Foundation Relations and the Cornell Community
Required Policies and Procedures
To ensure that Cornell University is represented to external funders by coordinated, fully developed, and well-matched approaches, proposals must receive the following clearances:
- Approval
by the appropriate college or unit director and administrators.
- Commitments for allocation
of any Cornell resources including but not limited to space, staff time,
funds, or waiver of expenses (e.g. tuition) MUST be backed by a letter
or internal memo from the person with the authority to allocate such
resources.
- If MATCHING FUNDS will be required, commitment to raise or allocate such funds must be explicit. Proposals that require matching funds to be raised need the approval of the Vice President for Alumni Affairs and Development.
Criteria for Approval and Priority-Setting
- Academic Justification.
Will the proposal significantly strengthen pursuit of our academic
mission?
- Budgetary Impact. Would the grant support
or offset existing demands on the current operating budget? Would
the proposal impose immediate financial demands on the University?
Would the proposal place future financial obligations on the University
once the gift or grant funds have expired?
- Fundraising Potential. How many prospective
donors are likely to take an interest in the proposal? To what extent
would it compete with other fundraising initiatives? What level of
effort would be required from the Development Office to secure the
grant(s)?
- Prior Relationship with Foundation. Is there a particular foundation already interested? What is the nature of the interest? What is the nature of the prior relationship? How important is this project to the continuation of the long-term relationship?
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