Build Your Funding Strategy
Determine if your project fits business goals for corporate entities
If you think corporate funding may be a good fit for your project or program, please review these detailed questions and contact the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations for assistance in building your strategy.
- What does your project offer a corporate partner?
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Companies are interested in forming partnerships with universities and supporting academic and research initiatives that help them achieve their business objectives, recruit talent and develop their workforce, support their own R&D, increase brand awareness, and demonstrate corporate social responsibility.
Which of the following benefits can your project, program, or expertise offer a corporate partner/funder?
- Marketing/Branding/Product promotion
- Fulfillment of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)/Community Giving and Engagement objectives
- Fulfillment of R&D objectives/Research access/Product development
- Inform corporate strategy and/or business operations
- Recruitment/Workforce Development
- What is the nature of your funding need?
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- Research funding
- Commercial research collaboration
- Philanthropic support for a program
- Philanthropic support for students or faculty (scholarships, fellowships)
- Sponsorship
- In-kind donation of products or services
- Internship opportunities for students
- Recruitment
- Which companies are potential prospects for funding your program?
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Thinking about question #1, which companies would benefit from your project or program?
Relationships are key in securing corporate funding; knowing someone who can introduce you to prospective funders increases the likelihood of a corporate partnership.
- Do you know of companies that have supported similar efforts?
- Do you have contacts who can introduce you to someone at a company who may be interested in your project?
- Do you have former colleagues, friends, or connections you’ve met at conferences who can provide an inroad for a conversation with your prospective corporate funder?
Interested in corporate research funding or commercial research collaboration?
- Please review the Funding Opportunities database for current corporate RFPs.
- Look at the websites of the companies you have listed above as potential prospects, to see if they have any open RFPs.
Interested in philanthropic support for a project/program or students/faculty?
- Look at the websites of the companies you have listed above as potential prospects to review their Corporate Social Responsibility pages or check if they have corporate foundations.
- Research whether your funding need aligns with their CSR objectives or corporate philanthropy guidelines.
Interested in sponsorship?
- Review the Sponsorship Toolkit for tips and guidelines on securing sponsorship gifts for GW.
Further Support
The GW Corporate Relations team will be happy to schedule a meeting to discuss your corporate engagement and solicitation strategy.
Please email us at [email protected] and a member of our team will follow up to schedule the meeting.
Download a PDF worksheet for completing your corporate fundraising strategy.