Improving Investor Protection:
Request for Proposals

Proposal Due Date
Proposals must be postmarked on or before June 11, 2007. Applicants will be notified of the funding decision in October 2007.

How to Apply
This program closed on June 11, 2007. Applications are no longer accepted.

Proposal Topic
Improving investor protection in the United States

Background
Investor protection often means helping individual investors help themselves by understanding fraudulent tactics, recognizing their susceptibility to scams, conducting due diligence before committing to an investment, and taking precautions to safeguard financial and other personal information. Investors who raise their defenses in these ways are less likely to be victimized and more likely to recognize and reap the rewards of legitimate investment opportunities.

Request for Proposals
The NASD Investor Education Foundation invites eligible organizations to submit competitive grant proposals for research and/or education projects that protect retail investors from fraud. Applicants are encouraged to establish partnerships that combine research and technical expertise with the ability to influence large audiences through highly credible communications vehicles and networks. Successful proposals might, for example,

• quantify the incidence of investment fraud in the United States, disaggregated by types of fraud and victim characteristics
• identify the characteristics of investment fraud perpetrators or victims
• uncover the mechanics of investment fraud and tactics used to deceive or pressure investors
• analyze why investors respond to scams and how they behave when confronted with financial loss
• help US investors recognize potential investment scams, including scams related to microcap stocks
• develop and test investor protection communications strategies that are effective in raising defenses against fraud
• improve awareness among organizations (e.g. community groups and their leaders) about affinity fraud and the unwitting role that such organizations sometimes play in scams
• encourage individuals to take precautions against fraud
• increase the reporting of investment fraud to public authorities

Project deliverables may include any combination of research reports, published papers and articles, communications tools, and turnkey programs. For education projects, applicants are encouraged to devise cost-effective ways of evaluating their efforts. Research proposals must have practical outcomes for individual investors, regulators, and nonprofit organizations active in the field of personal finance.

Applicants are encouraged to read the Investor Fraud Study prepared by The Consumer Fraud Research Group with NASD Foundation support.

Priorities
Of particular interest to the Foundation are projects that

• reach a large, but precisely defined, audience through multiple communications channels
• are well grounded in research
• have measurable objectives and reliable methods for evaluating outcomes
• avoid duplication of existing initiatives and research
• are sustainable beyond the grant term

The following are not a priority for the Foundation for this RFP:

• projects that do not address the needs of retail investors
• projects that do not focus on investor protection
• projects that lack a strong marketing and distribution component

Grant Amounts
There is no set minimum or maximum grant amount. In considering grant requests, the merits of the proposed work are the primary focus. In 2006, grants ranged from $153,725 to $629,310; the average grant award was $421,031. Proposal budgets are carefully scrutinized for compliance with the grant guidelines and justification for the efficient use of funds. Funding is provided in installments contingent upon achieving established project milestones.

Grant Duration
Projects should be completed within 18–24 months of the grant award. Those exceeding 24 months will be considered if justification for the additional time is included in the proposal.

Questions
For questions or to discuss your ideas prior to the deadline, please contact the NASD Foundation's Christine Kieffer (202-728-6970, or via email), Robert Ganem (202-728-8362, or via email), or Susan Sarver (202-728-6948, or via email).

Conference Call for Prospective Grantees
The NASD Foundation will hold conference calls to answer general questions about this RFP. All prospective applicants are encouraged to participate in one of the calls. Register in advance by sending an email to nasdfoundation@nefe.org with your name, organization affiliation, email address, and telephone number. Please do not submit your general inquiries through this email address; it is for the conference call registration only. Upon registration, you will be provided specific call-in information.

• Thursday, March 15, 2007 at 11:00 a.m. Eastern
• Wednesday, April 11, 2007, at 2:00 p.m. Eastern

All grant proposals are subject to evaluation by the Foundation. A request to submit a grant proposal does not guarantee that a grant will be awarded. The Foundation reserves the right not to award any specific grant for any reason, or for no apparent reason, no matter how clearly the proposed grant may seem to relate to the Foundation’s grant criteria, and no matter how closely the requester has followed the guidelines and procedures. The Foundation does not critique unsuccessful proposals.