[NOTE:  THESE GUIDELINES HAVE BEEN COMPILED BY THE W&M GRANTS OFFICE BASED ON INFORMATION PROVIDED BY THE JEFFRESS TRUST FOR USE BY PROSPECTIVE APPLICANTS.  THIS IS NOT AN OFFICIAL PUBLICATION APPROVED BY THE TRUST. SCANNED COPIES OF OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS CAN BE FOUND HERE.]

General Policy Guidelines

The purpose of the Jeffress Trust is to support basic research in chemical, medical, or other scientific fields through grants to educational and research institutions in the Commonwealth of Virginia. Grants are given to assist scientists in such institutions to conduct investigations in the natural sciences, generally considered to include chemistry, physics, biology (with the exception of field studies, classification, other largely observational studies), studies in the basic medical sciences, such as biochemistry, microbiology, and others.

Grants are made to institutions and organizations in the Commonwealth of Virginia only which qualify under IRS regulations as tax exempt and are operated exclusively for charitable, scientific, literary, or educational purposes, so long as attempts to influence legislation or to support candidates for public office do not form part of their activities. Grants are not made to private foundations or private operating foundations as defined by the IRS.

[The Jeffress Trust provides approximate $1 million in grants each year, spread over two competition cycles.]
 

Specific Guidelines for Jeffress Research Grants

The Trust will make grants-in-aid of research and will not suggest specific research programs. Institutions requesting support for programs will be expected to give evidence of their interest in the programs by providing usual supplies and services and indirect costs.

The Trust will normally not support clinical research (diagnosis or treatment of disease, abnormality, or malfunctions in people or animals, or testing of drugs or procedures for their treatment).

The principal evaluation criteria will be the scientific significance of the proposed work and the competence of the investigator. The Trust is particularly interested in supporting fundamental research by scientists early in their careers and new areas of research or more speculative projects by established investigators.

Funds should be requested for only one year, maximum $30,000.  After the first year, one-year renewals can be requested for up to $10,000 per year for up to two additional years.  These renewals should be requested at the regular application deadlines and should begin no sooner than one year after the start of the first award.

[Applicants should request the full $30,000 for the first year and the full $10,000 for renewals.]

In general, items of direct expense essential to the successful prosecution of the proposed project will be provided. These would normally include undergraduate or graduate student summer stipends; summer stipends for principal investigators who lack other support for research in the summer months (up to two months at the monthly rate of $3,000 per month or $6,000 for the summer, no FICA should be included); supplies directly related to the proposed project; special equipment (for expensive equipment whose use can extend beyond the specific project, the Trust will expect the institution to share the cost); and other expenses clearly justified as necessary for satisfactory performance of the work.

[The $3,000 monthly rate is a maximum rate as is the $6,000 for two months.]

Student participation should be in the form of fellowship or scholarship activities whenever possible. Fellowship or graduate assistant stipends paid from grant funds shall not exceed one-fourth of the academic year stipend for student assistants, not including any amounts for tuition or fees, paid by the institution.Summer stipends for undergraduate students who participate in research programs are limited to the regular monthly rate paid in the academic year for three summer months.

Up to $1,000 will be allowed for national or local travel.

The following categories of support will not normally be provided. Indirect costs; common supplies and services; secretarial assistance; academic year salaries or stipends for faculty and students in academic institutions; instrument or computer time and maintenance charges for institutionally owned equipment, with the exception of specialized, expensive equipment shared by several departments. No funds will be approved for international travel, tuition and fees or fringe benefits including FICA.

Not currently eligible for Jeffress grants as principal investigators are:

• Research Assistants, Research Associates, Post-doctoral Fellows, Instructors, Visiting Scientists or other similar categories.
• Faculty with significant external grant funds.
• Faculty who currently have Jeffress funding.
• Research Assistant Professors or Research Associate Professors currently in the lab of a fully funded senior professor.

Lower priorities for funding include:

• Research Assistant Professors or Research Associate Professors.
• Senior faculty, even those who clearly justify their research as new or speculative.

Jeffress has advised:

• New investigators early in their careers have funding priority; senior faculty and others detailed above have lesser priority.
• Funding continues to be limited.
• Senior Faculty and those with other funding support are less likely to be reviewed and funded. When Jeffress receives many applications from new investigators, they tend not to review Senior Faculty applications. Senior Faculty can contact Dr. Richard Brandt, Ph.D., Advisor, Bank of America, at 804-788-3678, with specific questions about eligibility prior to writing a proposal.
• Applications that do not adhere to the specific application guidelines, including those who do not submit with 12 point font, will not be reviewed.

Guidelines for Proposal Authors

Proposals for Jeffress Research Grants should include the following items:

1. a covering letter from the official authorized to commit the organization in business and financial affairs, indicating the approval of the organization for the proposed project;
2. a statement of the problem to be investigated
3. a review of the literature placing the problem in context and revealing its significance
4. a description of experimental procedures contemplated and interpretation of results;
5. a detailed budget including justification for equipment requested;
6. current, anticipated or requested support of the principal investigator from other sources, including institutional support, and a description of the relationship, if any, to the proposed project;
7. a biographical sketch of the principal investigator and any other senior scientists involved in the project, including a list of publications during the past five years only;
8. the names and addresses of five persons knowledgeable in the field of the proposed project who are possible referees, three of whom are not known personally to the applicant, identifying these.

[Proposals submitted to the September 1 deadline should indicate a one-year project period of January 1 -December 31.  Proposals submitted to the March 1 deadline should indicate a one-year project period of July 1 - June 30.]

[Renewals are competitive.  You can keep grants open by requesting no-cost extensions to current grants while pursuing renewals.]

Renewal applications should include:

1. an updated CV
2. a University approved budget
3. a research plan for the upcoming year, and
4. a progress report on the form provided [Word, WordPerfect]

[To request a renewal, submit only the original application, no copies, to meet one of the regular deadline dates.]

[To request a no-cost extension a letter should be sent to the Trust at the address below no earlier than two months and no later than one month prior to the end of the grant period.  This letter should be on department letterhead and should refer to the current grant number (usually, J-###).  The letter should include the following:

1. a explanation of why an extension is necessary.  The explanation should be programmatic in nature, not simply a desire to expend remaining funds;
2. a statement of how long an extension you will need (usually one year) and state what the new ending date would be;
3. a statement of  the approximate amount of residual funds, and how you plan to spend them (which should closely follow your original budget); and
4. a one-year progress report which can be part of the letter or provided as an attachment

Review of Applications

Applications will be reviewed initially by the Advisor to the Trust and will be evaluated by the Trust's Allocations Committee at meetings held in the spring and fall of each year, generally in May and November. [The proposal deadline for the spring meeting is March 1; for the fall meeting, September 1.  Applications should be POSTMARKED no later than the deadline date.]  Applicants will be notified only in writing of the decision of the Committee after the meeting at which their proposal has been considered. Reviewers comments, edited to assure anonymity, may be furnished to applicants, if requested.

[Awardees are generally notified within three months of proposal submission.]

Applicants should be aware that it is only the Committee as a group that makes each decision, and that almost every application the Trust receives is meritorious. Because of the number of such requests, the Committee must pick and choose and many worthy requests must be declined. Applicants should not be discouraged from future requests if a proposal is declined.
 

Payment and Accountability

For approved applications, funds will be forwarded to the recipient organization as stated in the award letter. A report of the use of the funds and the status of the project must be made no later than one year after the payment of a grant. For multi-year grants, installment payments will be made after receipt of an annual report on the progress of the program and a statement of funds ex-pended or committed. Final reports must be received no later than three months from the completion date of the grant.
[Forms for annual and final reports: Word, WordPerfect]

[All correspondence between Jeffress and the institution should be signed by the principal investigator and the authorized institutional official.]

[From the award letter to institutions from Jeffress:
"Since the outcome of research is unpredictable, the principal investigator should feel free to make changes in the emphasis or direction of the work as it progresses. If major changes are contemplated, prior approval is to be obtained from the Advisor to the Trust. In general, the funds should be used substantially in accordance with the budget submitted with the application. Any funds not expended or committed for the purposes of the grant within the period stated [in the award letter] must be returned to the Trust."]

Proposals and correspondence concerning grants should be addressed to:

Richard B. Brandt, Ph.D., Advisor
Jeffress Memorial Trust
Bank of America, Private Bank
P.O. Box 26688
Richmond, VA 23261-6688
Telephone: (804) 788-3698
FAX: (804) 788-2700

Express mail and hand delivery address:
[Delivering proposals by hand or express mail is STRONGLY DISCOURAGED.  Proposals do not need to be received by deadline dates; they need only be postmarked on or before the deadline dates.]

Richard B. Brandt, Ph.D., Advisor
Jeffress Memorial Trust
Bank of America, Private Bank
1111 East Main Street
12th Floor
Richmond, VA  23219

If you have questions please call Dr. Richard B. Brandt, Advisor, at (804) 788-3698, or Linda C. Barrett, Assistant Advisor, at (804)788-3010

History

The Thomas F. Jeffress and Kate Miller Jeffress Memorial Trust was established under the will of Mr. Robert M. Jeffress, a business executive and philanthropist of Richmond, Virginia.

Mr. Jeffress had a deep interest in his native state, and he made large contributions during his life in support of scientific research in the Commonwealth of Virginia. His interest in scientific matters stemmed largely from his close association with his brother-in-law, Allan Talbott Gwathmey, former Professor of Chemistry at the University of Virginia. Dr. Gwathmey was the guiding spirit in the establishment of the Virginia Institute for Scientific Research, an organization devoted to fundamental research in the natural sciences. Mr. Jeffress was a founder and the principal benefactor of the Institute, and he served as Chairman of its Board of Trustees for many years.

Grants from the Trust, which is administered by [Bank of America] are awarded on the advice of an Allocations Committee specified in his will. The Committee is composed of five Virginia residents appointed for a limited term by one of the following organizations: The Virginia Academy of Science, The Medical Society of Virginia, The Executive Committee of the Bar Association of the City of Richmond, The Virginia State Chamber of Commerce, and [Bank of America], the Trustee.