Develop Your Proposal

Foundation Relations assists Kent State faculty and staff university-wide with the proposal development process and provides strategic support to grant seekers every step of the way.

View our Proposal Development Process Overview PDF, or review the steps below for an overview of our general process for working with Kent State faculty and staff to secure foundation funding:

Step 1: The Principal Investigator (PI) develops a project idea.

Step 2: The PI contacts Foundation Relations.

Step 3: The PI and Foundation Relations meet to further discuss and develop the project.

Step 4: If a funder is not already identified, Foundation Relations initiates a search for funding opportunities and determines the appropriate prospects to pursue.

Step 5: Foundation Relations contacts the prospective funders to:

• Gather additional information regarding the funding process, identify the foundation’s funding priorities and establish or cultivate a relationship.
• Obtain grant guidelines and application materials to be forwarded to the PI.

Step 6: The PI writes a first draft of the proposal.

Step 7: Foundation Relations edits the proposal to fit the funder and creates a proposal record in Kuali Research (Kent State’s web-based grants management system).

Step 8: Foundation Relations connects the PI with an administrator in the Office of Sponsored Programs to assist with budget development.

Step 9: After college, school and/or department leadership approvals are obtained through Kuali Research, Foundation Relations coordinates submission of the proposal, budget and frequently requested university documents.

Step 10: Funding is secured! Foundation Relations coordinates grant acceptance and reporting requirements to be fulfilled by the PI.

If you have any questions regarding this process or would like to initiate a proposal, please fill out this form.