97É«Íø

Policy Statement

97É«Íø actively supports and encourages grant development to increase external funding streams that advance the mission, goals, and strategic priorities of the College. Institutional Advancement provides leadership for grant development and management to ensure compliance with sponsor requirements. All departments within 97É«Íø are encouraged to participate in grant proposals. 

Procedure

Grant Pursuit Approval

Any college employee may initiate the grant pursuit process. The process for obtaining approval to apply for grant funding is as follows:

1. The staff member obtains approval for their grant idea from each level of the chain of leadership up to, and including their VP.
    
2. Concurrent to VP approval, the grant opportunity must be vetted by Institutional Advancement for eligibility, capacity, and potential conflicts of interest.
    
3. The VP or Institutional Advancement staff develops a grant approval form and presents the form to President’s Cabinet for final approval to pursue.
    

Employees are encouraged to initiate the grant approval process as early as possible. A reasonable amount of time to obtain grant pursuit approval is at least 30 days before the proposal submission deadline for state, local, and foundation funding. Federal proposals or proposals involving collaboration with other entities need three to six months to prepare before the deadline.  

This approval process is the same for employees who are invited to participate in grant-funded work initiated by other organizations.  

Principal Investigator

The Principal Investigator (PI) is a 97É«Íø employee who is responsible for overall management and execution of a grant-funded project or program. The PI ensures the project meets its objectives, complies with sponsor requirements, and oversees budget, reporting, and team coordination. Some grants may include a co-PI.  

In some instances, the originator of the grant idea will serve as the PI. In other instances, the PI is identified after during or after President’s Cabinet approval. In all cases, the PI is approved through conversation and agreement between the potential PI and their leadership, including the VP.

Grant Development

Institutional Advancement provides oversight of the application process (i.e., proposal schedule, templates, writing assignments) and leadership to develop grant proposals that provide funding from federal, state, and local government agencies, private and public foundations, and other sources to meet the needs of the College.

The PI serves as lead subject matter expert for the development of proposal content. The proposal development team may include other members of staff as needed.

Proposal Submission

The VP Chief Institutional Advancement Officer, or the designated proxy approved by the respective sponsoring agency, serves as the College’s primary Authorized Organizational Representative (AOR) submitting proposals and subsequently committing the College to grant terms and conditions. The College President, Vice President of Finance, and the Director of Grants Development and Management are also designated AORs of the College.

For more information on grant procedures, guidelines, forms, and post-award processes, please contact the Director of Grants Development and Management. Final documentation available to all employees can be found on the College’s share document repository.

Definitions

Grant - A grant is any financial award given to 97É«Íø or 97É«Íø Foundation that the sponsor explicitly identifies as a grant. Generally, grants have a clear purpose, terms, and expectations from the sponsor, and do not need to be repaid. Grants require the College or Foundation to enter into a contract/agreement.

Sponsor - A sponsor is an organization or individual providing the funding for a grant. The sponsor may also be called the funder.