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Grantseekers

Grantseeking Help from Corporate and Foundation Relations

Q. What is the role of Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR)?
A. CFR:

  • Acts as a liaison between VSU's academic or research units and corporations/foundations.
  • Strives to find the best possible match between a corporation/foundation and your particular project or funding need and to help guide you through the funding process.
  • Provides an infrastructure for prospect coordination, planning, solicitation and other services which empower university units to conduct these activities in an efficient and effective manner.
  • Solicits contributions from corporations and foundations, particularly for multi-unit proposals.

Q. Who does the CFR office serve?
A. CFR generally serves the entire campus community.

Q. How can CFR help me?
A. CFR can:

  • Identify strong potential funders for your project or funding need.
  • Assist in writing letters of inquiry, proposals and other funding documents.
  • Act as liaison between you and corporations/foundations.
  • Help you navigate the corporate and foundation funding process.

Q. How can I find out about potential foundations to fund my project?
A. Online sources can aid you in your research. Some helpful research web sites:

The Foundation Center's "Search Zone"
This free web site offers some of the best general information retrieval tools on the Internet. Search nonprofit organizations and foundations by selecting organization types and specifying key words to narrow your search (e.g. "education" or "health").

Foundation Finder
This search mechanism, updated monthly, allows you to search by name for basic information on more than 65,000 private and community foundations in the U.S.

Do It Yourself Research
VSU's Office of Grants and Contracts has an excellent Do-It-Yourself research page, featuring basic links and search engines, directories and foundation and business links.

Q. How do I get started?
A. The Development Office has a clearance process which ensures that foundations/corporations are approached at the optimum time, and are not overloaded with VSU requests. In order to keep this clearance process running smoothly, we ask that you please contact your college or unit's development officer before contacting a foundation/corporation directly. They will work with us on clearance issues. If your college or division does not yet have its own development officer please contact the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations directly.