Funding Tips
A funding search can be a daunting task, but there are ways to minimize the pain. First of all, prepare a brief (two page maximum) summary of your project initiatives, goals, money, equipment and other items needed, timeline, and other key pieces of information. Identifying your needs and goals will help you find a good match with a funding source. You may want to consider using the Faculty Proposal Support Questionnaire.
Now, let the search begin!
Some of the best sources for funding information will be your colleagues. Speak with others in your field to discover who sponsored their research. Contact your professional organization to see if it offers fellowships or grants. Review the acknowledgements of journal articles on which your research builds. Some agencies may be interested in funding the “next step” of research they found interesting in the past.
The college has two grants databases (the Foundation Directory Online and Grantstation.com) through which private foundations can be searched by keyword, geographic focus, types of support, and other categories. These are subscription databases and you must contact the Associate Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations to initiate a search.
You may also want to check out “clearinghouse sources.” Centre College now has a funding links page with many private and federal opportunities listed. (This page is largely based on a Kenyon College web page.) Duke University also has a clearinghouse site, and while searchable by division area and types of support, it contains main opportunities specific to research universities. The federal government also has a clearinghouse page for ALL federal funding programs (www.grants.gov), and agency pages list opportunities specific to those funding sources (NSF, NEH, NEA, NIH, etc.). The Chronicle of Higher Education lists fellowship funding and grant opportunities in print form.
For assistance at any stage in the grants process, please contact Kathryn M. Bowles, Associate Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations, at kathryn.bowles@centre.edu, phone ext. 5212,
or visit her office on the second floor of Old Centre. |
