Purpose of the Foundation Relations Team
The Foundation Relations (FR) team, within the Office of Development & Alumni Relations and serving both campuses, helps faculty and staff seek out, apply for, secure, and steward charitable gifts and grants from private philanthropic foundations and nongovernmental organizations.
How We Can Help You
The FR team’s four-phase approach—identify, cultivate, apply, and steward—is designed to help and add value throughout the entire grant-seeking process by offering expert guidance and support to Principal Investigators (PIs) and Grant Administrators. Our goal is to work with you to match your research and programs with foundations’ charitable goals, which are often to support pilot and proof-of-concept projects and high-risk research that may not be attractive to more traditional funders, such as the NIH and the NSF.
How We Partner With BU’s Faculty and Academic Leadership
Identify: Find Prospects and Connections
Discover funding opportunities to support faculty programs, research, and career development (for example, young investigator awards), as well as University priorities
Leverage connections among BU leaders, faculty, alumni, friends, and foundation contacts
Stay abreast of trends in advanced research and higher-education fundraising to identify new sources of support
Alert and remind PIs about upcoming, well-aligned funding opportunities
Provide faculty with workshops, tools, training, and individual consultations
Cultivate: Build the Relationship
Develop strategies to approach new or past institutional donors
Introduce projects to relevant foundation program officers and directors
Provide briefings and prospect research in advance of meetings with potential donors
Host tours for donors and coordinate in-person meetings, site visits, or conference calls with PIs
Invite prospective donors to events and other engagement opportunities
Apply: Prepare and Submit the Proposal
Draft and/or edit, especially for clarity, consistency, and responsiveness to guidelines and donor interests
Summarize instructions and required components
Interface with foundation staff as questions arise
Ensure submission proceeds in a timely fashion
Draft customized cover letters and letters of support, commitment, or recommendation
Provide application attachments when needed (for example, proof of nonprofit status, institutional budgets)
Serve as liaison with Sponsored Programs to secure approval for submissions
Connect applicants with other BU faculty who have submitted successful proposals to foundations
Solicit feedback from foundations when applications are declined
Steward: Thank the Donor
Acknowledge awards with personalized letters from BU leadership
Recognize donors through events, social media, and articles in BU publications
Handle logistics for check presentations and site visits
Remind PIs about reporting requirements and deadlines and help prepare reports