Corporate and Foundation Relations Office
For more information about the CFR office, click on a link below:
To ensure that no potential conflicts or issues exist and that donor strategy is coordinated, the CFR office needs to be informed and involved in the proposal-writing process for corporations and/or corporate foundations listed below*. The principal investigator or unit development officer should contact the primary manager if he/she intends to submit a concept paper or proposal to any of the following:
- 3M/3M Foundation
- Agilent Technologies
- Alcoa/Alcoa Foundation
- Archer Daniels Midland/ADM Foundation
- Cargill
- ConAgra/ConAgra Foundation
- Deere, John/Deere, John Foundation
- Dow Chemical /Foundation
- DuPont/Pioneer
- Eli Lilly/Eli Lilly Foundation
- Grain Processing Corporation
- General Mills/General Mills Foundation
- Hewlett-Packard
- Hon Industries
- IBM
- Maytag/Maytag Foundation
- Meredith/Meredith Foundation
- Microsoft
- Monsanto/Monsanto Fund
- Principal/PFG Foundation
- Procter & Gamble
- Smithfield Foods/Smithfield-Luter Foundation
- Sun Microsystems
* Note: This list will be evaluated and updated periodically to reflect new and changes to existing relationships
To ensure that no potential conflicts or issues exist and that donor strategy is coordinated, the CFR office needs to be informed and involved in the proposal-writing process for corporations and foundations on the list below*. The principal investigator or unit development officer should contact the primary manager if he/she intends to submit a concept paper or proposal to any of the following (John Glover is the primary manager, except where noted below):
- Annenberg Fund
- Carver, Roy J. Charitable Trust
- Dreyfus Fund
- Duke, Doris Foundation
- Ford Foundation
- Gates, Bill and Melinda Foundation
- Hearst, William Randolph and Hearst Foundations
- Hewlett, William & Flora Foundation
- Johnson, Robert Wood Foundation
- Joyce Foundation
- Keck, W.M. Foundation
- Kellogg Foundation
Gift or Contractual Agreement?
Corporate and foundation funds are committed to the university in a variety of ways and can be referred to as gifts, grants, purchase orders, cooperative agreements, subcontracts, contractual agreements, memorandums of agreement, and memorandums of understanding. The Iowa State University Foundation works closely with the Office of Sponsored Programs Administration (OSPA) (http://ospa.iastate.edu/) to determine whether the corporate or foundation award is a contractual agreement or a gift, based on the donor's intent and gift restrictions.
Funds are committed to the University in a variety of ways and can be referred to as gifts, grants, purchase orders, cooperative agreements, subcontracts, contractual agreements, memorandums of agreement, and memorandums of understanding. A gift or contractual agreement may be the result of a solicited or an unsolicited proposal, whether competitive or non-competitive and is subject to negotiation. The payment or nonpayment of indirect costs (overhead) is not a factor in defining whether the funding is a gift or a contractual agreement. Therefore, the documentation provided with the funds must be carefully reviewed by the Office of Sponsored Programs Administration (OSPA) and the Iowa State University Foundation for the substance of the transaction, and internally treated as a contractual agreement or as a gift, based on the nature of the individual transaction.
The following information is meant to serve as a guide for the acceptance and processing of gifts and contractual agreement from individuals, corporations, foundations, agencies and associations. Following the responsibilities outlined below, are three scenarios and a set of questions to assist in classifying a proposal or an award as a contractual agreement or a gift.
Responsibilities
The Iowa State University Foundation receives gifts from individuals, corporations, foundations, agencies and associations. The Iowa State University Foundation aids the faculty and staff during the solicitation and proposal development process and, upon receipt, stewards the donor through reports, other communications and recognition if appropriate. The Iowa State University Foundation is responsible for informing the faculty and staff of all guidelines and conditions of the gift, including reporting requirements and spending restrictions, and aids the faculty and staff in complying with those guidelines and conditions. In addition, the Foundation is responsible for coordinating stewardship activities such as press releases, naming approvals, and recognition events.
Both solicited and unsolicited gifts from corporations, foundations, and non-governmental agencies and associations are processed through the Iowa State University Foundation. Based upon the size and terms of the gift, the Principal Investigator (PI) or faculty member will complete and sign necessary documentation to accompany the gift when it is sent to the ISU Foundation.
For gifts less than $5,000: A Gift Reporting Form for Corporate and Foundation Gifts Less than $5,000 affirms designation of the gift and verifies there are no conflicts of interest, compliance, matching gift, space/remodeling, or cost sharing issues. If any of the above issues exists, irregardless of the amount of the gift, a Cardinal Sheet is required. The Cardinal Sheet is initiated by the PI or the PI's collegiate unit. The Process for Completing and Routing Cardinal Sheets provides detailed information about initiating and completing the required Cardinal Sheet.
For gifts of $5,000 or more: a Cardinal Sheet is required. The Cardinal Sheet is initiated by the PI or the PI's collegiate unit. The Process for Completing and Routing Cardinal Sheets provides detailed information about initiating and completing the required Cardinal Sheet.
Completed Gift Reporting Forms and Cardinal Sheets are reviewed by the ISU Foundation for reporting and stewardship requirements and verification and creation of account/s.
The Office of Sponsored Programs Administration (OSPA) at Iowa State University receives contractual agreements from individuals, corporations, foundations, agencies and associations. OSPA also receives all federal, state and local governmental contracts and grants. OSPA is responsible for managing and administering such contracts and governmental grants, including conflict of interest, copyright, and intellectual property and ensuring that all research compliance requirements have been met. Please see http://ospa.iastate.edu/ for further information about OSPA.
Definitions
A contractual agreement is a written document between Iowa State University and the sponsor to carry out a specific project and generally entails a deliverable of some kind. It is legally enforceable with administrative terms and conditions for the use of the funds and may include provisions for intellectual property, reporting, compliance and publication rights. A contractual agreement involves performance requirements to carry out specific project(s) or service(s) on the part of the University (faculty, staff, and students). The contractual agreement may supplement original research, instruction, extension, or other academic activities.
Direct economic benefit is defined as any tangible or monetary return to the sponsor. This may include, but is not limited to patent rights, the right to specify terms and conditions related to the ownership of intellectual property, and the right to use or sell any product or information that is developed.
A gift is defined as an irrevocable transfer of personal property (e.g. cash, securities, books, equipment) or real property by a donor, either outright or through a planned/deferred gift vehicle (e.g. charitable gift annuity, retained life estate, charitable remainder trust or life insurance), for the charitable purpose designated by the donor and without expectation of a tangible or direct economic benefit to the donor with the exception of tax benefits and life income in the case of planned/deferred gifts. A gift implies no responsibility to provide the donor with a product, service, technical or scientific report(s), or intellectual property. The donor may specify the use of the funds, or the gift may be unrestricted for use in meeting needs identified by the University, college/school, or related support organization. The requirement or expectation of the donor to receive a report detailing the use of the gift, and the results achieved does not change the nature of the transfer; it is still a gift.
A gift agreement can be a memorandum of understanding or memorandum of agreement. The memorandum is a document between the Iowa State University Foundation and the donor, and includes a statement of donor intent, how the funds will be used, the source of the funds, how the account will be administered, and signatures of appropriate foundation, university and donor parties.
A cooperative agreement is generally used for joint research interchanges or collaboration between two or more organizations (e.g. a research center and a university) and provide for the reciprocal use of services, personnel, facilities and equipment.
The Cardinal Sheet is an internal document that contains important information about proposals being submitted for external funding. This information is entered into the donor database maintained at the ISU Foundation. Specifically, the Cardinal Sheet is used by PI's/Co-PI's, Directors of Development, departments, colleges, and center/institutes to:
- Ensure that credit is given to all donors, PI's, Co-PI's, and Directors of Development for submission of proposals and subsequent awards.
- Track submissions and awards by donor and purpose this allows the Foundation to track specific donors, ensure that all requirements associated with the award are met, and steward the donor appropriately.
- Identify potential research compliance issues as well as potential for conflict of interest the federal government has recently increased their oversight of research compliance; at ISU the Cardinal Sheet and Gold Sheet are the forms that serve as the first reporting tool for compliance.
- Monitor matching funds and cost sharing by all units across campus this ensures that matching funds and cost sharing are available to PI's from the indicated sources once an award is received.
- Monitor space needs to ensure that appropriate space is available when an award is made.
- Document international projects to ensure compliance with federal regulations.
The Process for Completing and Routing Cardinal Sheets provides further information about initiating and completing the required Cardinal Sheet.
Scenario 1
A foundation is donating $100,000 to Iowa State University and considers itself a charitable organization whose main purpose is to provide gift funding to universities to advance research. The foundation requires a detailed proposal that outlines the project objectives, timeline and budget. The project objectives must coincide with one or more key areas of interest for the foundation.
When This Would be a Gift
The only requirement in the foundation agreement is an annual report each year until all gift funds have been expended. The annual report must detail progress to date plus a comparison of budget vs. actual spending.
When This Would be a Contractual Agreement
In addition to the items above, the foundation agreement states specific terms and conditions in the agreement related to ownership of intellectual property.
Defining Factors
The agreement states specific terms and conditions in the agreement related to ownership of intellectual property.
Irrelevant Factors
- Requirement of a detailed proposal.
- Requirement of an annual report.
Scenario 2
A corporation is providing $200,000 in funding to aid in the development of curriculum related to e-commerce. The funding is awarded via a competitive request for proposal (RFP). In the RFP, the corporation requests a budget, timeline and compliance with several general guidelines relating to the use of funds (e.g. curriculum must include both business and engineering masters students in multi-disciplinary studies). The corporation considers the funds to be a gift and will not reap any direct benefit from the program. The purpose of the gift is to improve and enhance the overall quality of the corporation's future hiring by having a better-prepared pool of applicants.
When This Would be a Gift
As a condition of receiving the funds, the corporation requests an annual report detailing budget versus actual spending, progress on curriculum development, etc. An annual report is due each year until the new curriculum is in place.
When This Would be a Contractual Agreement
In addition to the items above, the corporation expects the items noted above, considers the funding to be a gift, and also expects the course to be utilized solely for employee development at the corporation. Additionally, the corporation expects to own the rights to the curriculum.
Defining Factors
- Limiting the access to the course to only the corporation's employees.
- Corporate ownership of the curriculum when complete.
Irrelevant Factors
- Request for proposal process is competitive.
- Corporate establishing general guidelines for use of the funds.
- Requirement of annual report.
Scenario 3
Several faculty and staff have been working with a consortium of government agencies, foundations, corporations and universities to research and develop a series of crops targeted to improve health and nutrition in Africa. A proposal for $50,000 is submitted to the foundation of one of the corporations involved. The foundation requires a detailed proposal that outlines the project objectives, timeline and budget. The project objectives must coincide with one or more key areas of interest for the foundation.
When This Would be a Gift
An annual report is due each year until the project is completed. The corporate foundation relies heavily on the recommendations of corporate executives in making funding decisions.
When This Would be a Contractual Agreement
In addition to the items above, the funding agreement includes a statement that the corporate foundation must receive and review all manuscripts prior to submission for publication.
Defining Factors
Requiring receipt and review of all manuscripts prior to submission for publication.
Irrelevant Factors
- Consortium aspect of the arrangement.
- Decision-making process of the corporate foundation.
- Level of detail required in the proposal.
All federal, state or local agency awards are processed by OSPA regardless of the purpose for the funds.
Gifts
The proposal or award is most likely a gift and should be processed through the ISU Foundation using a Cardinal Sheet if there is no expectation of a tangible or direct economic benefit to the donor (except tax benefits and life income). Often gifts may also have the following characteristics:
- Contain only minimal requirements or reporting
- Irrevocable
- Donated by private foundation
And Support:
- An endowment (chairs or professorships)
- Capital projects (construction, renovation, equipment)
- General student support (scholarships, fellowships, funding for clubs and/or activities, training)
- Research or curriculum initiatives
Contractual Agreements
The proposal or award is most likely a contract and should be processed through OSPA using a Gold Sheet if the answer to any of the following questions is YES:
- Is the award from a federal, state or local government agency?
- Does the sponsor require return of unexpended funds?
- Does the award contain provisions for intellectual property rights?
- Does the award restrict or monitor publications or use of results?
- Does the award require protection of the sponsor and confidential information?
- Does the award contain a legally enforceable contract with administrative terms and conditions for the use of the funds?
Still Unsure
OSPA and the ISU Foundation will work together to determine a project's classification when the characteristics taken alone will not determine the classification. Please contact Liz Zuercher (lizz@iastate.edu), sponsored programs administration (4-5225) or Shawnna Murphy (slmurphy@foundation.iastate.edu), ISU Foundation finance department (4-6557) if you have any questions regarding whether the proposal or award is a gift or a contract.
University-approved processes are intended to ensure the central coordination of major corporate and foundation gift prospects for Iowa State University in order to put the most competitive proposal forward for ISU, taking into account the university's competing priorities, strategic initiatives, and donor funding preferences. These processes are meant to supplement, not replace, existing activities, interactions, and relationships currently on-going with corporations and foundations at ISU. While corporate and foundation gifts will be processed as outlined below, corporate and foundation contracts will continue to be processed through the Office of Sponsored Programs Administration (OSPA). As a reminder, "grants" are either gifts or contracts, depending on the nature of the transaction with the donor/sponsor.
For more detail on the definition of a gift vs. a contract, please see Processing Gifts and Contractual Agreements: Rights and Responsibilities
If you are submitting a proposal through OSPA, please see http://ospa.iastate.edu/.
Principal investigators should communicate with their unit development officers or the ISUF Corporate and Foundation Relations (CFR) office about all corporate or foundation gift concept papers or proposals prior to their development or submission.
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