Faculty and Staff Merit Grants

Merit Grant Process for 2021-22

NOTE: In addition to submitting your electronic request for proposal, you will be expected to present your project in person to the Gifts and Grants Committee of The Ferris Foundation Board of Directors.

The Ferris Foundation, acting under the authority of its Board of Directors, respectfully requests the submission of proposals from those who are interested in pursuing projects that demonstrate exceptional merit in advancing the mission of Ferris State University.

To foster academic collaboration and maximize academic project initiatives, extra consideration (more weight) will be given to projects that have obtained outside funding from partnering with business and industry or outside government agencies toward the estimated proposal total.

Please click on the right menu to view the mission and purpose of The Ferris Foundation.

Grant awards will not exceed $7,500 and are not renewable, however, previously funded projects may be considered by The Ferris Foundation.

Funds have been established to support projects that represent the innovative and collaborative spirit of Ferris State University, including (but not limited to) the following types of endeavors:

Pilot Programs
Matching grant expenses
Research or special projects that involve students
Faculty, and/or other expert participation
Enhancing faculty expertise or funding equipment dedicated to specific programmatic objectives

**It is not the intent of the grant to fund/provide direct compensation for faculty/staff. Student salaries are considered on a case by case basis.

Grant Award Timetable

Proposal Submission Date Deadline: February 26, 2021
Initial Review of Proposals Complete: March 19, 2021
Presentation Dates: March 25 and 26, 2021
Grant Awards Announced: April 12, 2021
Merit Grant Progress Report Due: December 17, 2021
Final Report Due: April 15, 2022

Proposals received after 5:00 p.m. on February 26, 2020 or not adhering to the guidelines and format below will not be accepted or considered.

Proposals, and any questions relating thereto, should be directed to: Kim Erickson, Ferris Foundation, 420 Oak Street, PRK-101, Big Rapids, Michigan 49307, (231) 591-2365 or [email protected]

The Request for Proposal form can be found online at ferris.edu/giving/ferris-foundation/MeritGrant/meritgrant.pdf. The form can be filed electronically or turned in to The Foundation Office in person by the deadline.

Proposal Content

Proposals can be submitted in electronic format or in person and provide the following information to the extent that it is available:

Grant Application Cover Sheet: Please print and use the online cover sheet; it must be complete and include the proper signatures.
Narrative: A brief description of the project being proposed and the desired outcomes (maximum 1 page). When completing the narrative portion, please be brief and concise.
Relevance: Please share the relevance of the project and how this aligns with the mission of Ferris State University.
Timeline: Please outline the timeline.
Names and Qualifications: The names and qualifications of all individuals who are substantially responsible for pursuing the proposal's objectives.
Dissemination: Please describe how you will disseminate the results of your project to the University, community, and your greater academic/professional community.
Budget: A complete project budget which details how grant funds will be used. The budget should also describe the extent to which any additional resources beyond The Foundation's grant are needed and have been committed to the project.
- If requesting equipment, assess the distribution/disposal upon completion of project.
- Food and beverage expenses will not be funded and therefore shall be excluded from the amount requested from the Foundation.
- For ongoing projects, please include a discussion of financial sustainability of the project or initiative.

Grant Guidelines

All proposals shall be submitted using the attached outline and the responses shall be contained to the space indicated on the page.
Please use standard fonts, such as Times New Roman or Arial, keeping the font size to either 10 point or 11 point.
All text shall be single spaced, and paragraphs shall be indented.
The final proposal should be no longer than 7 pages in length.

Proposals not adhering to these formatting guidelines will not be considered for evaluation.

IRB Approval: For projects requiring protocol approval from either the Human Subjects Review Committee or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee, please include a copy of the approval with your proposal.

PLEASE NOTE: Because this is a PDF form, you cannot save information to it. We recommend that you cut and paste from a Word document into the PDF form. This will save you some frustration later if you have to walk away from the form and you lose your progress.

Grant Application Submission Guidelines

It is critical that you be at your own office computer that has your email client installed. When you have finished filling out the form, you will be submitting it by email.
Open the form using the link at the bottom of the page.
Fill in the form completely.
Do not attempt to save the pdf form and send it to the Foundation Office. Your proposal will arrive blank! Instead, at the bottom of the form, you will find 2 buttons.
Use the "Print" button to print a copy of the form for your records. You may also want to print another copy for your Dean or supervisor.
Use the "Submit by Email" button to create an xml file attachment in your email program.
After clicking on the "Submit by Email" button, your email program will create a message addressed to Kim Erickson in the Foundation Office. The email will have an xml attachment.
Click "Send" on your email.
The xml attachment contains your grant request information and the Foundation Office must receive it to process your proposal.
After submitting your proposal, you must take a copy to your Dean's office for approval and signature to be forwarded to the Foundation Office. Use the online cover sheet (see Proposal Content) to get your Dean or VP’s approval/signature.

We strongly recommend that you first create your proposal in Word, and then copy and paste it into the form. Once you begin filling out the form, you must complete it. You cannot save it and come back to it later.

Please contact Kim Erickson at the Foundation Office (231-591-2365) if you have any questions regarding the process.

The grant application requires Adobe Acrobat Reader.

IMPORTANT: Do not use Google Chrome to submit this application due to a known issue with cutting and pasting If you are using a Macintosh to complete your application, visit the FAQ section of this webpage for special instructions for submitting your application.

2021-22 Merit Grant Application

NOTE: This is a fillable PDF form. Do not attempt to copy it to your hard drive. It is designed to be filled in and sent via email. If you save it to your hard drive and attempt to send it to the Foundation Office as a PDF file, it will arrive blank. Please review the instructions above prior to filling out the form.

Recipient Reporting Requirements

Recipients must create two reports – a mid-year report due on December 17, 2021 and a final report due on April 15, 2022.

Will my application be funded?
Although there are many exceptional proposals submitted, funding is limited. Only those that best meet the criteria will ultimately be funded.
I can't complete my application on time. Can I have extra time?

Only those proposals submitted by the deadline will be considered.
Only those proposals submitted by the deadline will be considered.

In preparing your proposal, it is important to communicate with your Dean/Department Head/Chair or Vice President/supervisor and arrange for signatures within the allowed time period. Applications without proper signatures will not be considered.
Are there samples available to view?

Yes. Contact Foundation Assistant Kim Erickson by email at [email protected] or by phone at (231) 591-2365.
I'm trying to send my grant, but it wants to find an email program. What's happening?
- It is critical that you be at a computer that has your Outlook client installed in order to successfully send the form to the Foundation office.
- Make sure you have your grant materials in a Word document. If you didn't do this, make sure you copy your materials to a Word file before you close the form. Otherwise, you will lose all your work.
- Take the word document to a computer that has your Outlook client, copy and paste the materials, then send it to the Foundation office.
- Alternatively, see the instructions below for Mac computers.
- You may also save a copy of the .xml file on the desktop of the computer you are using, open an internet version of an email program you use (i.e. Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail) and attach it to an email to Kimberly Erickson ([email protected]).
NOTE: When you click the "Submit" button, be sure to select "Desktop Email Application" and click "OK" to send your application through your Outlook account (special instructions for Macs below).
I can't make this form work. Who can help me?
Call Mary Kay MacIver at (231) 591-3739. She can walk you through it, or she is happy to have you make an appointment to see her for assistance.

If your question is not listed here, please email Foundation assistant Kim Erickson at [email protected].

IMPORTANT: If you are using a Macintosh computer to complete your application DO NOT USE SAFARI or GOOGLE CHROME. This is due to the form using Javascript, which does not work in either of these browsers. Note: Tests with Firefox have been successful. Alternately, if you use Parallels, try opening the form in IE on your virtual machine.