Building Long-Term Support for Alcohol and Other Drug Programs By William DeJong, Ph.D., and Laurie Davidson A publication of the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention Funded by the U.S. Department of Education ------------------------------------------------------------------------ The Presidents Leadership Group-convened by the Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention in 1997-has strongly recommended that colleges devote "sufficient resources" to support a comprehensive approach to alcohol and other drug prevention, an approach that focuses on changing the campus and community environment in which students make decisions about substance use.1 Many of the initiatives that schools might pursue as part of this environmental approach-for example, academic reform, changes in infrastructure, and new prevention programs-require both long-term support from top administrators and substantial financing.2 Although college presidents believe that high-risk drinking by students is among the most serious threats faced by their institution,3 and although they acknowledge their duty to provide a safe and drug-free campus, the typical college alcohol and other drug (AOD) prevention budget still fails to reflect this priority.4 Staff coordinators responsible for alcohol and other drug prevention often say that the toughest challenge they face is a lack of adequate funding for their program efforts. The reality, of course, is that, even with heightened concern about student drinking, there are many competing demands on college budgets, especially in an era of public concern about the costs of higher education. Top college officials need to be reminded, however, that the absence of these prevention initiatives also has its price: high liability insurance premiums, costly property damage, and increased student health services and security costs. The purpose of this publication is to describe actions that campus-based AOD prevention coordinators can take to develop long-term administrative and financial support for campus alcohol and other drug prevention. The challenge of creating a new prevention program is difficult enough, even with ample seed money. Sustaining support for the program over time, once a start-up grant has ended, can be even harder. Program institutionalization requires long-term planning. In fact, experts agree that the best time to begin thinking about a program’s long-range future is at the very beginning of the planning process. Thus, the best time to use this publication is during the early planning stages-even as early as when an application for initial program funding is being assembled. Programs that are already under way may also find the advice in this publication helpful in redirecting their work or in identifying potential new sources of funding. Early adjustments may make the difference in whether a new prevention program survives. The publication is divided into two major sections: * Building a Program for Long-Term Survival, which describes features of prevention programs that can increase a program's survival chances. * Identifying Alternative Sources of Funding, which describes possible funding sources to replace a start-up grant or seed money. This information comes in part from interviews conducted with program coordinators from across the country, representing both large and small schools. Each of these individuals has overseen the development of an alcohol and other drug prevention program that has stood the test of time and become a vital and institutionalized part of his or her college. The lessons they have to teach are a simple, yet essential, guide to long-term program survival. Section 1 Building a Program for Long-Term Survival There is no substitute for a well-planned and well-executed prevention program, but that alone will not guarantee the program’s survival. New programs that do survive, experts say, have several additional characteristics in common: • Collaboration within the college community • Strong commitment from top school administrators • An established long-range plan • Objectives tied to the college’s mission • Networking outside the college community • A focus on building institutional capacity • A system of program accountability • Strategic use of public relations To help ensure a program’s long-term survival, early planning should focus on how to incorporate each of these features, as discussed below. Collaboration within the College Community The better alcohol and other drug prevention programs are campuswide efforts that involve as many parts of the college as possible, including athletics, health services, student activities, residence life, and campus security. Bringing together various segments of the college community is valuable for several reasons: • Collaboration can create a critical mass of support on campus for alcohol and other drug prevention. The program is more likely to succeed when significant numbers of people care deeply about the issue and are part of the effort to do something about it. • Linkages among segments of the college community can also create a constituency for long-term support of the program. If the program is integrated into the life of the college, and if various school officials therefore gain first-hand experience with its work, they are more likely to urge the administration to preserve it. • During program planning, it is important to learn from as many college officials as possible who can share their knowledge and expertise about campus conditions and effective programming. If they have tried other prevention approaches previously, it is important to learn from their experience. • Joint funding of prevention activities by various academic departments can help stretch existing resources. In addition, the president, vice presidents, and academic department chairs may have discretionary funds that they can allocate. • Sharing credit will enhance, not diminish, the program’s reputation. Cosponsored activities might also have greater appeal to students. Health services, for example, can launch a "wellness" program that includes, but is not focused exclusively on, alcohol and other drug prevention. To formalize this kind of collaborative effort, the college president can appoint a high-level advisory board of key school administrators, faculty, and staff who provide overall guidance to the program but meet on a relatively infrequent basis. This advisory board can also include elected and other government officials, business owners (such as liquor store owners, restaurant and bar owners), law enforcement officials, and community development officials from the local community. Having this kind of advisory board gives the program instant credibility on campus. The details of program development and implementation are best handled by a planning committee or task force that meets frequently. The committee should include school administrators, faculty, students, and staff who are more closely involved in work related to alcohol and other drug prevention.5 Depending on funding levels, a school may be able to hire or assign a program coordinator. However, given that a program’s success depends in part on active collaboration among different segments of the college community, and given the year-to-year uncertainties of a school’s administrative budget, the planning committee should continue to be the program’s center of action. Strong Commitment from Top School Administrators The long-term survival of a new prevention program eventually requires strong support and financial commitment from the school’s top administrators. Without that, the new program will probably lapse as soon as funding runs out. It is essential that the program planning committee have the ear of a top college official-ideally, the president-who will be an advocate for the program, is committed to its institutionalization, and understands how it can interface with every part of the school, from admissions to alumni relations. The planning committee’s work will be greatly facilitated if the entire college community is made aware that the program has this level and type of support. Busy and independent-minded college officials, whose collaboration is required for the program to succeed, need a strong signal that the school’s top officials have made this program a priority. Ideally, the new program will be associated with a department or center that can add credibility to its efforts and enhance its standing in the college community. This arrangement also benefits the program by facilitating access to resources and information. For example, at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, the alcohol and other drug prevention program was overseen by Dean of Students Patricia Leonard. According to Leonard, having the program based in her office means it has "high visibility, high credibility, and strong advocacy." An Established Long-Range Plan When a seed grant is obtained, the planning committee should see the grant as part of a long-range plan that the school is committed to carrying out. In other words, the seed money is to be used not just to fund the program temporarily but to help make the long-term plan a reality. The key is to develop a long-term plan in advance as part of the application for initial funding. To this end, the program planning committee might do the following: • Conduct a needs assessment, including a survey of students and an environmental assessment that looks for physical evidence that alcohol and other drug use is a problem.6 • Review how college rules, their enforcement, and other aspects of the college environment might be contributing to alcohol and other drug use. • Examine any prevention efforts currently under way, and assess what has contributed to their success or failure. • Identify potential collaborators both on and off campus. Waiting to use seed money to do this groundwork later on may prevent a new program from becoming fully developed by the time the initial grant has ended. The needs assessment can play a critical role in building administrative support for the program. Institutional denial of the problem cannot easily withstand data that demonstrate the actual extent of misuse of alcohol and other drugs and their impact on the school’s educational environment. Objectives Tied to the College’s Mission Ultimately, colleges are in the business of preparing students to lead productive lives. If school administrators are to care about the program and support its continuation, they must come to see alcohol and other drug prevention as an important way to further this mission. To help administrators see this connection, the planning committee will want to articulate objectives that connect the prevention program with the larger set of issues that the college community cares about, including academic success, student health (or "wellness"), campus security, and fiscal management of the college. The program’s broader message should be that prevention is not pursued for its own sake but because of the serious harm that alcohol and other drugs can cause students, even students who do not use them.7 At the same time, prevention coordinators may wish to include program elements that help individual departments meet their objectives. Prevention staff at Montana State University (MSU) recommend finding out each department’s priorities, then designing programs that incorporate alcohol and other drug prevention strategies while also helping the departments achieve their objectives. For example, a stated goal of MSU’s residential life office was to create a sense of community on campus. An MSU prevention specialist then offered an experiential education program designed both to build community connectedness and deliver a strong alcohol and other drug prevention message. Networking Outside the College Community Building coalitions with local community leaders is also key. College campuses do not exist in isolation. Alcohol and other drug prevention planners need to collaborate with local leaders to limit student access to alcohol, prevent intoxication, and support the efforts of local law enforcement. Collaboration with local officials also serves as a public statement of the college’s commitment to reduce student use of alcohol and other drugs and their impact on the surrounding community. In turn, coordination with community-based programs makes it more difficult for school administrators to withdraw their support from the program, since doing so would run the risk of worsening town-gown relations. Connections with programs on other campuses are also important. If an alcohol and other drug prevention program is actively involved in a regional or statewide consortium, school administrators will be more reluctant to end the program, especially if the consortium has political ties to a state agency or key legislators with influence over the school. At the national level, the program planning committee might consider enrolling the school in the Network of Colleges and Universities Committed to the Elimination of Drug and Alcohol Abuse. The Network, through its regional coordinators, is an important source of technical assistance, since members are encouraged to share information with their colleagues at other colleges and universities. (See www.edc.org/hec/network/ for further information, including how to join the Network.) Focus on Building Institutional Capacity Unfortunately, not every school will make a long-term commitment to continue the prevention program or keep a central coordinator on staff. If this is the case, the program planning committee might focus during the initial grant period on training faculty, staff, and students who can continue the program’s prevention activities without additional funding. Consider these examples: • Curriculum Infusion. If faculty are trained or are provided money to support classroom innovation, integrating issues related to alcohol and other drugs in their courses can continue for years, even in the absence of additional funds. Infusion of this material is appropriate in a wide range of courses from every major academic discipline.8 Leaders in this field have been Northeastern Illinois University and other commuter schools, where student contact is largely restricted to the classroom. • Course Development. Support for new courses is another possibility. At Mount San Antonio College in California, an initial grant was used to create a nine-hour, credited course on alcohol and other drug prevention that student athletes take as a prerequisite to playing their sport. The course is now an official part of the curriculum, taught by paid instructors. (See Making the Link: Faculty and Prevention-downloadable from www.edc.org/hec/-for more information on integrating academic and prevention efforts through course development and curriculum infusion.) • Student Assistance Program. Faculty members are in a unique position to identify and help students who are experiencing problems related to alcohol and other drug use. The program can train faculty and staff to recognize when students might be having substance use–related problems and to refer them to the appropriate campus office. School officials can continue to provide these services even if the prevention program does not survive. • Student-Led Organizations. Student clubs that develop alcohol and other drug prevention programming can sustain their work without additional help over a long period of time. Central Connecticut State University helped launch a student organization focused on fitness and healthy lifestyles that incorporates an anti-substance use message. Leaders of the organization now train new members, who eventually assume positions of leadership. A new program should avoid introducing labor-intensive projects when the college’s top officials are unwilling to continue funding a staff position dedicated to alcohol and other drug prevention. At one university, for example, a student internship program, which required intensive faculty supervision, had to be disbanded when the school’s FIPSE (Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education) grant ended and the school did not pick up the cost. Related to capacity building is the idea of decentralizing the alcohol and other drug prevention budget rather than having a single office assume sole funding responsibility for prevention activities. At Valencia Community College in Orlando, Florida, administrators changed the job descriptions for several officials to include prevention-related duties. For example, the head of the student affairs office is now responsible for holding a certain number of prevention-awareness events each year. Obviously, this kind of decentralization is more likely to succeed when an advisory board and a planning committee have been involved from the beginning of the program and continue to provide oversight. It is also important to remember that many of the most effective program ideas do not take a great deal of money to implement. For example, being active in local community efforts to control alcohol availability costs the school very little-only the staff time needed to participate in a campus and community coalition. Speaking out in favor of state or local policy proposals that could contribute to students’ safety and well-being requires staff time but not a line item in the budget. A System of Program Accountability The program will want to make evaluation a priority. In an era of fiscal restraint, long-term financial support for alcohol and other drug prevention, whether it comes from outside funding sources or is part of the school’s regular budget, will be forthcoming only if the program’s evaluation results warrant it. Beyond keeping detailed records of program activities, the program might collect two types of evaluation data: (1) surveys of student substance use and (2) assessments of the campus environment and how it affects the use and impact of alcohol and other drugs. Administrators will find studies that establish a program’s cost-effectiveness to be especially persuasive. If the prevention program can put a dollar amount on substance use-related costs (e.g., campus security, student health services, liability insurance, property damage), then it should be possible to document cost savings as student misuse of alcohol and other drugs declines. Evaluation results can also help the planning committee sort out which elements of the program need to be modified or discontinued. School administrators are more likely to continue financing a program if they are confident in the planning committee’s ability to make these kinds of hard decisions. The program can use brief questionnaires for participants in workshops and other prevention activities to report what they learned and provide constructive feedback. Strategic Use of Public Relations Because of its association with political campaigns and commercial advertising, the field of public relations has a sullied reputation, especially in academic circles. In practice, however, public relations is nothing more than the effective communication of accurate information that supports a particular point of view. Building a constituency for a prevention program can be greatly assisted by the thoughtful application of public relations strategies. The program planning committee might consider undertaking the following activities: • Develop a program name and logo that is simple, memorable, and powerfully conveys the program’s mission. At Northern Arizona University, the name "Project Daylight" is used. At the University of North Texas, the program name is "NT Challenge." At some schools, a student contest to name the program has been used successfully to launch a new effort. • Keep the school’s top administrators informed through regular and easily read reports that highlight the program’s accomplishments. • Solicit endorsements from other school officials and from the local community. • Help implement high-profile awareness events, both on campus and in the surrounding community, that make the program well known among faculty, staff, students, and local opinion leaders. • Provide opportunities for top administrators to participate in publicity events. At Mount San Antonio College, the school president was often invited to introduce guest speakers at special prevention events. • Have a designated location on campus where prevention materials are available, preferably in a high-traffic area such as the student union or cafeteria. • Use a mix of Web pages, brochures, bulletins, posters, paid advertising, newspaper columns, letters to the editor, radio talk shows, and newsletters to parents to achieve visibility and raise campus awareness. • Become established as a source of accurate information for campus news outlets through offering press briefings, issuing news releases, and helping set up interviews with community-based experts. • Capitalize on program visibility that is gained at the local, state, or national level through involvement in cosponsored programs, radio and television interviews, awards, or other means. Let key members of the campus community know about any public recognition the program receives. Two cautions must be raised. First, accuracy is key. Incorrect or misleading information will eventually be found out, bringing disrepute to the program and loss of school support. Second, before releasing information about student substance use or even about the program, the planning committee should obtain clearance from a top-level school administrator, who will have justified concerns about protecting the school’s image. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Section 2 Identifying Alternative Sources of Funding From the beginning, as part of its long-range planning, the program planning committee will want to identify outside sources to support the program beyond an initial seed grant, through either direct funding or in-kind contributions of goods and services. This is necessary even when top administrators have committed themselves to continuing the program, since they are still unlikely to provide all of the funds the program needs. Two tried-and-true methods for raising money for special initiatives are raising student fees and alumni donations. Combined, these methods can result in substantial additional resources. In both cases, it is paramount that there be a binding arrangement by which the raised funds will be allocated specifically to prevention and not added to a general account. Raising student fees is always controversial, but given the scope of the problem, higher fees dedicated to support prevention work could easily be justified. The program at the University of North Texas has relied entirely on student service fees since its FIPSE grant ended. Parking fees or charges for registering on-campus parties are other potential sources of revenue. Fines assessed against students who violate college rules related to alcohol possession or use-for example, use of fake IDs, hosting an unregistered party, serving alcohol to underage students, committing acts of vandalism-can also be directed to fund substance use prevention efforts. Many alumni, perhaps having struggled with alcohol problems themselves, will be concerned about what is happening at their alma mater and could be approached about supporting a new prevention initiative. Often, alumni gifts will pay directly for program services or special initiatives. At Northern Arizona University, an account was established to receive program endowment funds from alumni, parents, and foundations. If this option is viable, it is a solid route for institutionalizing the program. The other major fund-raising route is a grant or donation from a corporation or a foundation. Many successful college programs have been able to continue or even expand because of the staff ’s successful grantsmanship. There are several components to successful grant-writing: • Developing a clear program concept • Thinking like a marketer • Working in partnership with the college development office • Locating sources of information and assistance Each of these components is discussed below. Developing a Clear Program Concept Thinking through the specific direction of the program-its mission, goals, objectives, and activities-is an obvious but difficult first step. A good strategic plan, which weaves these elements together into a coherent plan of action, is the most essential ingredient to a good funding proposal. Mission. A program’s mission is a statement of the program’s reason for being. It identifies the problem to be addressed and the program’s underlying philosophy. Goals. Goals are broad statements of what the program needs to accomplish in order to satisfy its mission. Goal statements should identify end results or accomplishments, not the processes or steps needed to accomplish them. Objectives. Objectives itemize the precise and measurable results that the program intends to achieve. Each objective should be linked to a particular goal, identify only a single result, and be tied to an established time frame. Collectively, objectives establish the program’s criteria or minimum standards for success. Activities. Activities are the specific tasks that make up the work of the program. There must be a direct link between these activities and the program’s objectives. Typical activities include program services, training, program administration, coordination with outside agencies, and public information and education activities. Thinking about the program in this way will also make clear exactly what level and types of resources are needed. In considering this issue, the program planning committee might discover that the program is too ambitious, that clear priorities were not set, or that a proper sequence for the program’s work was not worked out. Thinking Like a Marketer Some college administrators approach grant-writing rather naively, believing that potential donors’ commitment to "good works" will put them in the running for "big bucks." It is seldom that simple. Grant-making institutions and the people who run them have their own priorities, objectives, and needs. Successful fund-raising requires positioning a project as one that can help meet the funder’s needs. It requires, in short, that fund-raisers think like marketers. Cause-Related Marketing There may have been a time when corporations gave to good causes for their own sake, but with today’s competitive pressures, company officials are looking for a return on their public service investment. Most often, corporations are looking for an opportunity to garner publicity for promoting specific products and services, creating brand recognition, or building up public goodwill by positioning the company (or, in some cases, an entire industry) as a "good citizen" in the community and associating it with an important cause.9 Local businesses, not just major corporations, think this way, too. They can be a good source of funding for special events, or they might be willing to provide in-kind contributions of food, drinks, and other supplies. Radio and television stations can help with fund-raising drives, provide publicity for special events, or donate time to broadcast public service announcements. In approaching any potential business sponsor, then, it is vital to think through what the company can receive in return to make it a "win" for both parties. This is the essence of what has come to be called "cause-related marketing." Colleges Reconsider Alcohol Industry Support College administrators may be tempted to accept support from the alcohol industry, which is sometimes offered even without solicitation. The "alcohol industry" includes distillers, brewers, wineries, and their subsidiaries; distributors, wholesalers, and retailers whose primary income is derived from trade in alcohol products; trade associations whose principal mission is to further the business interests of alcohol producers, distributors, wholesalers, or retailers; and nonprofit public service organizations that receive the majority of their funds from alcohol interests, either directly or indirectly. The alcohol industry’s motive for wanting to provide support is obvious, but also instructive. The college market is important to them, not only because of current sales but also because college students are forming lifelong preferences for certain alcohol brands. Supporting basic education about alcohol abuse or underwriting harm-reduction programs such as designated driver or "safe rides" helps an individual company earn goodwill while also increasing brand recognition. Increasing numbers of college administrators are beginning to question whether to accept donations from the alcohol industry, believing that it might compromise their credibility with students or restrict their freedom of action to take steps that industry representatives might find objectionable. Approaching Foundations The marketing concept also applies in approaching foundations. Today, many foundations are agenda driven, with well-articulated goals and objectives guiding their philanthropy. This goes well beyond wanting to fund "good" programs, but instead means seeking to achieve a larger vision of how to improve society. With this in view, it is important that funding proposals show how the program can help the foundation meet its stated needs. There must be a positive vision for change. In some cases, the project might have to be shaped somewhat to meet the foundation’s stated priorities, but this must be done, of course, without doing violence to the essence of the project. Effective prevention is the objective, not bringing in money for its own sake. Beyond that, foundations want to be associated with work that is cutting edge, not routine. They want to support ground-breaking innovations that will have a large impact. Projects that meet these criteria share common features: • Leverage. Foundations will be more interested in a project that can produce permanent change, certainly within the recipient organization itself, but even beyond that. Generally, foundations are interested in investing in change, not in donating to programs. • Reach. The project should be replicable. This means that other groups could adopt the core elements of the program, while adapting it to local conditions or needs. • Continuity. The project should be one that can be institutionalized, rather than one that will be continually dependent on outside support. • Evaluation. To serve as a potential model, the project should be evaluated, meaning that it has measurable goals and objectives and a specific plan of action for achieving them. • Dissemination. There should be a dissemination plan for making others aware of the findings and the project’s potential. Fund-raisers should remember that most foundations, like corporations, seek publicity. Foundation staff find it gratifying to see the name of the foundation associated with good works, while also enjoying the recognition they can earn within the foundation for creating a successful, high-visibility program. In sum, a key to successful fund-raising is to adopt a marketing perspective, to think about how the potential funder’s needs might be met through the proposed project. Before submitting a proposal, fund-raisers need to stop and think: • Will this project help the donor meet its stated philanthropic objectives? If not, can it be shaped to do so and still meet the institution’s objectives? • Will the funder get good publicity for sponsoring the project? What steps can be taken to help make that happen? • Will the project lead to permanent change or otherwise have a large impact? How can its potential for doing so be presented? Adopting this marketing perspective would be a radical departure for many campus-based administrators, who too often focus on what they need to the exclusion of what the potential funder needs. Thinking "win/win" is more likely to pay off. Working in Partnership with the College Development Office Within the institution, the college development office is a source of fund-raising expertise sometimes overlooked by prevention staff. At the very least, development officers are a rich source of information about national, state, and local funding sources and are likely to have directories, databases, and knowledge of Web searching techniques to share. Beyond that, development offices at some public institutions of higher education also manage auxiliary foundations for handling private donations for specific purposes, through which donors could contribute to alcohol and other drug prevention efforts. The development office is also critical for soliciting donations from alumni who have an interest in alcohol and other drug issues on campus. At West Texas A&M University, the dean of student affairs worked with the development office to identify potential donors among students-that is, future alumni-and their families. Donations are divided between the development and student affairs offices, which has resulted in a steady source of revenue for prevention activities. A further example of successful collaboration is that between the alumni affairs office and student health services at Montana State University. A donation from a class of 1966 fraternity member (who was concerned about the glamorization of alcohol abuse by a group of students on a Greek parade float) helped set up a Greek Wellness Fund. State and Federal Sources of Prevention Funding Much of the federal funding that once went into direct grants is now being bundled into block grants to state governments, each of which has its own system for making program grants. In some cases, the state will make direct grants for alcohol and other drug prevention. In others, the money is allocated to counties or cities, which in turn make individual grants. Prevention coordinators can learn more about block grant funding related to alcohol and other drug prevention by contacting the "single state agencies" (SSAs) in their state that are responsible for overseeing specific federal initiatives. Contact information for the following federal agencies providing funding to states is listed in Resources at the end of this publication. Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP). Depending on the state, the contact point for CSAP funds might be the state’s department of substance abuse services, mental health, or health and human development. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA). The governor’s highway safety bureau administers NHTSA’s Section 410 grants, which are devoted to reducing driving-after-drinking among underage drivers. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). Grant monies for reducing underage drinking are administered through the governor’s office of each state. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP). The contact point for ONDCP funds might be the state’s department of substance abuse services, education, or criminal justice. The federal government directly operates several additional grant initiatives. There are several available resources for staying abreast of these opportunities. Links to each of these resources is provided on the Higher Education Center’s Website. CSAP’s National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) is the world’s largest resource for current information and materials on substance abuse prevention. Through Prevline (CSAP’s Website), NCADI disseminates federal grant announcements for alcohol and other drug prevention programs. The Website operated by Join Together, a national resource center that helps communities fight substance abuse, provides extensive information on funding opportunities. Features include a Grant Deadline Calendar and a link to the Federal Register, a daily listing of regulations and notices by federal agencies, including requests for funding proposals. Paid subscribers to the ScienceWise Alert (formerly U.S. Opportunity Alert) automatically receive the results of a daily search of federal, corporate, and foundation opportunities. The search is tailored through a subscriber-created profile based on keywords (e.g., "drugs & substance abuse," "alcohol & alcoholism"). A similar subscriber service is provided by the Illinois Researcher Information Service (IRIS) at the University of Illinois, which operates a database of more than 7,700 federal and nonfederal funding opportunities in the sciences, social sciences, arts, and humanities. Locating Sources of Information and Assistance Many sources of information and assistance are available free of charge. Many college and university libraries will maintain a collection of grants publications. If so, a knowledgeable reference librarian can provide an orientation to these resources, especially those which list state and local funding opportunities. The Foundation Center is a nonprofit organization that compiles information on private institutional funding. The organization offers many national directories and indexes for sale, including subject directories in areas related to alcohol and other drug prevention in higher education: higher education; health; substance abuse; children, youth, and families; and women and girls. The Foundation Center’s Cooperating Collections provide free public access to a basic set of Foundation Center publications, including the above-listed subject directories, and offer free guidance on funding research. The Cooperating Collections are located in public and private university libraries, community foundations, and nonprofit development centers in 211 cities in the 50 states and Puerto Rico. Technical Assistance Services to Communities is one component of the CSAP Training System, which provides training and technical assistance to professionals and volunteers working to prevent alcohol and other drug problems. Through this unique federal program, expert consultants are available to provide help for a wide range of prevention-related topics, including grantsmanship and fund-raising. Free publications worth obtaining include the CSAP Foundation Resource Packet, available through NCADI, which provides information on long-range planning for program funding. In 1998, ONDCP published Responding to Drug Use and Violence: A Directory and Resource Guide of Public- and Private-Sector Drug Control Grants. This document provides an overview of the federal grant-making process, plus information on federal program grants authorized in 1998. Although Join Together does not specialize in prevention efforts on college campuses, the Join Together Online Website provides extensive information about community prevention efforts nationwide that may be helpful to college program planners seeking to make links in their respective communities. The searchable national database of 60,000 community contacts may be of particular interest. In addition, Join Together has published Working the Web: Using the Internet to Fight Substance Abuse as part of its Monthly Action Kit series. JTO Direct, a free service of Join Together, is a custom news feed, which can be delivered direct via a daily or weekly e-mail message. One of the available options is "Funding News," which includes foundation profiles, grant announcements (including the full text of Federal Register announcements), coverage of innovative fund-raising practices, and other valuable news and tips. Summary The advice offered in this publication on how to build long-term support for an alcohol and other drug prevention program can be summarized by these several simple principles: • Create a collaborative program that involves as many areas of the college as possible. Substance use prevention requires a multifaceted team approach. • Get the strong support of top school administrators who will be advocates for the program. • Work from a long-range blueprint, which includes a plan for using the initial grant to begin institutionalizing alcohol and other drug prevention efforts on campus. • Link the program’s objectives with goals that are important to the institution, especially those tied to its academic mission. • Establish ties with local officials and with regional and statewide prevention consortia. • During the earliest stages of program planning, focus on building institutional capacity for programs and activities that can continue in the absence of dedicated funding. • Establish a system of program accountability based on evaluation. • Look for publicity opportunities to make the program front-and-center in the college’s fight against the misuse of alcohol and other drugs. • Think like a marketer when seeking external support from foundations, corporations, and private donors. Take into account the funder’s institutional and personal needs. • When fund-raising, offer a positive vision for what the program can achieve, emphasizing its innovativeness and potential impact. Neglecting to think about the program’s long-term prospects during early planning is a recipe for failure. Perhaps the most important advice of all is to think about program institutionalization and future funding from the very beginning. Notes 1 The Presidents Leadership Group. Be Vocal, Be Visible, Be Visionary: Recommendations for College and University Presidents on Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention. Newton, MA: Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention, 1997. 2 DeJong W, Vince-Whitman C, Colthurst T, Cretella M, Gilbreath M, Rosati M, Zweig K. Environmental Management: A Comprehensive Strategy for Reducing Alcohol and Other Drug Use on College Campuses. Washington, DC: US Department of Education, Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention, 1998. 3 Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching. Campus Life: In Search of Community. Princeton, NJ: 1990. 4 Anderson DS, Gadaleto AF. Results of the 1997 College Alcohol Survey: Comparison with 1994 Results and Baseline Year. Fairfax, VA: Center for the Advancement of Public Health, George Mason University, 1998. 5 DeJong W, Langenbahn S. Setting and Improving Policies for Reducing Alcohol and Other Drug Problems on Campus: A Guide for Administrators. Washington, DC: US Department of Education, Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention, 1995, reprinted 1997. 6 Ryan BE, Colthurst T, Segars L. College Alcohol Risk Assessment Guide: Environmental Approaches to Prevention. Washington, DC: US Department of Education, Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention, revised 1997. 7 Wechsler H, Austin B, DeJong W. Secondary Effects of Binge Drinking on College Campuses. Washington, DC: US Department of Education, Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention, 1996. 8 Ryan B, DeJong W. Making the Link: Faculty and Prevention. Washington, DC: US Department of Education, Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention, 1998. 9 DeJong W, Winsten JA. The Media and the Message: Lessons Learned from Past Public Service Campaigns. Washington, DC: The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, 1998. Resources The Center for Substance Abuse Prevention (CSAP) Technical Assistance Services to Communities (301) 459-1591, ext. 244; www.covesoft.com/csap.html For information on CSAP grants: www.samhsa.gov/grant/gfa_kda.htm For Directory of State and Territory Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drug Agencies, call (301) 589-6760 • Technical assistance on grantsmanship and fund-raising The Foundation Center (800) 424-9836; (212) 807-3690 in New York state; http://fdncenter.org • Cooperating Collections for publications and technical assistance • Directories of funding sources • Proposal writing guidelines Join Together Online (617) 437-1500; www.jointogether.org • "Funding News," including "Grant Deadline Calendar" and link to the Federal Register • "News," "Community Action," "Public Policy" features • Searchable national database of community prevention contacts • Working the Web: Using the Internet to Fight Substance Abuse Illinois Researcher Information Service (217) 333-0284; E-mail: iris-alert@carousel.lis.uiuc.edu • Database of more than 7,700 federal and nonfederal funding opportunities • E-mail notification of newly listed opportunities • Fee charged to subscribers National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) (800) 729-6686; www.health.org • Prevline Website • Information on federal grant announcements • CSAP’s Foundation Resource Packet National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) State and Community Services: (202) 366-2121 For information on regional offices administering NHTSA’s grant programs: www.nhtsa.dot.gov/nhtsa/whatis/regions Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) For an overview of Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws Program: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/programs/programs.html • Governors’ offices of each state administer funds for this program. Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) (800) 666-3332; www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov • Grant Program Points of Contact by State: www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/policy/grants/appen-c.html • Responding to Drug Use and Violence: A Directory and Resource Guide of Public- and Private-Sector Drug Control Grants ScienceWise Alert (301) 975-0103; www.usalert.com • Automatic electronic search service to identify federal funding opportunities • Fee charged to subscribers Last Update: July 11, 2000 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ [HEC Home]Higher Ed Center -|- About Us -|- Feedback -|- Shortcuts: