| |
|
 |
|
The Office of Foundation Relations is Northwestern's central office in support of fundraising from private professional foundations. Foundation Relations' primary role is to manage and monitor relationships with private foundations to advance university goals and priorities.
Private Foundations tend to support projects that address a specific problem and benefit a larger community outside of the University. Foundations typically do not provide funding for core University needs such as course development or endowed chairs or centers. The average foundation grant size is $50,000; multiyear grants at Northwestern average $240,000.
The Office of Foundation Relations is available to work with Northwestern faculty who are planning to approach private foundations. We provide research information on foundations and identify those that might be interested in funding particular projects. We review proposals and letters of inquiry, provide editorial assistance, and help gather materials for submission. Our office also works closely with the Office of Sponsored Research to coordinate grant proposals and process awards.
Please note that the Office of Foundation Relations is responsible for coordinating approaches to all foundations on behalf of Northwestern University . This allows us to ensure that new approaches to foundations are strategic and initiated appropriately. Also, several foundations require the involvement of the president of Northwestern University ; our office must be notified before any contact is initiated with these foundations. Please visit the Foundation Directory to view a list of these foundations. |
| Resources for Grant Seekers |
InfoEd. and Spin
Sponsored Programs Information Network (SPIN) and InfoEd
SPIN offers searchable information on funding opportunities from foundations, corporations, and government agencies. SPIN supplements our other funding opportunity databases, Community of Science (COS), the Illinois Researcher Information Service (IRIS) and the Foundation Relations' RFP webpage. Northwestern faculty can access SPIN from their on-campus computers.
InfoEd is Northwestern's enterprise system for proposal administration. Principal investigators and their designated representatives can use InfoEd to develop and track proposals.
Search SPIN https://infoed.northwestern.edu/spin/spinmain.asp
Search InfoEd http://infoed.cafe.northwestern.edu/
Search Foundation Relations' RFPs: http://www.giving.northwestern.edu/foundations/funding.php?id=07 . |
External Funding Resources
Please review these resources to identify possible funders for your project. All foundation prospects should be approved by the Office of Foundation Relations before contact is made with a foundation. |
|
|
Request for Private Foundation Information
The Office of Foundation Relations will search for funding for projects that have been identified as a priority by the University. To initiate a search to identify foundations that might be interested in funding your project, the first step is to complete a request for private foundation information/research form. |
|
|
Letter of Inquiry Guidelines
Often, the first contact with a foundation is through a brief, one to three page letter of inquiry. In general, its purpose is to attract the foundation's interest in your project or proposal so that foundation staff will request a more detailed proposal. Please note that individual foundations may specify the content and length of this initial letter. |
|
|
Office of Sponsored Research
The Office of Sponsored Research offers additional information on funding resources as well as the university forms and contacts required for institutional approval of grants. |
|
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
