality of life faced by North Carolina's financially needy residents. Over the next five years, Trust funding will reflect this shift as 35 to 40 percent of Health Care Division funding will be awarded to programs falling within two areas of emphasis:
Disease and Illness Prevention
- Programs and strategies designed to identify and prevent chronic diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or stroke; and communicable diseases, such as HIV.
- Support for interventions that target populations especially at risk of the disease or illness—for example, tobacco users.
- Prevention includes preventive dental services, such as hygiene and sealants.
Health Promotion and Wellness
- Strategies to improve the health of individuals, groups, and communities by providing them with the tools to make informed health decisions.
- Activities that focus on increasing physical activity and good nutrition, or on decreasing risky behaviors such as substance abuse and tobacco use.
- Educational or outreach programs—for example, to reduce infant mortality, promote health literacy, or reduce obesity.
The grant application process is a two-step process involving consultation with a staff program officer, followed by formal submission of a grant application.
Tips for Managing a Successful Prevention Program
Meg Molloy of North Carolina Prevention Partners offers these tips for managing a disease and illness prevention program:
- Select projects that will have lasting impact—policy and environmental change for example.
- Engage community members.
- Partner with others who have similar goals and are rolling out similar efforts.
- Spotlight success.
- Be open and flexible to change.
- Don't be intimidated by evaluation. It is simply telling your story.
- Walk the talk. You'll build credibility by focusing on prevention yourself before you take it into the community.
Source: Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust Catalyst, Fall/Winter 2007, vol. 2, no. 1.