Grant Services
At Cardinal Stritch University, grant writing is a collaborative process between the Principal Investigator/Project Director and University Advancement, specifically the Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations and the Grants Management Coordinator. Division of tasks is negotiated between University Advancement and the Principal Investigator/Project Director. Support from University Advancement may include taking very rough ideas presented by the Principal Investigator/Project Director and turning them into a funded grant; or proofreading a final draft written entirely by the Principal Investigator/Project Director(s). Both approaches – and everything in between – work for us if we are able to plan for the request ahead of time.
University Advancement assesses the University’s relationship with the prospective donor, the University’s understanding of the prospect’s priorities, knowledge of the scope of the project, and feasibility of submission timeline. This information greatly increases the probability of the proposal being funded by the donor.
University Advancement brings objectivity to the grant writing and project development process. We also have an understanding of how to sell the project, and the knowledge of the grant process so the proposal is not rejected based on a technicality. Although our staff has this expertise, the ideas and project concept are always up to the Principal Investigator/Project Director as he/she will be ultimately responsible for project implementation and is the expert in this area.