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'{{advert|date=February 2011}} [[File:Foundation center logo.svg|thumb|Foundation Center web site: [http://foundationcenter.org/ foundationcenter.org]]] The '''Foundation Center''' is a national 501(c)(3) [[nonprofit organization]] headquartered in New York City. The Center’s stated mission is “to strengthen the nonprofit sector by advancing knowledge about [[philanthropy]] in the U.S. and around the world.” <ref>[http://foundationcenter.org/about/index.html About Us, Foundation Center web site]</ref> The Center maintains comprehensive databases on grantmakers and their grants; issues a wide variety of print, electronic, and online information resources; conducts and publishes research on trends in foundation growth, giving, and practice; and offers numerous education and training programs online and at its five regional library/learning centers and global network of more than 450 funding information centers known as Cooperating Collections. The president of the organization is [http://foundationcenter.org/about/president.html Bradford K. Smith]. ==History== In the mid-1950s, John Gardner, F. Emerson Andrews, and other foundation leaders decided to create a “strategic gathering place for knowledge about foundations,” positing that transparency would be the best defense against congressional inquiries about private foundation activities and spending. Hence the Foundation Center—known then as the Foundation Library Center—opened in New York City on November 26, 1956. Its founding president was F. Emerson Andrews of the [[Russell Sage Foundation]] and author of ''Foundation Watcher''.<ref>Andrews, F. Emerson. ''Foundation Watcher'', page 181. Franklin and Marshall College, 1973.</ref> To achieve its goal of providing broad, open access to foundation information, the Center began in 1959 to establish depositories of information in other libraries—now known as Cooperating Collections—nationwide. In 1960 it published the first ''Foundation Directory'', which is still being published annually. In 1968, the organization’s name was officially changed to the Foundation Center, signifying expansion of its services and activities beyond that of a library.<ref name="Foundation Center 1996">Foundation Center. “40th Anniversary: A Retrospective.” Foundation Center, 1996.</ref> The organization collects detailed data on U.S. foundations through a variety of means, including grants lists supplied by foundations electronically and in other formats, foundations' publicly-available IRS forms 990-PF, annual reports, web sites, and mailed questionnaires. The Center continues to be publisher and distributor of its own directories, research reports, and nonprofit management and fundraising guides, and makes its databases available via [http://fconline.fdncenter.org ''Foundation Directory Online''] and other online and CD-ROM products.<ref>[http://foundationcenter.org/ Foundation Center]</ref> ==Locations== The Foundation Center’s main office is in New York City where its publishing, web services, and administrative operations are located. Its education and reference services are available in all five library/learning centers in [http://foundationcenter.org/newyork/ New York City], [http://foundationcenter.org/atlanta/ Atlanta], [http://foundationcenter.org/cleveland/ Cleveland], [http://foundationcenter.org/sanfrancisco/ San Francisco], and [http://foundationcenter.org/washington/ Washington, DC], as well as in more than 450 [http://foundationcenter.org/collections/ Cooperating Collections] in every U.S. state and in Australia, Brazil, China, Mexico, Nigeria, Puerto Rico, South Korea, and Thailand. Foundation Center libraries are open to the public free of charge and are staffed with professional librarians with expertise in the field of philanthropy. Each library collection contains materials on philanthropy, the foundation world, the nonprofit sector — particularly works on such topics as fundraising and proposal development — and works related to charitable giving, including project reports, studies, and statistical analyses. Computers in the libraries provide free access to electronic fundraising directories (including [http://fconline.fdncenter.org ''Foundation Directory Online'']), grantmakers’ IRS Forms, and an online catalog (which can also be searched at the Center’s web site).<ref name="Foundation Center 1996"/> Foundation Center Cooperating Collections are funding information centers in libraries, community foundations, and other nonprofit resource centers that provide free access to ''Foundation Directory Online'' and other Foundation Center databases, a core collection of Foundation Center publications and a variety of supplementary materials and services in areas useful to nonprofit grantseekers.<ref>[http://foundationcenter.org/collections/ Foundation Center Cooperating Collections]</ref> ==Education and Training== The Foundation Center offers educational programs on the funding research process, proposal writing, grantmakers and their giving, and related topics. [http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/training/classroom.html Classroom training] takes place in each Center location and in Cooperating Collections across the United States and beyond. The Center also offers [http://foundationcenter.org/getstarted/training/online/ online training courses] and live and recorded webinars. ==Web Site== At [http://foundationcenter.org foundationcenter.org] the majority of the features are free, including a database of foundation contact information and core fiscal data for private and community foundations with links to IRS Forms 990 and 990-PF, accessed through the Center’s [http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/foundfinder/ Foundation Finder] search tool. Other features include a wide variety of tutorials; statistical tables; a searchable bibliographic database; [http://foundationcenter.org/gainknowledge/pubhub/ PubHub] (a collection of links to foundation-sponsored reports); and an Online Librarian service that responds to reference queries via e-mail or instant chat. ====Foundation Directory Online==== [http://fconline.fdncenter.org/ ''Foundation Directory Online''] is a searchable database with detailed profiles of U.S. foundations and descriptions of their grants. Free access is available at any of the Center’s library/learning centers or [http://foundationcenter.org/collections/ Cooperating Collections]. Subscriptions to ''Foundation Directory Online'' are available at five different plan levels.<ref>[http://fconline.foundationcenter.org/ Foundation Directory Online]</ref> ====GrantSpace==== [http://grantspace.org GrantSpace], an online community for the social sector, offers information and resources for grantseekers. GrantSpace is designed to help grantseekers gain the knowledge and skills needed to get a grant, manage nonprofits, and improve communities. Resources are organized under the most common subject areas of funding research, including health, education, and the arts. <ref>[http://grantspace.org GrantSpace]</ref> ====Marketplace==== The [http://foundationcenter.org/marketplace/ Marketplace] is the e-commerce section of the Foundation Center web site. The products available—directories, guide books, research reports and on-site and online training courses—are developed by Foundation Center staff and experts in the field of philanthropy. ====Philanthropy In/Sight==== [http://philanthropyinsight.org/ ''Philanthropy In/Sight ®''] is an interactive mapping tool designed for grantmakers, policymakers, researchers, and academics. By combining Google maps and the Foundation Center’s data on grantmaking, ''Philanthropy In/Sight'' creates maps that reveal patterns of giving and funding relationships. Grant data can be combined with over 150 demographic, socio-economic and other data sets to create a visual representation showing where philanthropy has made an impact, and where opportunities exist to fill critical needs. ====Philanthropy News Digest (PND)==== Since 1997, the Foundation Center has published [http://foundationcenter.org/pnd ''Philanthropy News Digest''] (PND), an online daily news service with philanthropy-related articles; in-depth interviews with leaders in the nonprofit and philanthropic fields; outside opinion and commentary; reviews of books, web sites, and nonprofits on the web; funding opportunities, and nonprofit job postings. The publisher of PND also hosts a related blog, [http://pndblog.typepad.com PhilanTopic]. ====PubHub: Foundation-Sponsored Reports==== [http://foundationcenter.org/gainknowledge/pubhub/ PubHub], a searchable online collection of annotated links to research reports, case studies, issue briefs, literature reviews, and annual reports covering the full scope of philanthropic activity in the United States, provides access to the vast body of knowledge generated or supported by [[Foundation (nonprofit organization)|foundations]]. In collaboration with the [[IUPUI]] University Library’s FOLIO, a permanent digital archive, PubHub also works toward the long-term preservation of and public access to [[Nonprofit Research]] and foundation publications. ==Publishing== The Foundation Center publishes books ranging from [http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/fundingsources/printcd.html reference works] and [http://foundationcenter.org/gainknowledge/research/nationaltrends.html research studies] to basic primers on [http://foundationcenter.org/marketplace/catalog/subcategory_generic.jhtml?id=cat10014 fundraising] and [http://foundationcenter.org/marketplace/catalog/subcategory_generic.jhtml?id=cat10016 nonprofit management]. ==Research== The Foundation Center analyzes and interprets the data the Center collects on foundations and their giving to inform the philanthropic sector and the broader public about patterns and trends in foundation growth, giving, and practice. Various media sources and news publications regularly cite Foundation Center statistics, including ''[[The Chronicle of Philanthropy]]'' and ''[[The New York Times]]''. The Center’s primary research publication is the annual, three-part ''Foundations Today Series'', consisting of ''Foundation Giving Trends'', ''Foundation Growth and Giving Estimates'', and ''Foundation Yearbook''. It also publishes ''Key Facts'' snapshots of national corporate, family, and community foundation giving and unique reports on [http://foundationcenter.org/gainknowledge/research/regionaltrends.html regional], [http://foundationcenter.org/gainknowledge/research/internationaltrends.html international], and [http://foundationcenter.org/gainknowledge/research/specialtrends.html special-topic] giving trends. [http://foundationcenter.org/findfunders/statistics/about.html FC Stats] provides data tables on U.S. private and community foundations and their funding patterns as downloadable PDF files. ==Leadership== '''Bradford K. Smith, President''' In October 2008, Bradford K. Smith became president of the Foundation Center, succeeding Sara L. Engelhardt.<ref>[http://foundationcenter.org/media/news/pr_0805d.html Foundation Center Press Release "Bradford K. Smith Named President of the Foundation Center"]</ref> Mr. Smith, formerly president of the Oak Foundation in Geneva, Switzerland, also developed and for ten years led the Ford Foundation’s Peace and Social Justice Program. Prior to his work at the Ford Foundation, he directed the Brazil program of the Inter-American Foundation and worked for the YMCA of the USA, where he became manager for world development at its Center for International Management Studies. Mr. Smith holds an M.A. in economics from the New School for Social Research in New York and a B.A. in anthropology and ethnomusicology from the University of Michigan.<ref>[http://foundationcenter.org/about/president.html Foundation Center President's Bio]</ref> ==Presidents== <ul><li>Bradford K. Smith – 2008- <li>Sara L. Engelhardt – 1991–2008 <li>Thomas R. Buckman – 1971–1991 <li>Manning M. Pattillo, Jr. – 1967–1970 <li>F. Emerson Andrews – 1956–1967</ul></li> ''Source''<ref name="Foundation Center 1996"/> ==Board of trustees== <ul><li>Melissa A. Berman, President and CEO, [[Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors]], New York, NY <li>Patrick Collins, Chief Information Officer and Director of Grants Administration, [[William and Flora Hewlett Foundation]], Menlo Park, CA <li>Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker, President and CEO, [http://www.cfgb.org/ Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo], Buffalo, NY <ref>[http://www.foundationcenter.org/media/news/20101202.html Foundation Center Press Release "The Foundation Center Elects Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker to its Board of Trustees"]</ref> <li>M. Christine DeVita (Chairman), President, [http://www.wallacefoundation.org/Pages/default.aspx The Wallace Foundation], New York, NY <li>P. Russell Hardin, President, [http://www.woodruff.org/ The Robert W. Woodruff Foundation], Atlanta, GA <li>Michael F. Hayes, Partner, [[PricewaterhouseCoopers]], Stamford, CT <li>Nancy S. Kami, Executive Director, [http://foundationcenter.org/grantmaker/goldman/ Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund], San Francisco, CA <li>Valdemar de Oliveira Neto, Policy Director, [http://www.avina.net/web/siteavina.nsf/page?open Fundación AVINA], Curitiba, Brazil <ref>[http://www.foundationcenter.org/media/news/20100519.html Foundation Center Press Release "The Foundation Center Elects Two New Board Members: Marcia Smith and Valdemar de Oliveira Neto"]</ref> <li>George Penick, Head of School, [[St. Andrew's Episcopal School (Mississippi)]], Jackson, MS <li>Nancy Roberts, President, [http://www.ctphilanthropy.org/o/ccp_home-page.asp Connecticut Council for Philanthropy], Hartford, CT <li>Bradford K. Smith, President, [http://foundationcenter.org/ The Foundation Center], New York, NY <li>Marcia A. Smith, Senior Vice President, [http://www.atlanticphilanthropies.org/ The Atlantic Philanthropies], New York, NY <ref>[http://www.foundationcenter.org/media/news/20100519.html Foundation Center Press Release "The Foundation Center Elects Two New Board Members: Marcia Smith and Valdemar de Oliveira Neto"]</ref> <li>Ralph R. Smith, Executive Vice President, [[Annie E. Casey Foundation]], Baltimore, MD, <li>Maureen H. Smyth, Senior Vice President, Programs and Communications, [[Charles Stewart Mott Foundation]], Flint, MI <li>Barron M. Tenny (Vice Chairman), Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel, [[The Ford Foundation]], New York, NY <li>Yvette J. Alberdingk Thijm, Executive Director, [http://witness.org/ WITNESS], Brooklyn, NY <li>Thomas E. Wilcox, President, [http://www.bcf.org/ Baltimore Community Foundation], Baltimore, MD</ul></li> ''Source''<ref>[http://www.foundationcenter.org/about/FCAR09.pdf Foundation Center. “2009 Annual Report.” New York, NY: Foundation Center, 2010.]</ref> ==Bibliography== Andrews, F. Emerson. ''Foundation Watcher''. Lancaster, PA: Franklin and Marshall College, 1973. pp.&nbsp;175–279. Foundation Center. “40th Anniversary: A Retrospective.” Foundation Center, 1996. Foundation Center. "2006 Annual Report." New York, NY: Foundation Center, 2007. Foundation Center. “2007 Annual Report.” New York, NY: Foundation Center, 2008. Foundation Center. “2008 Annual Report.” New York, NY: Foundation Center, 2009. Foundation Center. “2009 Annual Report.” New York, NY: Foundation Center, 2010. ==References== <references/> ==External links== *{{official|http://foundationcenter.org}} <li>[http://twitter.com/fdncenter Foundation Center on Twitter]</li> <li>[http://www.facebook.com/foundationcenter Foundation Center on Facebook]</li> <li>[http://www.youtube.com/user/TheFoundationCenter Foundation Center YouTube channel]</li> <li>[http://www.flickr.com/photos/fdncenter/ Foundation Center on Flickr]</li> <li>[http://www.linkedin.com/companies/the-foundation-center Foundation Center on LinkedIn]</li> [[Category:Non-profit organizations based in New York]]'