Finding a Funder

Faculty applying for a fellowship or other grant that will be paid directly to themselves may apply on their own—though our office is more than happy to provide assistance. Faculty should still complete and submit the Intent to Seek External Grants form, which is especially important, for example, if you are planning a leave of absence or will require any institutional resources (e.g. facilities, staffing or technology).

Faculty applying for fellowships or grants that will be paid to Lawrence, on the other hand, must submit the Intent to Seek External Grants form and work through the CFSR office. This requirement ensures that: 1) the budget reflects all Lawrence standard policies; 2) all institutional information is up to date; and 3) your proposal is appropriately coordinated with others that might be going to the same funder.

The first step in obtaining funding for your project is to determine where to apply. Funds for projects can come from two places: internal or external sources. If the required funding is modest (a few hundred to few thousand dollars), the Provost's Office has internal funds for things like curriculum development, travel to professional conferences, and faculty-student research.  This money is limited, however, so huge requests cannot usually be accommodated—and it’s always better to get your application in sooner than later.

Most funding Lawrence receives through this office, though, comes from external sources: private foundations, government agencies, and corporate foundations.  And the CFSR office has many research tools for helping you ferret out the right funding opportunity for your project.

We recommend writing a summary of 75 words or less that succinctly answers the classic “who, what, where, when, why and how” questions.  But pay particular attention to why: Why is the project important to you? Why is important to your students, to Lawrence and to your scholarly field?

Next, we can match your project idea with funders that have similar interests. Our office has access to a number and variety of search tools to ferret out potential funders. When you visit us, please bring your 75-word summary, because this will provide us useful information to narrow our search effectively.

After finding one or more funders that seem a good match for your project, CFSR will then guide you through the application process and begin helping you craft a competitive proposal. Please consult our proposal development section for tips on developing a strong proposal.

the grants office teaches classes on two subjects:

1) Introduction to grant seeking at Lawrence University. Every college and university has it's own way of handling, managing, and organizing grants and fellowships, and Lawrence is no exception. These classes offer an introduction to the grant-seeking process. We will discuss how internal and external grants work at Lawrence and how the grants team can help you accomplish your goals.

2) Introduction to using the Funding Information Network (FIN). See this page for more information on FIN. FIN is an online database compiling giving information on thousands of grantmakers and their giving areas. We will teach you how to use the FIN database, as well as tricks on how to identify potential grant funders, fellowships, and scholarship opportunities. 

These classes are usually taught in the fall and winter terms. For more information on timing and location please contact Ariela Rosa.