Office of Corporate & Foundation Relations

Getting Started in the Proposal Process

All proposals seeking external funding for projects must be reviewed and approved by the Dean and the OCFR before submission.

Contact OCFR as early in the proposal development process as possible. At a minimum, please alert OCFR to any funding sources you may be considering to assure a coordinated effort.

Alerting OCFR to deadlines you must meet well in advance will enable OCFR to provide you with maximum support.
If you need help "fleshing out" your idea further, OCFR can help.

Talk with your department chairman and the Dean about your idea.
Prepare a brief narrative and budget for the project.
Fill out the Proposal Approval Form’s pre-approval signature section and submit to OCFR along with the brief narrative and budget.
If you don’t have a potential funding source, OCFR can help you find one.

Remember that foundations and funding agencies set their own deadlines…your needs timeline might not correspond with theirs. This is another reason to begin the process as early as possible.

Once a funding source is identified, OCFR will help obtain the funder’s guidelines and proposal format.

If the no specific proposal format is provided, see OCFR’s Generic Proposal Outline and the Grant Budget Template.

Read and read again the guidelines.
OCFR can help in outlining a course of action.
If the proposal is of a technical nature the principal investigator/project director (PI/PD) is responsible for preparing the bulk of the proposal.

OCFR will help with templates for letters of intent/inquiry, cover sheets, timelines, budgets, etc.

OCFR will help interpret guidelines, contact potential funders with questions, contact previous grant recipients for tips, etc.

OCFR will provide the necessary institutional documentation (i.e., 501©3 documentation, audited financial statements, Board of Trustees List, FY Operating Budget, etc.) solicit letters of support and prepare a President’s or Dean’s cover letter.
If your project involves human subjects, animals or radioactive materials you will be required to comply with the Human Subjects Institutional Review Board, the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, or the Radiation Safety Committee.

If the proposal is more of a general nature, proposal preparation can be a shared responsibility between the PI/PD and OCFR. If the proposal is initiated by the College (i.e., the President or Dean) the bulk of the work will be done by OCFR with assistance from the PI/PD.
As PI/PD you will need to be readily available to review and provide feedback on the proposal drafts.
The PI/PD is responsible for alerting OCFR concerning any change in plans, delays or problems as soon as the PI/PD becomes aware of them.
Once the proposal nears the final version, the PI/PD is responsible for obtaining the final approval signatures on the Proposal Approval Form.
OCFR is responsible for the final review of the proposal, obtaining remaining signatures (President’s or Dean’s letters) copying, collating and mailing the proposal, tracking the proposal and providing a final copy of the submitted proposal to the PI/PD.
Once an award is made, OCFR will comply with the funder’s award process and submit the necessary paperwork to Gifts Processing to get the award into the Banner System.
OCFR will notify the PI/PD when reports are due to the funder and work with the Director of Accounting to obtain the final financial reports needed for submission at the end of the grant period.

If any problems or concerns arise with the project during the grant period, the PI/PD is responsible for contacting OCFR to discuss. This can include the need to adjust the budget or extend the grant period. It is in the PI/PD's, and the College's, best interest that we communicate any problems or changes as soon as possible to the funder.

Remember – every program takes time to develop and every proposal takes time to prepare!

That is why it is important to contact OCFR early in the process.

Contact:             Kay Molkentin
                            Ext. 5134
                            molkentinkf@hiram.edu