Grant Seeking Process, Limited Submissions, and Sponsored Activities

Grant Seeking Process

Please see below for detailed information on the process for seeking foundation and corporate grants at Georgetown University and how the Office of Institutional Partnerships (OIP) can assist in your search for, and application to, various funding sources.

  • Determine Potential Funding Sources

    OIP utilizes the resources here to search for grant opportunities. We encourage you to familiarize yourself with these resources. Since you know your own research best, the most effective approach is for you to use these databases to identify foundations and corporations with interests most closely aligned with your current research or program. For more information on how to use these funding sources to identify potential prospects, please email the Office of Institutional Partnerships team at guoip@georgetown.edu to set up a prospect research training for you and/or your team members.

    OIP staff would be glad to discuss with you the results of your funding search and to strategize moving forward with the most promising opportunities.

  • Consult with OIP

    We strongly encourage you to contact OIP to review your list of potential funding sources before formally applying to opportunities.

    OIP can provide information not available on foundation and corporate websites, gauge level of the funder’s interest and probability of success of a proposal, and potentially provide other viable funding options.

    For several major foundations and corporations, such as The Andrew Mellon Foundation or Bank of America, the OIP office should be contacted before any applications are pursued. Please contact the OIP team to see if your desired funder is in this category.

  • Prepare and Submit a Letter of Inquiry (LOI) or Full Proposal

    The scope of support from OIP varies depending on the foundation, the grant program, the principal investigator, and the submission deadline.

    OIP can be of most assistance if notified of the principal investigator’s intent to apply at least two weeks in advance of the submission deadline.

    For applications to funding sources that are deemed viable, assistance from OIP may include:

    1. reviewing and editing concept papers, proposal and budget drafts, and making suggestions from the perspective of a foundation program officer;
    2. providing university context for the proposed project to demonstrate institutional support and sustainability of a project, and assembling required documents (financial statements, IRS 501(c)3 determination letter, etc. );
    3. reviewing final submission packages to ensure consistency with guidelines; and,
    4. reviewing terms and conditions and obtaining appropriate university approval and signatures.
  • Notification

    • If you are notified of a successful LOI or full proposal, please contact OIP.
    • For successful LOIs, we can assist with the full proposal application.
    • For successful full proposals, OIP can coordinate with the appropriate university offices to review grant agreements and arrange for authorized signatures.
    • OIP can assist with grant acknowledgements, payments and reports.

Sponsored Activities

The Office of Research Services (ORS), the Office of Sponsored Research (OSR) and the Office of Institutional Partnerships (OIP) collaborate closely to support programs and research at Georgetown University. For all federal grant opportunities, either ORS or OSR should be contacted, as OIP is unable to assist with government grant opportunities.

Office of Research Services (ORS)

ORS provides service to faculty on the Main Campus and at the Law Center in their pursuit and management of sponsored activities.

Contact: researchadmin@georgetown.edu

Office of Sponsored Research (OSR)

OSR is the central office at Georgetown University Medical Center that reviews, approves and is the authorized legal signatory for all Medical Center applications to external research funding agencies.

Contact: OSRApps@georgetown.edu

Limited Submissions

If you are interested in pursuing a grant opportunity that requires a nomination from the university or is limited to one (or a specified number) applicant per institution, you must contact either OIP or 1) the Office of Sponsored Research (Doreen Robinson, Senior Associate Vice President for Sponsored Research, dar82@georgetown.edu) for Medical Center applicants, or 2) the Office of Research Services (Jesse Szeto, Senior Director, jesse.szeto@georgetown.edu) for all other applicants.

  • Interested candidates will be asked to submit a brief application to the appropriate deans and committees that review the applications and select the candidate who will move forward as Georgetown’s nominee.
  • The Office of Institutional Partnerships (OIP) closely monitors university-wide activity with several major foundations and corporations, where the funder limits the number of proposals, has other stipulations, or may be in sensitive major grant conversations with the university.
  • Principal investigators must contact OIP before submitting a letter of inquiry or proposal to major foundations or corporations. OIP can help investigators negotiate potential submission sequencing concerns for these funders.