Development and Alumni Relations (DAR) and the Controller's Office can offer support to faculty and staff that are applying for competitive grants issued to Columbia, but we cannot assist with grant funding to faculty and staff seeking support for personal, non-Columbia projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
- Individual vs. Institutional grants?
- What’s the process to apply for grants?
Columbia College Chicago endorses funded projects that serve our students’ needs and/or enhance the creative or academic expertise of our faculty and staff. The college has an internal review process that faculty and staff are required to complete prior to submitting a grant proposal or LOI to an external funder. The electronic internal request to submit a grant proposal must be filled out and submitted 4 weeks prior to the funder's grant application deadline. The form is reviewed by the Controller's Office, DAR, the applicant's chair and dean (or non-academic equivalents), and the Provost Office. Upon approval, DAR and the Controller's Office provide support in the preparation and submission of your application.
The internal form collects summary-level information about the grant opportunity and your proposed project. Click the following link to access the internal form:
Internal Request to Submit Grant Proposal
It is encouraged that faculty/staff review the form's questions in advance. The questions can be found here:
Internal Grant Request Form Questions
You do not need to complete the form at one time. You can exit and return at any time by clicking on the link and it will take you to your form in progress. Once you complete and submit the form, you will not be able to return to it or make any additional edits. If you have additional information to provide after submitting, please email the college's Grant & Contract Manager, David Weiner.
You can only work on one form at a time. If you need to request to submit multiple grant proposals, you will need to complete and submit a form for each grant application you are planning.
- Interested in contacting a foundation or corporation for support of you Columbia project?
Please contact Chelsea Lauing or another member of the DAR team. Our team strives to track activity across campus to ensure that efforts are coordinated. DAR can help with donor research, donor meetings, strategy, proposal development, and grant/gift agreements. Following a grant award, DAR assists with donor reports and stewardship strategies.
- Can CCC be a fiscal agent?
No. Columbia is not set up to be a fiscal agent for an individual or a thirdparty organization.
- What about travel grants?
It depends; if it’s awarded to you as an individual. you do not need to work through this process. If the grant is awarded to Columbia, it depends on the sponsoring entity. Consult David Weiner or Chelsea Lauing for more information.
- What are indirect costs (IDCs)?
IDCs, also referred to as “overhead” or "administrative," are costs that support all college activities but are not directly related to a single project. Examples of IDCs include utilities, insurance, the Human Resources office, the Accounting office, etc. For federal grants, the college uses an indirect cost rate negotiated with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Contact David Weiner for the most current rate information. For nonfederal grants, Columbia requires 20% of direct project costs to be included as a line item for indirect costs in grant proposal budgets. If a funder has a limit or do not support IDCs, the college will honor the funder's policy.
- What is a letter of inquiry (LOI)?
An LOI is sometimes the first step in the grant application process. Foundations may ask for a brief letter outlining your project prior to the submission of a full proposal. Select applicants from the pool of LOIs are invited to submit a full application.
- Does Columbia offer assistance with grant writing?
Nobody knows your work better than you. DAR and the Controller's Office serve as thought partners as you turn your idea into a funding proposal. For foundation and corporate proposals, DAR can provide guidance on positioning proposals to ensure that goals and objectives align with the funder’s interests, ensure language is tailored for the target audience, and review and edit drafts of LOIs and proposals.
The Controller's Office can help with preparing budgets, writing budget narratives, and interpreting compliance requirements. Additionally, the office is the primary point of contact for government grant proposals and awards as DAR does not participate in grant activity associated with government entities.
- I received a grant, now what?
Congratulations! Forward the grant agreement and related documents to Chelsea Lauing and the David Weiner for review and processing. David Weiner is Columbia’s authorized signatory. DAR and the Controller's Office will continue to partner with you during the terms of the grant period to ensure accurate and timely grant reporting.
- What is the difference between gifts, grants, and sponsorships?
A gift is the voluntary, non-reciprocal transfer of money or property from a donor to an institution. The donor may be an individual, a corporation or a nonprofit organization. The donor does not expect anything of value in return other than recognition and does not have control over expenditures. Gifts can be restricted to a specific project or program, or unrestricted.
A grant is the transfer of money from a funder, such as a foundation or government entity, to an institution and usually requires the completion of specific programmatic activities during a defined period of time. Granting organizations typically require a project budget with the application, progress reports on grant funded activities and financial expenditures, and the return of unused funds.
Sponsorships are cash or in-kind gifts typically made by corporations or other nonprofits, usually in exchange for brand recognition such as logos on event print materials and other communication channels such as websites and social media.