Only full-time faculty and/or staff are eligable to apply for grants. If you are an adjunct, you must have a full-time faculty and/or staff member on your grant project as a co-director.
STEP 1: Complete and Submit the Initial NLU Proposal Form
Please complete each area on the form, making special note of the approval section. This is to ensure that department heads and deans are aware of all ongoing faculty research and partner proposals that are submitted for external funding.
STEP 2: Assignment of NLU Grants Officer
Your proposal idea will be assigned to a grants officer who will assist you in the preparation and submission process.
STEP 3: Write Your Grant / Develop the Budget
As an expert in your field, you will be responsible for writing the bulk of the grant narrative. We will be happy to review the material and make suggestions to revise your narrative to make your proposal more competitive. We also encourage you to take advantage of the resources offered on this site that can help you increase your chances of writing a successful grant proposal.
We will work with you to develop the proposed budget and provide important information such as overhead percentages and in-kind contributions.
- See the application requirements page to review the grant narrative and budget guidelines.
STEP 4. Project Review / Final Grants Approval
All new grant application submissions to national granting agencies by NLU faculty designated as either principal or co-principal investigator must be reviewed and routed prior to the applications' submissions to the granting agency.
The applicant should email their final draft of their application two weeks prior to the relevant completion deadline. The review process will be completed in a timely manner prior to the internal University and agency deadlines, and the applicant is expected to consider concerns and suggestions of the reviewers prior to submitting the proposal.
The reviews will be carried out via email with documented assessments in the hands of the applicant within two (2) weeks of the receipt of the draft grant application. This will give the grants team one week to make final edits prior to your deadline.
STEP 5. Submit Your Grant
Once the necessary approvals and signatures have been obtained, the final review and processing of a proposal on behalf of the University begins. The Office of Institutional Advancement makes arrangements for any final corrections needed in the proposal to be made, working with the project director, and obtains any other required University signatures. During the final step of proposal routing, the Office of Institutional Advancement prepares a University letter of transmittal to accompany the proposal when it is submitted to the funding agency. When a proposal has been fully vetted, the Office of Institutional Advancement will submit your proposal.
After completion, the NLU grants team will submit your proposal on behalf of the University to the appropriate funding agencies. The grants officer assisting you will send out your proposal under the President's signature.
Electronic Submissions. If the funding organization accepts proposals submitted electronically, the Office of Institutional Advancement will perform the technical tasks of executing the electronic submission. In this case, the project director will need to send all pertinent pieces of their grant electronically to our office.
NOTE: Faculty members are not to submit proposal on their own accord.
