Grants and Foundation Relations

Located within the Office of Development and Alumni Relations, the Office of Grants and Foundation Relations promotes and maintains relationships with external funding agencies and organizations to advance Cabrini's mission and priorities. We provide guidance and support for administrators, faculty, and staff in obtaining outside funding from government agencies, private foundations, corporate contributions, and other institutional funding sources. We partner with faculty and staff to research, develop, write, edit, submit and implement grant projects through a mission-focused and collaborative process. Grant funding supports the university's financial and programmatic needs, which is critical to the success of the institution and the students we educate.

All members of the Cabrini community must involve the Grants and Foundation Relations Office in every grant initiative. We look forward to assisting you.

Our services include:

Research and identification of funding sources
Proposal concept design
Proposal development
Proposal editing
Budget development and review (in conjunction with the Business Office)
Administrative approvals
Drafting and obtaining Letters of Support
Online grants submission through grants.gov, NSF FastLane, Pennsylvania e‑grants, and other online systems

Contact:

Katie Dumas
Director, Grants and Foundation Relations
kd10783@cabrini.edu
Phone: 610.902.8187
Fax: 610.902.8574

The Grants Process

Pre-submission
A grant is a contract that commits Cabrini, along with the project director, to carry out the activities described in the application and to administer the grant award as specified by the funding source. All proposals for grants that will be made to Cabrini, including those which request research funding for an individual faculty member, must be reviewed by the Director of Grants and Foundation Relations for pre-approval.

If you have identified a funding source:
Faculty and staff members interested in applying for grants or other forms of financial support should contact our office to discuss the proposed project. The pre-submission approval process allows us to obtain the necessary internal authorizations (e.g., from the Provost) and allows us to gauge the level of assistance and time needed to support your proposal.

If you need help finding funding:
Our office can assist you in researching and identifying potential funding sources for your project. We have access to several resources for seeking outside grant funding. If you have an idea in mind, please contact our office to schedule an appointment to discuss the prospects for identifying funding resources and the process of proposal design and development. Please be aware that given the competitive nature of grants and our staff's institutional time commitments, not every idea may be a viable project for a proposal.

Post Award
If you win a grant award, you will work closely with the Director of Grants and Foundation Relations to ensure a compliant and successful grant project implementation. Cabrini's Director of Accounting will meet with the project director(s) or principal investigator(s) to explain post-award procedures, including reporting, time/effort sheets, vouchers, and other administrative concerns. The Business Office will assist in monitoring the expenditures of your grant, financial reports, and closeout of the grant. The Office of Grants and Foundation Relations can assist with the review and editing of any required reports. We ask that you send copies of all correspondence (including project reports) with the funder to the Director of Grants and Foundation Relations.

Time and Effort Certification Report

Faculty Resources

Internal Grants for Faculty
Cabrini also offers internal grant opportunities for qualifying summer projects and other faculty grant initiatives through the Faculty Professional Topics Committee. Please reach out to the Provost's Office for more information.

External Funding Sources
Numerous foundations and organizations offer fellowships, professional development, project funding, and research funding for faculty.

Albert Vining Davis Foundation - They "typically support projects that improve student outcomes or enhance faculty leadership."

American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) - "ACLS invites applications from scholars pursuing research on topics grounded in any time period, world region, or humanistic methodology. ACLS aims to select fellows who are broadly representative of the variety of humanistic scholarship across all fields of study. Funding- $60,000 max for six to 12 consecutive months devoted to full-time research and/or writing."

American Philosophical Society

Franklin Research Grants – "The Franklin program is particularly designed to help meet the costs of travel to libraries and archives for research purposes; the purchase of microfilm, photocopies, or equivalent research materials; the costs associated with fieldwork; or laboratory research expenses." Funding- $6,000 max. Grants will not be made to replace salary during a leave of absence or earnings from summer teaching; pay living expenses while working at home.
Phillips Fund for Native American Research - Provides grants for research in Native American linguistics, ethnohistory, and the history of studies of Native Americans, in the continental United States and Canada. The committee prefers to support the work of younger scholars who have received a doctorate. Applications are also accepted from graduate students for research on master's theses or doctoral dissertations. Funding- $3,000-$3,500.
Library & Museum Short-Term Resident Research Fellowships - Support for researchers in residence (Philadelphia, PA; Candidates who live 75 or more miles from Philadelphia receive some preference). Open to scholars in all fields who show a demonstrated need to use the Library & Museum's collections for their project. Collections include: history of the American Revolution and founding, the history of science from Newton to NASA, Native American languages and culture, and the development of American anthropology. Funding- $3,000/month for 1-3 months.

George and Eliza Gardner Howard Foundation - Awards a limited number of fellowships each year for independent projects in selected fields (2021-2022 selected fields are: Creative Nonfiction and History), targeting its support specifically to early mid-career individuals, those who have achieved recognition for at least one major project. Howard Fellowships are intended primarily to provide artists, scholars, and writers with time to complete their work. They are not intended for publication subsidies, equipment purchase, preparation of exhibits, or to support institutional programs. Funding- $35,000.

Harry Ransom Center - The Ransom Center awards approximately 60 fellowships annually for projects that require substantial on-site use of its collections (Austin, TX). The collections support research in all areas of the humanities, including literature, photography, film, art, the performing arts, music, and cultural history. Note: 2021-2022 award cycle is suspended due to COVID-19

Huntington Library

Long-Term Fellowships - Huntington fellowships support high-quality research that advances scholarship in the humanities and makes use of The Huntington's extensive archival and rare book collections, which are strong in British history and literature; American history and literature; the history of art; the history of science; and the history of the book. Recipients of all fellowships are expected to be in continuous residence at The Huntington (located in San Marino, CA) and to participate in, and make a contribution to, its intellectual life. Funding- $50,000 stipend for 9-12 months
Travel Grants for Study Abroad Summary- Available in any of the fields in which The Huntington's own collections are strong and where the research will be carried out in libraries or archives outside of the United States or Canada, especially those in the UK, continental Europe, or Latin America. Funding- economy round-trip airfare; stipend of $4,000

Partners for Campus-Community Engagement (formerly Campus Compact of NY and PA) offers several opportunities for our faculty and staff including Civic Imagination Grants, communities of practice, and AmeriCorps volunteers. Recently-funded Cabrini grant projects include: Keep it 100, The Shirley Dixon Urban Education Symposium, the R.O.S.E. Program, and the Center on Global Learning’s Dr. Earnest Mitchell event. Funding typically focuses on “racial healing, democratic engagement, community partnership convening, and climate justice/change.”

Newberry Library - Provides outstanding scholars with the time, space, and community required to pursue innovative and ground-breaking scholarship. Fellows have access to the Newberry's wide-ranging and rare archival materials as well as to a lively, interdisciplinary community of researchers, curators, and librarians. We expect recipients to advance scholarship in various fields, develop new interpretations, and expand our understandings of the past. Residential fellowships- Chicago IL (Descriptions of specific fellowships here: https://www.newberry.org/long-term-fellowships) Funding- 4 to 9 months with a stipend of $5,000 per month; may be combined with sabbatical funding or other stipendiary support.

Science Magazine's Where to Search for Funding – This article includes a variety of links to help you identify grant opportunities and also links to help guide your grant writing process.

(Updated September 2022)