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Getting Started

At Suffolk University, all faculty initiated proposals to external funders must be reviewed by the Office of Advancement’s Corporate, Foundation and Government Grants (CF&GG) team on behalf of the University which is both the official applicant and the official recipient of the grant money. Before the appropriate CF&GG officer reviews your proposal, here are the steps you need to take:  

1. Download your faculty funding toolkit

The required forms are:

 Other helpful resources include:

In addition, be sure to review the Institutional Review Board (IRB) Regulations .

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2. Consult with your department chair and/or dean

Your department chair/dean may be able to fund your proposal internally. He/she may suggest potential collaborations within your department, the school, or the University, and recommend key partners for further conversation. Ultimately, your department chair and your dean will need to approve any requests for external funding so their participation early in the process will serve your project well.

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3. Define your project idea

Use the Faculty Funding Objectives Worksheet to guide your thinking and your conversations. The questions posed in the worksheet are the same questions that potential funders will ask you to answer in a concept paper, letter of inquiry, or full proposal. As you work through the steps below, refer to the worksheet in order to refine your statement of need as well as the goals, scope, and outcomes of your proposed project.

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4. Identify funding resource opportunities

Use the Foundation and Government Online Resources to find searchable databases of grant makers. back to top^

5. Search for Requests for Proposals (RFP)

For example, you can subscribe to a specific funder’s alert service on their web site, or to a third-party service such as, the Foundation Center’s Philanthropy News Digest. Understanding the types of projects that grant makers are funding in your area of interest will help you to further define and shape your project.

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6. Contact CF&GG

When the Faculty Funding Objectives Worksheet is complete, contact the CF&GG team.  They may be able to suggest additional opportunities for collaboration, potential funders, or background on funders who have a relationship with the University. 

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7. Draft your proposal

At this point, you should have fully developed your project plan, identified viable funders and lined-up the internal partners who will support your work. The CF&GG officer will provide you with the University’s guidelines for preparing and submitting a proposal to external funders.

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