Following Through ... Together

Once you’ve received financial support from an organization, we can help you to both honor your agreements for reporting and to maintain your relationship with the funder. We can work with you to develop and implement a stewardship strategy.

Key stewardship rules to remember:

• Follow reporting requirements established by the funder. Our CFR staff can help you prepare your reports. For grants or collaborative research projects that require compulsory narrative and financial reporting, the Office of Sponsored Programs is your resource for JMU forms and protocol on the university’s required processes.
• Share updates with your corporate contacts on project progress, important milestones, and results. The frequency of your updates will depend on the project timeline and your relationship with your contacts. You can discuss the funder’s preference for reports as you finalize the partnership and funding agreement.
• If there are any changes in your project’s scope or direction, be sure to communicate that as soon as possible, either through our office or directly with the funder's representative. We can help you navigate this type of shift while maintaining a positive relationship with the company.
• Particularly for corporate funders, stay in touch: share invitations to events and programs and updates on your work that might be of interest. Program officers with some foundations may not be receptive to this much contact, and we would like to help you know when and if this is appropriate or not.