How to submit a proposal

The Office of Corporate, Foundation and Government Relations assists faculty in raising funds for equipment, facilities, research, scholarships, endowments or programs by approaching foundations, corporations and other grant organizations, as well as local, state and federal government agencies. We carefully coordinate the college's approach to all previous and potential donors, because the building and maintaining of relationships with these individuals and organizations are important to the entire college community. Our relationships with faculty and staff are a very important part of this process, so we encourage you to communicate your needs and interest in projects from the start. The earlier we know about your project, the better we can plan our time so that you get the best possible help and are able to meet fixed deadlines. In order to facilitate this planning, the Office of Corporate, Foundation and Government Relations has developed guidelines for your use in identifying and contacting potential funders.

Guidelines

Proposals for grants that will be administered by Connecticut College (where funds are to be paid to and disbursed by the college) must be reviewed and approved before they are submitted to the fucing agency. This approval process usually takes a full ten working days, which should be factored into your planning. Please follow these steps:

• Contact the Office of Corporate, Foundation and Government Relations before proceeding. Let us know what your plans are and what your mailing deadline is. This will prevent our approaching a prospect for more than one project at a time, a circumstance which most often results in no project being funded. We have a Funding Research Assistance Form which we ask you to submit. It describes your project so that we can begin to research funding sources for you. Your department chair and the dean of the faculty need to know about your project, so we ask you to get their signatures before you submit a request for assistance to us. These assistance forms are available on line, and they also should be available from your department secretary, or you may call our office for a copy.
• Once you have submitted this form, you may also want to search for funding using the free database, SPIN. We'll be glad to assist you with using this search engine.
• Fill out a Grant Application Approval form. These approval sheets are available online, or you may call our office for a copy. This form will circulate with your final proposal to various offices on campus. We will oversee its circulation for you.
• Where appropriate, obtain signatures of the Institutional Review Board (for projects involving human subjects, the use of laboratory animals or the use of recombinant DNA). If you are applying to NSF or NIH, you must sign a conflict of interest statement, which appears on the yellow approval sheet.
• At least ten business days before your mailing deadline date, bring a copy of the full proposal, final budget forms, any pages requiring original signatures and any attachments, to the office of Corporate, Foundation and Government Relations in Becker House. We will proofread your proposal, check your budget and obtain the signatures of the following officials depending on the proposal: director of corporate, foundation and government relations, controller, vice president for finance and administration, the dean of the college, the dean of the faculty, the dean of students, vice president of information services, vice president of advancement, and the president. We will notify you when the proposal is ready or if additional information or corrections are required.

Your assistance and cooperation will help our office keep track of which prospects have been approached and what their funding preferences are. Hopefully, this will increase the chances of your project's being funded. Our goal is to see your proposals funded, so let us know how we can help you. If you have any questions or need assistance, please call a member of the Corporate, Foundation and Government Relations staff.