1. What is Foundation Relations?
2. What types of grantmakers does Foundation Relations work with?
3. What types of resources are available through Foundation Relations?
4. What is a director of development (DOD) and how can a DOD help with funding needs?
5. What is an RFP?
6. What is stewardship and why is it important in the funding process?
7. What criteria do foundations use when making funding decisions?
8. What considerations should I make when writing a foundation proposal?
9. How long do foundations take to make funding decisions?
10. I'm interested in submitting a proposal to a foundation. Who should I contact first?
11. Are there foundations I should not approach without Foundation Relations’ help?
12. Where can I get documents for foundation proposals such as Purdue's IRS tax exempt 501(c)(3) letter, audited financial statements, tax returns, etc.?
13. How can I find out about foundation RFPs (Requests for Proposals) and internal competitions for foundation grants?
14. How can I determine whether someone else at Purdue is approaching the foundation I hope to pursue for funding?

Q1. What is Foundation Relations?
The Office of Foundation Relations manages Purdue’s relationships with foundations and supports a variety of project-driven fundraising activities. Per University policy, we are responsible for establishing and fostering relationships with the foundation community world-wide.

By promoting mutually beneficial relationships with private, philanthropic foundations, we assist the University in fulfilling its missions of discovery, learning and engagement. In addition, collaboration with schools, centers and other units generates financial support for University programs and projects.

Managing these relationships strategically and centrally fosters successful identification, cultivation and solicitation of donor prospects and ensures proper stewardship of their gifts. Our strategy is to advance these relationships, sustain existing partnerships and build new ones.

Q2. What types of grantmakers does Foundation Relations work with?
Foundation Relations works closely with private foundations. Purdue’s Office of Corporate Relations and the industrial liaisons in the Office of the Vice President for Research maintain relationships with corporations and corporate foundations.

Q3. What types of resources are available through Foundation Relations?
Please see the links and definitions page.

Q4. What is a director of development (DOD) and how can a DOD help with funding needs?
DODs devise strategies for addressing the funding priorities of schools and individual departments. Their main responsibilities are to:

• Assist the deans of Purdue’s colleges with resource development activities.
• Manage relationships with and cultivate gifts from major donors interested in supporting specific school-based initiatives.
• Serve as liaisons from each of the schools to all units of the University Development Office, including Planned Giving, Corporate Relations and Foundation Relations.

Q5. What is an RFP?
A Request For Proposal (RFP) is a written solicitation/announcement distributed by grantmakers that alerts grant seekers to the funding requirements (including deadlines) of specific projects, calls for entries, programs, etc. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation refers to these as Calls for Proposals.

Q6. What is stewardship and why is it important in the funding process?
Relationships between Purdue and grantmakers are critical to the success of present and future giving opportunities. Foundation Relations, as well as your unit’s director(s) of development, can assist in:

• Acknowledgment and thank you letters.
• Preparation and distribution of progress reports.
• Special events.
• On- and off-campus meetings.

Q7. What criteria do foundations use when making funding decisions?
Grantmakers want their donations to make a significant impact – changing the world in some way. Bill and Melinda Gates did not give away most of their fortune to fund studies into vaccine development. They wanted to change the world by solving the crises caused specifically by AIDS, malaria, TB and other diseases in the developing world.

Foundations may have no published guidelines; others may provide information mirroring a National Science Foundation or National Institutes of Health application.

Q8. What considerations should I make when writing a proposal?

• What is the issue to be addressed?
• Will the project put in a larger context (global, regional, national, environmental, etc.) or move the field forward?
• Will the project address a particular problem?
• Is the timing of the project propitious?
• Why is Purdue the ideal place to address this issue/project?
• What will be accomplished by the end of the project?
• What specific resources are needed for this project (time, money, facilities, people, etc.)?
• How will success be measured?
• Why is the timing of the proposal important and why is it important to this particular foundation?

Q9. How long do foundations take to make funding decisions?
Although the process varies, it is usually 6-18 months from the point of first contact. Decisions are often made by a Board of Directors that meets infrequently. Therefore, be sure to contact your dean, department chair, director of development and/or Foundation Relations, well in advance of your funding timetable.

Q10. I'm interested in submitting a proposal to a foundation. Who should I contact first?
Please contact Foundation Relations or your department/college development office first. We are designated by Purdue University policy as the entity that coordinates foundation contacts.

Q11. Are there foundations I should not approach without Foundation Relations’ help?
Purdue centrally manages some foundations with which it has a longstanding relationship or those who may serve multiple colleges and units. Please contact Foundation Relations if you are considering pursuing the following foundations:

• Atlantic Philanthropies
• Carnegie
• Fairbanks
• Ford
• Gates (president signature required)
• Google
• Hewlett
• Howard Hughes Medical Institute
• Kavli
• Keck (president signature required)
• Kellogg
• Kresge (president signature required)
• Lilly Endowment
• Lumina
• MacArthur
• Mellon
• Moore
• Mott (president signature required)
• Nina Mason Pulliam
• Omidyar
• Open Society/ Soros Foundations
• Osher
• Pew
• Packard
• Pulliam
• Robert Wood Johnson
• Rockefeller
• Sloan
• Spencer
• Starr
• Templeton
  

Q12. Where can I get documents for foundation proposals such as Purdue's IRS tax exempt 501(c)(3) letter, audited financial statements, tax returns, etc.?
Foundation Relations can provide these documents.

Q13. How can I find out about foundation RFPs (Requests for Proposals) and internal competitions for foundation grants?
The Foundation Relations Office distributes RFPs to those faculty and colleges that we are aware may be interested in a proposal. In addition, you may choose to:

• Subscribe to the Foundation Center's weekly RFP bulletin.
• Subscribe to the e-news of a foundation in which you are interested.
• Set up an alert through the Community of Science.
• Internal competitions are managed by the Office of the Vice President for Research. Click here to view the limited submissions.

Q14. How can I determine whether someone else at Purdue is approaching the foundation I hope to pursue for funding?
The Foundation Relations Office maintains a list of foundations that Purdue staff are considering approaching or have recently contacted. That is one reason that University policy names this office as a central point of contact.

We recommend that you check with Foundation Relations as you are considering a foundation approach rather than after you have invested time into a specific foundation.