UVM Foundation &
University
Sponsored Project
Administration
of Vermont
Sudha
Director, SPA
Since Ramaswami,
1791
Alexa Woodward, Director of Corporate and
Foundation Relations
Lisa Townson, Associate Director, Foundation
Relations
Office of
Corporate
and
Foundation
Relations
(CFR Office)
Sponsored
Project
Administration
(SPA)
The UVM Foundation’s CFR
Office and UVM’s Sponsored
Project Administration team
work closely to support
increased extramural funding
to advance research and
programmatic funding at the
University of Vermont…
Learning objectives

Sponsored Project Administration (SPA)

UVM Foundation’s Corporate and Foundation Relations office

Gift vs Sponsored Project

Points of intersection & collaboration between the two units
Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR)
• The CFR team is housed in the UVM Foundation, a 501c3 public
charity created to receive gifts on behalf of the university.
• We research corporate and foundation funding opportunities,
engage in relationship building with prospects, provide guidance on
proposal strategy & proposal development, and provide faculty with
holistic support for extramural funding from corporate and
foundation funders.
• One stop connector to CFR relationships.
• Stewardship of relationships over time.
Office of Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR)
• Example activities:
• We find corporate and foundation funders that align with faculty
research strengths.
• We facilitate connections between a UVM faculty member and a
foundation program officer.
• We arrange visits and partnership conversations between UVM
faculty and foundations/companies/corporate foundations.
• We provide holistic support for CFR proposals whether they are
submitted through the UVM foundation or through SPA.
Sponsored Project Administration (SPA)
Mission and Vision
SPA is an integrated unit providing support for our principal investigators and other stakeholders. We are
trusted, expert and skilled partners in the University’s sponsored research enterprise and other sponsored
activities.
Significant points

Central Administrative office

Cradle to grave support to Investigators engaged in research, service, and other
scholarly activities

Partners with department administrators
SPA by the numbers – Fy16
Activity
Numbers
Proposal submissions
1178 for a total of $214 m
Accepted awards
598 for a total of $137 m
Awards set up actions in PS
966
Sub recipient actions
323
Financial Reports submitted
826
Invoices submitted
2256 (federal and non-federal)
Cash Collected
$125m
Gifts
Item of value given to the University by a donor or donor organization,
which expects recognition and disposition of the gift in accordance
with the donor’s wishes
 A gift may be accompanied by an agreement that restricts funds to a
particular purpose but does not impose other contractual requirements
beyond proper stewardship.



A gift can support research (Example: a named research fund, funded PhD
or Post Doc, endowed faculty positions, or funding for a specific research
initiative)
A CFR prospect can require a written proposal with a line item budget and
still fund a gift, as long as reporting only requires proper stewardship.
(Example: Google)
Characteristics of Gifts

Sponsor requires a charitable tax deduction
 But not just “tax-exempt”

Events held and marketed as “Proceeds to benefit …”
 Dinners,
raffles, auctions, membership programs
10/20/16
Sponsored Project

A sponsored project is either a grant, contract, or
cooperative agreement, with a formal written
agreement between UVM and the sponsor.

Sponsored funding may be from a Federal, State, or
local government, non-profit organizations, and any
number of commercial, industrial, or private entities.
10/20/16
Characteristics of Sponsored Projects
i. Statement of work
ii. Detailed financial accountability
i. Project plan with a line-item budget, including budgetary restrictions at the
line item level;
ii. Specified period of performance;
iii. Cost reimbursable accounting, with the requirement to return any unspent
funds at the end of the period of performance;
iv. Detailed financial reporting;
v. Accountability under the terms of the Uniform Guidance
vi. Effort reporting requirement.
iii. Regulatory compliance requirements, including:
i. Export Controls
ii. Conflicts of Interest
iv. Restrictive provisions related to intellectual property rights or publications
10/20/16
Common Characteristics

Presence of a timeline

Presence of a budget

Sponsor accepting or rejecting indirect costs or gift fees (or the
presence of either of these)

Competitive award process

Sponsor is a “foundation”

Human subject approval required

IACUC approval required

Reporting requirements
10/20/16
Indirect costs

Rates arrived after negotiation with federal government

Full negotiated rate or sponsor restricted rate

Restricted or zero rate

Consider programmatic impact

Can still cover direct costs
 Summer salary
 Supplies
 Grad student salaries/Tuition
10/20/16
Foundation fees

5% of total cost to the UVM Foundation

Waiver of fees
10/20/16
Collaboration efforts


We work closely together

Meet periodically

Refer Investigators to each other, if appropriate

Transfer agreements to each other, if appropriate

Collaborate on providing the best service possible
Bring in other offices as needed

Office of Tech Commercialization

Controller’s office
10/20/16
Questions?
Alexa Woodward
Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations
University of Vermont Foundation
802.656.9535
[email protected]
Lisa Townson
Associate Director of Foundation Relations
University of Vermont Foundation
802.656.3638
[email protected]
Sudha Ramaswami
Director, Sponsored Project Administration
The University of Vermont
802.656.3894
[email protected]