CORPORATE, FOUNDATION AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS

Contact: William McGlinn, Director of Corporate, Foundation and Government Relations at 484-664-3673 or wmcglinn@muhlenberg.edu.

The Office of Corporate, Foundation and Government Relations unites faculty and management interests in raising funds for equipment, facilities, research, scholarships, endowments or programs, as prioritized in the College’s strategic plan, with resources available through foundations, corporations and other granting organizations. All local, Commonwealth and federal government competitive grants and appropriations requests are also championed by this Office. Our close working relationship with legislative offices provides a natural fit for assisting in other regulatory matters of concern to the institution as they arise, such as securing Commonwealth building permits, Department of Environment Protection clearances, etc. 

All proposals for grants that will be administered by Muhlenberg College (where funds are to be paid to and disbursed by the College) must be reviewed and approved by this Office before they are submitted to the funding agency. This policy, endorsed by the President and Provost, identifies the CFGR office as an application clearinghouse, thereby safeguarding the College from multiple applications being submitted to one funding source in the same application cycle. The CFGR office establishes contacts at the funding agencies, attends or accompanies the President on solicitation visits, facilitates the timing of proposal submission, and assists in tracking responses to requests for support.  We work closely with the College’s Treasurer’s Office on grant audits.

We carefully coordinate the College’s approach to all previous and potential donors, because building and maintaining relationships with these individuals and organizations are important to the entire College community. Externally, the CFGR operation is focusing on sustaining momentum with existing funding sources while aggressively identifying new opportunities that respond to the College’s strategic plan. Internally, our relationships with faculty and staff are a very important part of successful fundraising and stewardship. Many of our most successful, large awards have involved faculty, staff, students, alumni and even parents actively engaged in the solicitation, i.e. the prospective donor visit to the campus. These team efforts serve a dual purpose – first in positively influencing the prospective donor (100% of donor visits that included this team approach resulted in an award) and secondly, in serving as a “teaching/inspiration moment” for our development volunteers as they personally engage in making the case for Muhlenberg College. Prior student volunteers in these development efforts have vivid memories of their contribution to a secured gift. We will be measuring the long term impact of this volunteer experience on the likelihood of a future gift from these special development volunteers.