Proposal requests may originate in two ways. First, the department may have a program/project for which they are seeking funding and approach the Development Officer for assistance in seeking and cultivating relationships for funding. Second, the Development Officer may have funders available that are interested in funding a particular initiative and approaches the department for the development of a program/project that aligns with the request.

The Development Officer will meet with the department’s program team or person responsible in order to jointly draft a proposal that is appropriate and feasible based upon UTHCPC and department priorities. During the development of the proposal, attention will be paid to developing a budget that meets the needs of the size and scope of the project and its activities. Said proposal will be presented to the UTHCPC Chief Administrator and The University of Texas at Houston (UTH) President for approval prior to submission.

The Development Officer will be responsible for coordinating the proposal’s submission with the UT Office of Development. Clearance must be received from the UT Office of Development in order for the proposal to be submitted for funder consideration. This is to ensure that several UT schools are not simultaneously submitting proposals to a funder.

When the proposal is approved to move forward by the UTHCPC Chief Administrator and UTH President, the cultivation period shall begin. During the cultivation period, the department will provide support to the Development Officer that includes, but is not limited to:

• Providing additional or clarifying information for presentation to the funder;
• Developing a revised proposal and/or budget in response to concerns;
• Attending meetings with the development office and funder.

Once the funding is awarded, the UTHCPC Chief Administrator, the UT President and the department seeking the funding will be notified. The Development Officer will provide the department a copy of the award letter, as well as any reporting procedures or grant guidelines. It is the responsibility of the department or contact person to review the submitted and approved proposal to ensure that it is still feasible. Revisions to the proposal will be developed by the department or contact person and resubmitted to the Development Officer and/or funder.

The department and Development Officer will work jointly on sending the funder a grant award acknowledgement or thank you letter signed by the UTHCPC Chief Administrator. In accordance with UT protocol, a thank you letter may also be issued from the Development Office and signed by the UTH President. The Development Officer, while notifying the UTHCPC Chief Administrator and department, will submit the grant award for appropriate processing to the Financial Operations Office.

Program monitoring and reporting is the responsibility of the department’s program team or designated person. Monitoring and reporting should occur as outlined in the grant award guidance. Reports may either be submitted by the department team directly to the funder (notifying the development officer and Chief Administrator of the submittal) or can be submitted to the development officer for submittal on behalf of the department.

All projects and funding requests are reviewed initially by the department’s program team, UTHCPC Chief Administrator, and UTH President. Other departments may also be consulted to determine the status of the project/proposal. Review will focus on criteria such as academic and institutional priorities, current and future budget impact, fund-raising potential, prospective donor history, competition with other projects already under consideration by the identified prospective donors, etc.

When a project/proposal has been authorized, it should be assigned to a priority category to indicate the level of institutional effort to be focused on fund-raising for the project. This also assures that prospective donors are matched with projects that help achieve UTHCPC priorities.

The Public Information Officer will review fund-raising publications as outlined in UTHCPC publications policies. Public relations activities should be coordinated through the Public Information Office.

Note: A department is defined as those readily identified by UTHCPC Procedures (Nursing, Pharmacy, etc), as well as sub-departments, service lines, or units where there is a manager supervising staff.

Please reference UTHSC-H HOOP Policy 10.10 Gifts: Receiving, Accepting, and Processing