Development Tools and Sample Documents

Through a variety of resources, the Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR) provides information on funding opportunities from private foundations and corporations. While CFR is available to assist with any funding questions, we also understand that our faculty and staff have very busy schedules and sometimes need to do a quick search on their own. Below are some links to assist Georgetown Law faculty and staff in performing preliminary searches for funding opportunities. Please contact us if you need any help or decide to pursue any opportunities.

External Search Engines

Foundation Directory is the Foundation Center’s online database, providing subscribers with grantmaker-related information. Our subscription is at the Professional level, which provides Georgetown Law faculty and staff with access to timely, comprehensive information on grantmakers and their grants. Included is a database of the entire universe of nearly 100,000 foundations, corporate giving programs, and grantmaking public charities in the U.S.; a database of more than 4,000 sponsoring companies, offering a quick pathway to corporate funders; a database of over 2.4 million recently awarded grants; and a keyword-searchable database of over 700,000 recently filed IRS Forms 990 and 990-PF. Access to the Foundation Directory is only available on campus.

Pivot (formerly Community of Science) is an online database that provides users with funding opportunities and can connect them with other researchers with similar interests. Pivot provides a platform for researchers and administrators to quickly and easily explore funding and collaborative opportunities. When accessed from an on-campus web device, you will have full access to this subscription service site. (If you see the GU logo at the top left, you know you have landed at the right place.)

COS/Pivot Instructional Videos: “Getting Started with COS Pivot” ProQuestPivot provides some very useful step-by-step guides to new users of COS Pivot. Topics explained include Account Creation, Profile Claiming and Updating, and others. These will equip researchers to better utilize all that COS Pivot has to offer.

Grant Space

Chronicle of Higher Education is an online version of a leading periodical on college and university news, including grants made by foundations. Searchable archives are available to paid subscribers.

Chronicle of Philanthropy is an online version of a leading newspaper for fundraisers. There is a searchable archive for subscribers.

Council on Foundations is a 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.

Social Science Research Council:
Click to read “On the Art of Writing Proposals”