Faculty and Staff
We encourage faculty and staff to pursue gifts and grants from private corporations and foundations to support their academic and community initiatives. When considering external funding, please contact Corporate and Foundation Relations early in the grant process and learn how we can help with opportunities from private corporations and foundations. We will provide assistance with request for proposals, proposal development, letters of inquiry, support with applications and gathering necessary documentation. Together we can maximize external support for the university.
In addition to cultivating strong partnerships with corporate and foundation sponsors, we can assist you in a number of ways:
- Identify and provide research on appropriate foundation and corporate funding sources
- Draft, review and edit letters of inquiry, concept papers, and proposals
- Review project budgets (in cooperation with the Office of Sponsored Programs)
- Gather required supporting institutional documentation and draft and secure letters of support from institutional leadership
- Coordinate proposal submission
- Assist with timely reporting throughout the duration of your grant
- Coordinate site visits for potential and current funders
- Provide additional online resources
We are committed to assisting faculty members and departments to secure funding for institutional priorities identified by the president, provost, and deans. We look forward to partnering with you to attain support for your scholarly, academic and outreach goals.
Congratulations! You’ve found a potential grant opportunity! Let’s dig a little further and see if we have a good match. Ask yourself the questions below. If you can say yes to all, then please complete the form below and Clarisa Avila or Vincent LoForti will contact you within one business day.
1) Does your project fit within CSUMB’s?
2) Does your project complement existing programs? (no unnecessary duplication of service)
3) Are you meeting a demonstrated, local need?
4) Do the funders priorities & interests match your project goals?
The Corporate and Foundations Relations Office (CFR) is responsible for submitting private corporate and foundation proposals on behalf of CSUMB. Proposals submitted within the recommended timeline below helps ensure they are submitted on time and with adequate administrative review. Providing insufficient time for ample review may result in last-minute corrections and compliance issues that may lead to a less-than-competitive proposal.
Although there may be circumstances which delay proposal preparation, CFR cannot assure the successful, on-time submission of any proposal submitted after the deadlines provided below. Please note - even when proposals are submitted within this timeline it does not guarantee submission since there may be issues within the proposal that need to be addressed. We will work with you as much as possible to see your proposal get submitted.
Deadline Action Item As soon as a decision is made to pursue a grant opportunity,but no later than four (4) weeks prior to sponsor deadline CFR contacts the Principle Investigator (PI) about guidelines, RFP or invitation to submit a proposal; internal Blue Sheet routing begins Fourteen (14) business days prior to sponsor deadline PI/Sponsored Programs Office draft initial budget; PI/CFR review draft narrative Ten (10) business days prior to sponsor deadline PI submits to CFR near-final narrative, budget, CI Form 700-U, and Blue Sheet signed by PI & Dean Seven (7) business days prior to sponsor deadline PI submits final proposal narrative/project description Two (2) business days prior to sponsor deadline Internal Blue Sheet routing is complete and CFR uploads all required documents for proposal submission Note: As per Provost, all Grant Proposal Routing Forms (Blue Sheets) started less than five (5) business days prior to sponsor deadline will not be approved for submission.
Below are some general tips to help your grant writing process. A two-page document examining the individual components of a successful grant follows.
- State your proposed impact within the title
- Write clearly; use good grammar and spelling
- Incorporate transitional phrases between paragraphs to make the narrative easier to read and understand
- Don’t use too much jargon - If they can’t understand it, they can’t fund it!
- Less is more:
- Be concise, to the point
- Reduce clauses to phrases, phrases to single words. See examples for eliminating redundancies and omitting phrases.
- You don’t have to use the maximum allowable characters, words, or pages. If you can make your case using less, do so. Remember - evaluators are reading dozens of 20-page applications over a short period of time. It’s a nice break to find an application that tells the story using fewer words or pages.
- Allow time for proofreading and making corrections
- Most importantly - Always follow funder’s guidelines and format
The Components of a Successful Proposal is a 2-page document designed to help with the things you'll need to consider when preparing and submitting proposals; the executive summary, statement of need, project description, and evaluation. You can also find online.
Please contact us if you have any questions or comments along the way.
These forms or templates may be helpful in the external proposal submission process.
Grant Proposal Routing Form (AKA: Blue Sheet)
700U Conflict of Interest Form
Policies and Procedure
Grants and contracts policies are administered by the University Corporation at Monterey Bay at the link below:
GrantForward
GrantForward allows you to do more than just search for grants. With a researcher profile, you can receive grant recommendations related to your field and research interests.
GrantForward uses your research interests, publications, and other profile information to recommend the best-fitting grant opportunities to you. With GrantForward's recommendation service, your funding search will be simplified to be as easy as possible.