Resources at Stanford

University Foundation Relations is the central university office for fundraising from private professional foundations. Part of the Office of Development, University Foundation Relations provides prospect research, cultivation, coordination, proposal writing and stewardship assistance to faculty, administrators and center directors in their work with private foundations. For Stanford faculty and senior administrators, University Foundation Relations can help identify and approach potential foundation funding sources, plan and coordinate solicitations, assist in inquiries and grant proposals, gather supporting material, and obtain institutional signatures. Other services provided by the Office of University Relations include serving as a clearinghouse for most Request for Proposals (RFPs) from foundations, producing a quarterly electronic newsletter on foundation news for the Stanford community and occasional grantwriting workshops. Other resources helpful in the grantseeking process are outlined below.

Research Management Group

This website has funding information, and other resources for all Stanford faculty and research administrative staff.

Office of University Corporate Relations

Stanford’s fundraising from corporations and corporate foundations is handled by the Office of University Corporate Relations in the Office of Development. For more information, contact Brooke Groves Anderson at 650.725.6250 or bgrovesa@stanford.edu.

Office of Development

Stanford’s fundraising from individuals, personal and family foundations is handled by staff in the Office of Development. For more information on policies governing gifts, see http://adminguide.stanford.edu/ch4contents.html.

External Resources

Foundation Center

This website offers a wealth of information on more than 85,000 foundations in the U.S., and is an excellent place to begin research on foundations:

Foundation Finder to look up general information on a foundation

Information on the top foundations by assets and giving

Link to Form 990 (also known as 990-PF) non-profit organization tax return. Use this to review a foundation’s grants when this information is not included on a foundation’s website. Please note that this may be a fairly lengthy document, and that only the grantee name is provided with little detail on the individual grants.

Guidelines on writing letters of inquiry and full proposals

Chronicle of Higher Education

Online version of leading periodical on college and university news, including grants made by foundations. Searchable archives are available to paid subscribers.

Chronicle of Philanthropy

Online version of leading newspaper for fundraisers. There is a searchable archive for subscribers.

Council on Foundations

Leading organization for foundation grantmakers.

Guidestar

Provides basic information on over 1 million non-profit organizations and foundations. The descriptive information is taken from the Form 990 filed by foundations and also directly from the organization.