MSU Development Corporate and Foundation Relations

MSU DEVELOPMENT:

CORPORATE AND FOUNDATION RELATIONS

Department Overview | Staff Listing | Proposal Tips | Grant Proposal Planning Guide | College Contacts

Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations: Department Overview

The Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations is responsible for planning, implementing, and evaluating a comprehensive program designed to fully develop potential gift and grant income from corporations, foundations, and associations. This includes maintaining positive working relationships with corporations, foundations, and associations that are currently supporting or that may have the potential to support the University; identifying needs that may be met through corporate, foundation, or association gifts and grants through consultation with faculty, University Development staff, and administrators; and assisting these individuals in the preparation and submission of proposals. The office coordinates proposals on behalf of the University through the central clearance process to avoid duplication and self-defeating competition.

The following items are representative of the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations’ activities in both areas of responsibility:

Corporate Relations

Oversees annual program of corporate visitation, corporate staff visits to the campus, and other cultivation activities designed to promote better working relations between the top prospects in the corporate community and the University.
Initiates periodic special purpose appeals for support from corporations interested in a particular school, college, or program.
Oversees corporate alumni campaigns for alumni support within selected corporations.
Maintains a central clearance process for all corporate solicitations to prevent duplicate efforts and self-defeating internal competition. All requests for corporate support above $20,000 must be cleared by the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations. Requests for support below $20,000 should be discussed with the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations prior to making the request.
A number of large corporations develop multiyear strategic funding plans with the University and do not generally consider funding requests over and above these plans. As such, these corporations should not be approached for any funding requests without the approval of the Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations. Corporations that fall into this category include, but are not limited to Ford Motor Company, Chrysler, General Motors Corporation, and Dow Chemical Company.
Coordinates University-wide and multi-college initiatives for which corporate funding is sought.

Foundation Relations

Coordinates all foundation giving to the University and works closely with the Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies as well as with deans, chairpersons, faculty, and staff to maximize foundation giving to the University. The Director and/or Associate Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations should be consulted on all foundation contacts.
Seeks to maintain ongoing relationships with Program Officers at targeted Foundations.
Assists faculty, College Directors, and other grant seekers in identifying foundation funding sources as well as in preparing and submitting proposals.
Maintains a central clearance process for all foundation contacts and grant proposals to prevent duplicate efforts and self-defeating internal competition. All requests for foundation support must be cleared by the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations.
Coordinates efforts with the Office of the Vice President for Research and Graduate Studies through frequent communication.
Provides University Development clearance (or denies clearance) for all foundation proposals submitted through the Office of Contract and Grant Administration.
Coordinates University-wide and multi-college initiatives for which foundation funding is sought.

Other Activities

Publishes a biannual newsletter, MSU Partners, that presents articles on corporate and foundation gifts to the University. The newsletter is sent to major corporate and foundation donors as well as to selected faculty and staff.
Provides grant writing services (via two grant writers) to College Directors, Major Gift Officers, and other fundraising staff.
Maintains current corporate/foundation/association contacts, corporate hierarchy, and corporate/foundation/association addresses on the Advance C/S system.
Coordinates all donor society memberships for corporations, foundations, and associations.
Coordinates preparation of Presidential acknowledgement letters for all corporate, foundation, and association gifts of $5,000 or more.

Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations: Staff Listing

Lucille Fallon
Director fallon@msu.edu
(517) 884-1021 Works with colleges and central administration to advance development activities with corporations, foundations, and associations.

Tim Wuchter
Associate Director
Corporate & Foundation Relations wuchter@msu.edu
(517) 884-1049 Works with colleges and central development to steward/expand existing and identify/cultivate new relationships with corporations, foundations, and associations.

Kyan Zeller
Associate Director
for Corporate Relations kzeller@msu.edu
(517) 884-1045 Works with colleges and central development to steward and expand new relationships with corporations and associations.

Kara Beer
Assistant Director beerka@msu.edu
(517) 884-1048 Coordinates all activities for MSU's Corporate In-house Campaigns and serves as events coordiantor for the Department

Kathy Lessard
Staff Assistant to Lucille Fallon lessard2@msu.edu
(517) 884-1009 Primary support staff for Lucille Fallon and backup to the Associate Directors and Assistant Director when needed or if Chery Moran is not available.

Chery Moran
Staff Assistant to Tim Wuchter moranc@msu.edu
(517) 884-1039 Primary support staff for Tim Wuchter and also provides support to Associate Director for Corporate Relations and Assistant Director for Corporate and Foundation Relations.

Ben Kilpela
Grant Writer kilpela@msu.edu
(517) 884-1018 Serves as a writer for University Development, including proposals, case statements, letters, white papers, etc.

Alisa Healy
Grant Writer healya@msu.edu
(517) 884-1019 Serves as a writer for University Development, including proposals, case statements, letters, white papers, etc.

Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations: Proposal Tips

A well-developed, clearly defined, focused proposal should :

Show how the project relates to the mission of the funder;

Show how the project relates to the strategic goals of the department, college, unit, and/or university;

Focus on what is unique/cutting edge about the project or how you are building upon an existing project;

Include realistic, achievable, and measurable goals and objectives (provide baseline data if possible);

Provide a detailed implementation strategy and timetable for achieving the project goals and objectives;

Highlight your qualifications and experience

;

Present a detailed evaluation plan (formative and summative);

Include a realistic, detailed budget for the project that includes the department, college, unit, and or university commitment to the project;

Discuss how the project will be continued after the grant funds expire;

If applicable, discuss how you will disseminate the results of the project; and

Demonstrate that you and your institution have the management skills and experience to develop, implement, and sustain the project.

Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations: Grant Proposal Planning Guide

The Grant Proposal Planning Guide is a tool that can be used by those interested in seeking foundation or corporate support for a particular project. The Guide asks many of the questions a typical funder would ask. Completion of this guide will help the faculty member to crystallize his or her thinking about what is to be accomplished and create in outline form a synopsis of the project to be funded. This will allow the college Director of Development to be more helpful in identifying possible funders and in meeting those funders' requirements.

It is often helpful to outline your thoughts prior to developing a grant proposal. Briefly answering the following questions will help you to organize the information and test the validity of your ideas.

1. Project Title

2. Project Director/Principal Investigator:

3. Other Team Members working on the project:

4. Where will the work be done?

5. Timeframe for project:

6. What’s the problem, need, or opportunity to be addressed?

7. What is the proposed solution? What specifically do you hope to accomplish? (Measurable goals and objectives)

8. Specifically, how do you propose to meet the goals and objectives? (Implementation strategy)

9. How does the project align with the overall strategic mission/goals of the department, college, unit, and/or university?

10. Why are you (and/or your team) qualified to do the work?

11. Are others doing similar work? If so, how is your approach different or unique?

12. How will you evaluate the successes/results of the project? (Formative and/or summative evaluation)

13. If applicable, how do you intend to disseminate the results of the project?

14. What is the project budget and how much will you be requesting from the funder? (Estimated budget)

For Salaries/Fringe Benefits: $ _____________

For Equipment: $ _____________

For Supplies: $ ___________

For Travel: $ ___________

Other Costs: $ ___________

*Indirect Costs: $ ___________

Total Budget: $ ___________

Amount Requested from Funder : $________________

*Many foundations will not support indirect costs or will support only a small percentage of these costs. Contracts and Grants will require you to include indirect costs in your budget unless Contracts and Grants has written notification from the funder stating that the funder does not support indirect costs or supports only a certain percentage of these costs. Always check with Contracts and Grants.

15. What is the department, college, unit, and/or university commitment to the project? (financial and/or in-kind)

16. How will the project be sustained after the funding ends?

17. Do you have a specific funder in mind? If so, who?

18. Why did you choose this funder? Has the funder supported similar projects? Explain.

19. In reviewing the types of projects the funder has supported, how does your project compare?

After you have answered these questions, your college Director of Development will be in a better position to work with you to help identify a possible funder or, if a funder is already identified, help you seek clearance to submit your proposal.

Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations: College Contacts

College Contacts

Use Find People to obtain telephone, email addresses.

Source: Lucille Fallon, Director, Corporate and Foundation Relations, May 12, 2004;
revised by Kathy Lessard, Staff Assistant to Lucille Fallon, May 21, 2008.

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Lucille Fallon Director	fallon@msu.edu (517) 884-1021	Works with colleges and central administration to advance development activities with corporations, foundations, and associations.
Tim Wuchter Associate Director Corporate & Foundation Relations	wuchter@msu.edu (517) 884-1049	Works with colleges and central development to steward/expand existing and identify/cultivate new relationships with corporations, foundations, and associations.
Kyan Zeller Associate Director for Corporate Relations	kzeller@msu.edu (517) 884-1045	Works with colleges and central development to steward and expand new relationships with corporations and associations.
Kara Beer Assistant Director	beerka@msu.edu (517) 884-1048	Coordinates all activities for MSU's Corporate In-house Campaigns and serves as events coordiantor for the Department
Kathy Lessard Staff Assistant to Lucille Fallon	lessard2@msu.edu (517) 884-1009	Primary support staff for Lucille Fallon and backup to the Associate Directors and Assistant Director when needed or if Chery Moran is not available.
Chery Moran Staff Assistant to Tim Wuchter	moranc@msu.edu (517) 884-1039	Primary support staff for Tim Wuchter and also provides support to Associate Director for Corporate Relations and Assistant Director for Corporate and Foundation Relations.
Ben Kilpela Grant Writer	kilpela@msu.edu (517) 884-1018	Serves as a writer for University Development, including proposals, case statements, letters, white papers, etc.
Alisa Healy Grant Writer	healya@msu.edu (517) 884-1019	Serves as a writer for University Development, including proposals, case statements, letters, white papers, etc.