The Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations exists to serve the Brandeis University community.  Our role is to assist faculty and staff in gaining the support, from corporations and foundations, that helps make possible the work of research and education.  We work closely with our colleagues throughout the university in developing proposals and in building strong relationships with funding organizations.  Success depends on bringing together our particular expertise with the expertise of those who conduct research, develop curriculum, teach students, and in other ways carry out the mission of Brandeis University.

We invite and encourage you to work with us.  We are eager to hear about projects that need and deserve external funding.  The first step, if you want to approach a corporation or foundation, is to consult with the provost, who most approve all new academic projects at Brandeis.  The Provost will then bring us into the discussion.

Corporate and Foundation Relations also works closely with the Office of Research Administration (ORA).  ORA ensures compliance with federal laws and regulations and with University policies; ORA staff also review proposed budgets and, in some cases, sign grant applications as institutional representatives.  For grant requests to government departments and agencies, faculty and staff must submit proposals through ORA.  If you are uncertain which department should help with your submission, please contact either office, and we will be glad to provide you with guidance.  In many cases, ORA and Corporate and Foundation Relations will work together on a faculty member’s submission.

For patent, intellectual property, and technology transfer questions, please contact the Office of Technology Licensing.

Resources for faculty and staff

The Foundation Directory Online is a valuable tool for learning about foundations and what sorts of projects they support.  It can be accessed through the library’s Brandeis Scholar feature:  just click on “Find Database” and then put in “Foundation Directory Online.”  You can then search by foundation name, fields of interest, and types of support (among other search fields).  

PLEASE NOTE:  You must contact the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations before reaching out to any corporation or foundation for fundraising purposes.  The university has active relationships with many corporations and foundations, and all activities with these entities must be coordinated carefully.  In some cases, competing priorities will be resolved by the provost.

We also maintain a list of faculty award programs sponsored by foundations.  Some of these are for junior faculty, others are open to senior researchers as well.  You may download a listing of these programs, arranged by order of deadline.

Organizations devoted to particular diseases also offer various grant programs.   We have collected a list of organizations with links to web pages about their grant programs.