Getting Started With Grants

Some key steps:

Explore funding opportunities. There are abundant databases and agency-specific websites that collate opportunities for your perusal. You can set up a consultation with Robin Bernstein, Director of Grants Research and Funding Strategy, to explore opportunities and gain insight into navigating online resources for finding funding. Some key resources are linked on our Finding and Writing Grants page.

Reach out to COSPS! We are here to help you every step of the way – from planning, strategizing and searching for opportunities, to coordinating budgets and internal approvals, to post-award reporting – and look forward to supporting you and your funding journey. See our Meet the Team page for our areas of coverage, and peruse our Frequently Asked Questions for common inquiries. 

Reflect on your priorities and organize your ideas. Breaking down your project into parts can be a useful exercise. ‘Big’, multi-year funding opportunities can be exciting, and smaller awards can help you get the same project done in a stepwise or parallel fashion. 

Build a timeline. Start as early as possible in the process, working from your desired end point backwards. Deadlines can vary by agency or foundation, across different programs within the same agency or foundation, and can change over time. Explore our Grant Lifecycle overview for the 'big picture' of the process here at Colby.

Consider collaborators. Your research may or may not be collaborative to start, but it can be helpful to consider, if not. Collaborations can build out your project and in addition to the inherent value of shared scholarship, this can also build out the funding opportunities available for your project.

Get some guidance from existing connections. Ask your mentors and peers about their experiences, and any tips and tricks they learned along the way. Some may be willing to discuss specific applications or share proposals/parts of proposals to help build your understanding. Some example proposals, and components of proposals, are freely available - for example, see the resources from Candid linked on our Finding and Writing Grants page.