We very successfully converted from paper distribution of funding
opportunity newsletter to electronic.  We maitain a Web site of the
electronic newsletter, along with Web access to one of the
commercial providers of funding opportunity information (oryx
press--the supplier of the dialog information, and we're not happy
with it, by the way).

Along with posting the newsletter to the Web every month, we have two
electronic distribution lists of faculty who simply wish to be
notified when the new newsletter is posted, and faculty who wish to
receive the whole newsletter via e-mail.  No big deal to maintain.  I
think the person responsible for the newsletter spends maybe half a
day a month on it.

The other issue is one of spending time on the smaller foundations
and agencies and publicizing that type of information.  I find that
faculty want me to identify a magic foundation, one that nobody has
ever heard of but me and one that will fund my PI without him or her
actually having to write a proposal.  (Okay, I'm good, but not that
good.)  Sure, most of our funding comes from the traditional "big
sources," but disseminating information on the smaller funders via
the newsletter and other means lets our faculty know that we have
access to information about these lesser-known organizations.  In
fact, I'd bet that our newsletter features more of these little guys
than the ones everybody knows about anyway.

The SRA annual meeting in Chicago has a session devoted to the
discussion of electronic and paper newsletters.  Come join the fun.

-Marcia

Marcia Landen Zuzolo
Sponsored Research Services
Indiana University
fax: 812/855-9943
voice: 812/855-0516
internet: xxxxxx@indiana.edu