If you increase your organization’s engagement with Mason, that relationship can open the door to new contacts and lead to opportunities for growth.
What We Do
Members of the Mason community lead the way in internationally impactful research and work. But it can't be conducted without support. We help members of the Mason community find funding for innovative projects and new initiatives.
The CFR team provides tools for those seeking philanthropic support from corporations and foundations. Our team helps research grants and ensures proposals are complete, accurate, and of top quality before getting a sign-off from the George Mason University Foundation, Inc. We'll also coordinate your efforts with University Advancement or the George Mason University Foundation leadership as needed.
Our work incorporates a variety of strategies to develop sources of support. These methods include:
- Developing and identifying cross-unit funding initiatives that fall within priority research areas (health and well-being, resilience, cyber & analytics, and entrepreneurship and innovation.)
- Identifying corporations and foundations that wish to fund integrative, multi-unit initiatives that fall within priority research areas.
- Providing a single point of entry to help organizations find philanthropic opportunities from across the university in priority areas.
- Developing strategies that maximize potential and minimize duplication of effort
- Connecting to points of contact at corporations and foundations of interest.
- Networking at external events.
Peterson Family Health Sciences Hall is home to the College of Health and Human Services, bringing nearly 2,700 students and 100 faculty and staff from six health academic units and three research centers together. The 165,000-square-foot facility was built with the help of an $8 million gift from the northern Virginia based Peterson family.
Mason faculty routinely develop groundbreaking ideas that require new funding sources. We help individual Mason academic units, faculty, and staff through:
- Developing new strategic contacts through research and networking.
- Identifying key trends and areas of growth in corporate and foundation strategies
- Developing long-term strategic relationships with clearance-restricted funders and top-tier corporations and foundations that result in legacy/repeat giving to Mason programs.
- Assisting development officers with funder prospecting and outreach.
- Providing a Mason presence, when requested, at meetings with potential external partners
- Coordinating strategies for opportunities of interest to multiple units to prevent duplication.
- Convening and leading development teams to identify and solicit opportunities that benefit existing funds in multiple units
- Relaying limited submission opportunities for funding and associated deadlines to relevant academic units in coordination with the Office of Sponsored Programs as needed.
- Drafting talking points, partner profiles, and other supporting materials
- Guiding the development of proposals, asks, and case statements utilizing a reference archive of proposals and letters of inquiry
- Assisting with the negotiations of large gifts as needed
- Liasing with the George Mason University Foundation, Inc. team to acquire required signatures and sign-offs.
- Providing guides or templates for report creation
We also collaborate with non-academic units and offices, including: