Innovation:
noun
- something new or different introduced.
- the act of innovating; introduction of new things or methods.
The Educational Foundation at Virginia Western each year offers Faculty, and Staff the opportunity to innovate. The Foundation elaborates on the definition above by noting that “Innovation is creativity in action: The introduction of new ideas, projects or methods to address a need or solve a problem.
The Foundation application process starts with an LOI.
A letter of intent (LOI) can be thought of as a first step in the grants process and is designed as a tool to generate interest. The idea is to generate the interest of a grant provider, based on the requested initial information. LOI’s can be requested when a funder is seeking to support projects in key specific priority area, such as the local Community Foundation Serving Western Virginia LOI process for projects related to Community Vibrancy, Education and Youth, or Health.
What is the benefit of the LOI?
First and foremost, this step in the process saves time. Time for both the funder and the applicant. An LOI gives you a chance to share the 50,000 ft. view and provides an opportunity for further details as requested. The LOI offers your grant idea in a summary format to allow the funder to decide if it meets the current funding interests. It also saves the applicant time, by not having to create a full proposal before knowing if the funder might be supportive of the particular type of request.
You can also view a LOI as an“elevator speech”. The thought process that you can explain the concept in a way that any listener can understand it in a short period of time. What’s your idea? What problem are you trying to address? How do you plan to address the need? Who will you partner with? How much will it cost?
You should try an LOI!
The perfect start to discovering how an LOI can lead to an exciting project could be the Educational Foundation’s Bright Ideas Innovation Grant process! This process was started to allow faculty and staff to submit new ideas, projects or methods to address a need or solve a problem. With the beginning of the Fall semester, the Educational Foundation’s Innovation Grant cycle will open with a LOI opportunity which will be due November 3rd, 2025. The form can be found here https://www.virginiawestern.edu/foundation/innovation-grants/.
As mentioned before, this LOI process can save time, allowing you to share your idea with the Foundation to match their innovation mind set for these funds. This LOI process allows the Educational Foundation to pose questions regarding your grant idea and ask for further information that would be needed in a full proposal request. The intent of the LOI is to save time and produce the information most needed to make a decision regarding a full application invitation.
Next steps after the LOI submission include:
The Foundation will respond to applicants who submitted an LOI by Friday November 14th. If selected to move forward, LOI applicants will be invited to submit a full application by March 2, 2026. The Foundation’s Scholarship and Grants Committee will make the final selection at a meeting held in May and grantees will be notified in June of 2026. Project timelines could begin in June 2026 with required mid-year and final reports to be submitted to the Foundation to share implementation updates and progress.
Also, New This Year…. Increased Funding!
Thanks to the generosity and good stewardship of the Foundation, this year’s application has been able to increase the maximum award amount to $15,000!
So, put your ideas out there. Give me a call and we can discuss! Review the Educational Foundation’s LOI form, think through your plan, and start filling in the details on how your idea could work and how it could create impact. These first steps could take you closer to finding the resources to make your idea come to life!
Looking forward to exploring opportunities together!
Shelley
Shelley Lyons
Administrative Officer for Grants Administration
Fishburn Hall, F204
540-857-6084
slyons@virigniawestern.edu
Shelley Lyons is glad to be back on campus as she is a Virginia Western alum, and has served as the Administrative Officer for Grants Administration at Virginia Western since early 2022. Prior to VWCC, her career focus was within the Human Services and Arts fields. She wrote her first grant in 1996 on a whim and has continued to plan and learn since that time. She most enjoys seeing a well-planned project come to fruition, where funder, project manager and beneficiaries can all feel success and see impact.