The Bryan School of Business and Economics

Bryan School Office of Research

Foundation Support - FAQ's

Five points to remember about corporate and foundation support

  1. The best prospects are those with headquarters or a significant presence in the Triad and those who have given to the Bryan School or UNCG before. The vast majority of corporations and foundations limit their giving by geography or give only to preselected organizations.
  2. Just as with individual donors, the interests of corporate and foundation donors are extremely varied. Here are some general guidelines:
    1. Applied research is often of more interest than pure research.
    2. Increasingly, their interest is in projects that produce measurable results in a relatively short time frame. And they are moving strongly toward measuring outcomes as opposed to activity.
    3. What tend to appeal the most are outreach programs; market-driven innovations in curriculum and teaching, such as entrepreneurship; programs with a direct relationship to economic development; and support for underrepresented groups. Corporations often have a particular interest in opportunities to put their name on a program, initiative or facility.
  3. Information on specific corporate giving programs is often scarce. Foundations have to report their giving to the IRS (some provide more detail than others), but corporations have no reporting requirements.
  4. The Bryan School has existing relationships with many corporate and foundation donors (including BB&T, the Bryan Foundation, Dixon Hughes and Lincoln Financial Group). However, we do not have a free hand to engage any local company or foundation for financial support. The university’s other academic units also have relationships with many corporate and foundation donors; those relationships must be respected, just as we expect those units to respect the relationships the Bryan School has with its donors.
    1. If we believe a prospect that is assigned to another unit is a good prospect for us, the Development Office can explore a change in assignment for the prospect.
  5. All contacts for financial support from corporations and foundation need to go through the Development Office. David Arneke, the Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations for the Bryan School, has the responsibility to manage our relationships with these donors. He can be reached at drarneke@uncg.edu or 334-5001.