Getting Final Funding: Moments of Truth
This section guides you through what can be the most stressful part of establishing any new program—getting final funding approval from the key decision-makers. You can draw on your community of support and knowledge of the college or university's organizational structure as you gear up for focused meetings with the people who can make or break your vision.
Knowing who on the organizational chart holds the decision-making power is essential. In trying to gain access to these people, you may encounter administrators or managers who act as gatekeepers. If you feel you are being blocked, try to get a referral from one of your supporters or simply rely on the power-in-numbers principle. If you can show you have strong support from many students and administrators, you will stand a better chance of getting access to the necessary point in the management hierarchy.
Getting in the door is the first step. The following sections provide guidance on what to do and expect once you are there:
Tips for making your final approach as smooth, successful and free of surprises as possible.
Here we explain briefly what your final budget should look like.
Sometimes the team approach works best when presenting a prospective program to key decision-makers. This section discusses how to use this approach effectively.
In this section, we provide a few hints on how to speak and listen effectively.
Having something on paper helps legitimize your program idea and creates a framework for your meeting with potential funders. This section provides advice on what to put down in writing.
Here we provide suggestions for conducting yourself during the big meeting, from the introductory to closing remarks.
Finally, we discuss how to respond to decision-makers' concerns and offers of partial funding.