Funding organizations do not pay you for the enormous time and expenses consumed in preparing a competitive application. If you are unsuccessful (way more often than not), all of that sunk cost is wasted. There is more to that, such as the opportunity cost. You could have been doing something more productive and rewarding during those endless hours preparing that proposal.
Even if your proposal is successful, you may receive less than what you requested. The awarded funding is for you to deliver on what you had proposed, not for reimbursement of efforts leading up to it. In essence, the sunk cost on preparing an application has a zero return on investment (ROI).
If successful, be prepared to deliver on dozens of progress reports. You must be able to demonstrate spectacular accomplishments with the awarded money, as these reports can affect the outcome from your future proposals.
By the way, did we forget to mention the auditors?
How FundVantage Helps
FundVantage helps you increase your fundraising productivity. You can draw upon its funding intelligence to improve your overall success rates.
FundVantage lets you be strategic about your funding proposals.
- Find programs that meet your objectives, as opposed to reinventing your objectives to the requirements of the program.
- Find less competitive funding programs to improve your odds of success. By going after a program with 20% success rate instead of a program with a 10% success rate, you can double your productivity.
- Seek programs with less onerous application, reporting, and auditing requirements.
- Free up your time to focus on your core business and responsibilities that add value to you and your customers.
Academic Institutions
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Public funding of universities and colleges has dropped sharply over the past two decades. In 1990, government operating grants made up 80% of total university operating revenues. By 2009, that had fallen to 58%. Source: CAUT Statement regarding the 2012 Federal Budget |
FundVantage’s Academic Edition serves Canadian academic institutions. It provides concurrent, unlimited access to all faculty, staff, and students.
Features for the Academic Edition can be found on the Content and Features Page.
A Superior Alternative
Considering or maintaining your own in-house list? FundVantage is a far superior alternative to something in Access or Excel.
Consider the costs. You could easily be spending one full time equivalent ($100,000 fully loaded cost) maintaining your in-house solution. It may not easily be searchable and lack all the features that come with FundVantage. Others at your organization may not be able to access it easily.
Not to mention, there is the opportunity cost of actually doing something productive with your time lost!
FundVantage is
- a far more elegant solution
- updated every business day
- simply, hassle free
Finally, the ability to cut down your workweek from the insane 60 hours: that is just priceless!
Helping Faculty focus on Teaching and Research
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Within the last decade, the competition for limited dollars just got a lot tougher. Success rates for NSERC’s Discovery Grants program fell from a high of 83.7% in 2002 to 58.1% in 2010. Data Source: 2009-10 Tables from NSERC |
A recent study by Elsevier found that researchers spend an average of 30% of their time securing funding.
By using FundVantage to make strategic decisions that improve their chances of success, faculty can spend less time chasing money. They can focus more on what they do and love best -- teaching and research.
Attracting and Retaining Top Students
Student recruitment and retention departments can benefit tremendously from FundVantage. You can recruit top students by helping them get scholarships. Improve retention and boost student performance through awards from your own endowments.
Successful graduates positively pay back in many ways. They (a) actively participate in philanthropic giving, (b) advance into key decision-making roles that benefit your institution, (c) enhance your reputation at their future employers by their own successes, (d) return as future recruiters, (e) advocate for your institution within their communities, be it locally or globally, and (f) enhance your brand reputation for the rest of their careers through their resume.
Multiple Departments can Benefit from FundVantage
Industry liaison and technology transfer offices: Coordinate with industry partners and leverage their contributions through additional funding. Help spinoffs and licensees identify capital (including non-diluting funding) for technology commercialization.
Research and development offices: Promote internal funding programs and help manage submission processes.
Academic libraries: A highly sought electronic resource to better serve your patrons
Human Resources: An excellent employee benefit in your portfolio
A Solid Return on Investment
Let us consider the example of a mid-sized Canadian university that receives $20 million in external grant funding. Let us assume that this was acquired at a typical aggregated success rate of 20%. A ridiculously modest increase in success rate to 21% translates to a $1 million more in revenues.
This is a significant multiplier on your investment that more than pays for FundVantage!
Startups and Small Companies
In addition to grant funding, FundVantage covers various incentives such as loan programs, tax incentives, and insurances available to Canadian companies.
FundVantage helps entrepreneurs access non-diluting funding instead of giving up equity.
Let us help you retire as a billionaire instead of just as a millionaire!
