1. Information on Sources of Funding
2. Considerations before Developing a Proposal - the 6 "C's"
3. The Proposal Planning Process
4. The Proposal Research and Planning Process (Flowchart)

A.  Information on Sources of Funding

Research and planning, not writing, is the first step in obtaining grants. The Office of Research and Sponsored Projects and the Mason Library have many resources to assist you in identifying and researching prospective government, foundation and corporate funding sources and in preparing a proposal.

Resources available on this campus include:

Office of Research and Sponsored Projects

• Prospector's Choice - a searchable CD-ROM directory of foundations.
• Various on-line resources offered through the Director of Research and Sponsored Projects.
• Through the Director of Research and Sponsored Projects, the services of AASCU's Office of Federal Programs (searches for both federal and private funding opportunities and sample proposals for governmental programs.)
• The Foundation Directory - on-line reference on foundations with assets over $2m.
• Annual Register of Grant Support--reference of over 3000 foundations and corporations.
• Corporate Giving Directory - reference of 1000 corporate giving programs.
• The Directory of Charitable Funds in New Hampshire--an index to all charitable funds in New Hampshire.
• Foundation Grants to Individuals - a publication devoted entirely to foundations that give to individuals.
• The Federal Information Exchange (FEDIX) offers a free service under which announcements of federal opportunities that correspond with your selected areas of interest are e-mailed to you. The National Science Foundation has a similar service. See the Director of Research and Sponsored Projects for information on registration for this program.
• The Foundation Center's Guide to Proposal Writing.
• The Director of Research and Sponsored Projects periodically distributes announcements, which highlight funding opportunities to faculty.

Mason Library

• Manufacturing Directories
• Moody's Corporate Profiles
• Standard and Poor's Register--corporate and biographical.
• Dunn & Bradstreet Million Dollar Directory--US companies.
• Wall Street Journal and New York Times Indices

On-line resource available at Keene State College

Keene State College subscribes to a web-based database of sponsored funding opportunities developed and administered by InfoEd International that is currently available on the desktop of every member of the faculty and staff at www.infoed.org. This sophisticated tool allows the user to conduct searches based on keywords, sponsors, geographic restrictions, deadline dates and many other criteria. The information is presented in a standardized way - with InfoEd doing the work of identifying the critical aspects of each funding opportunity for the subscriber. Links to original materials, applications, and RFP's are also presented in each summary.

The InfoEd system contains three elements that are available now for KSC: SPIN, SMART, and GENIUS. SPIN is the search engine that contains current information from more than 1,200 sponsoring agencies and is updated several times per day. It is targeted to institutions of higher education and ranges in sophistication from very simple to highly complex and specific. Individual searches can be saved and re-run automatically on a daily, weekly or monthly basis. The results of automated search are e-mailed to the user when the search is performed. This allows the SPIN system to continually update KSC staff members with current information about funding opportunities that are consistent with their interests.

The GENIUS database collects CV information about the faculty/staff member and provides the resource for locating and cataloging both currently funded projects and researchers illustrating commonalities with your individual profile. SMARTS is an active matching and alert system that is designed to match funding opportunities with GENIUS profiles through a daily e-mail alert system.

SPIN, SMART and GENIUS are available to KSC faculty, staff members and students at no charge beyond the subscription price paid by the University System of New Hampshire. In addition to the services noted above, future support will be available for project tracking, project management, proposal development, human subjects review, lab animal review and facilities management.

B.  Considerations before Developing a Grant Proposal - The 6 "C's"

While external funds can enhance programs and provide resources not available in Keene State College's operating budget, it is important to consider several things before diving into the large task of completing an application. These areas of consideration are referred to as the 6 "C's".

At each step in the proposal approval/clearance process (Department Chair, Dean, Director, and Vice President), the grant seeker should be prepared to respond to questions in each of the above areas of consideration. In some instances, the staff member may be asked to prepare a short narrative in response to the questions. The proposal development and/or grant submission process may be interrupted or halted at any time, particularly if KSC Administration believes the College lacks the capacity to perform any of the requirements of the project or if it is not clear how the project is consistent with the mission and values of the College.

C.  The Proposal Planning Process

Efforts to secure external funds at the last minute in response to a published deadline often are not successful. It is important to contact the Director of Research and Sponsored Projects with your program/idea as early as possible in the process in order to plan ahead and anticipate deadlines and opportunities. Ideally, a project idea can be discussed, conceptualized and planned before the RFP comes out and the external time constraints are imposed upon us. With advanced notice, the Director of Research and Sponsored Projects may also be able to obtain copies of proposals which were funded under the program to which you will be applying. When an idea is clarified and the initial project plans have begun, it is then important for the grant seeker to talk with the appropriate Director, Dean or Principal Administrator.

The Director of Research and Sponsored Projects will meets with interested grant seekers to:

• Discuss the project concept,
• Provide information on prospective funding sources and access to additional funding research materials,
• Provide assistance in locating the most appropriate sponsors for the project,
• Facilitate linkages between the grant seeker and others at KSC and elsewhere who may have consistent research and project interests,
• Provide guidance on proposal preparation, including access to previously funded proposals to the identified funding source,
• Support and guide the budget preparation process and facilitate a link between the grant seeker and the KSC business office (for budget review/support and to inform the business office of the submission),
• Review and provide editorial assistance for proposals and cover letters,
• Obtain signatures on agency forms and the internal routing form.

If the proposal is to fund a project to support a large institutional initiative or when significant cross-department or cross-division collaboration is required and the project is closely linked to the College's priorities, the Director of Research and Sponsored Projects will assist directly in proposal development.

D.  Proposal Research and Planning Process

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