Volume 14, Number 1: July 11, 2007
FUNDING TIPS
Impressing Foundations
For a summary of the factors foundation program officials use to make funding decisions, see Erin Strout's column in the June 22, 2007 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education. For example, program officials say they place very high priority on funding activities that are well-aligned with the mission of their foundation, as well as those that demonstrate collaboration with other organizations and impact in the larger community. Program officials also want to know that the knowledge gained from a funded project could be shared with other organizations.
Corporate Giving
The Foundation Center 's FAQ page provides useful tips for identifying potential corporate funding opportunities, including this excerpt:
"Corporations may donate to charity by means of a company-sponsored foundation, through a separate corporate giving program, or both … Corporate giving programs are often managed by a company's community or public relations department. Corporate giving whether by means of a foundation or not, usually is limited to programs of benefit to employees, their families, or residents of specific locations where the company conducts business … When approaching corporate grantmakers, always consider the self-interest of the funder. A proposal to a corporation should emphasize how its support of your project will help it achieve its goals…"
GrantSource Library Resources for Researching Corporate Giving
The GrantSource Library has a number of resources you can use to search for corporate sponsors. For example, the Foundation Directory Platinum Online allows you to perform online searches on nearly 80,000 foundations, corporate givers, and grantmaking public charities. Use the terms "Company-sponsored foundation" or "Corporate giving program" from the "Type of Grantmaker" index to focus on corporate funders.
The library's print collection includes the Corporate Giving Directory which provides detailed descriptive profiles of more than 1,000 of the top corporate charitable giving programs in the United States. The directory provides information on program priorities; cash, nonmonetary, and corporate sponsorship giving; corporate operating locations; geographic giving preferences; application procedures and evaluative criteria; and recently awarded grants data.
Both the COS and InfoEd SPIN funding opportunities databases also contain corporate foundations and corporate giving programs.
For assistance in using these resources, contact the GrantSource Library at 962-3463.
Writing Knockout Proposals
Joseph Barbato provides some good advice for grant proposal writers in his book How to Write Knockout Proposals. Highlights include:
- Avoid lots of jargon and technical language.
- Give the sponsors what they want.
- Follow the guidelines explicitly.
- Pay close attention to details.
To read more excerpts from Barbato's book, click here.
RWJ Foundation Vulnerable Populations Program
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Vulnerable Populations program aims to support promising new ideas that address health and health-care problems that intersect with social factors—housing, poverty, and inadequate education—and affect society's most vulnerable people, including low-income children and their families, frail older adults, adults with disabilities, the homeless, those with HIV/AIDS, and those with severe mental illness.
The program website includes:
- An overview of RWJF's strategy;
- Current funding opportunities;
- Information on active grants and programs;
- Grantee profiles;
- Research and publications resulting from the program area's work; and
- News releases, features, and commentaries.
Although RWJF no longer supports new programs to improve the quality of addiction treatment, the foundation will continue to issue select calls for proposals for existing programs. In a few circumstances, the Vulnerable Populations Program Area may support limited work in addiction as it intersects with other priorities of the program area.
To learn more about the Vulnerable Populations Program Area, click here. Click here to view all RWJF program areas.