About the Library
Welcome to the Foundation Center. The Center's
mission is to strengthen the nonprofit sector by advancing knowledge about U.S. philanthropy. As a vital
component of the Foundation Center's mission,
we offer free information to the public at five
Foundation Center libraries across the country:
at our headquarters in New
York, and at our field offices in Washington,
D.C., Atlanta,
Cleveland, and San
Francisco. And through a program of orientations
and educational seminars, each year we
introduce thousands of grantseekers to the funding
research process.
One of the most difficult aspects of the grantseeking process is selecting prospective funders who might be interested in your project from the nearly 80,000 grantmakers in the U.S. At Foundation Center libraries we make the
best and most comprehensive information available to
grantseekers so that they can identify appropriate funders
and develop targeted proposals.
Foundation Center librarians assist you with
your research strategy but cannot do your research
for you. They can help you in locating appropriate
print and electronic resources, but they are not
permitted to serve as consultants on funding for
your project or to make referrals or arrange for
introductions to specific grantmakers. Our librarians
cannot write or review proposals for you. They
will direct you to resources that help with this
endeavor, especially the Center's own Guide
to Proposal Writing and our full-day proposal
writing seminar.
In 1961, a Cooperating Collection of the Foundation
Center was established within the offices of the
Cleveland Foundation. In 1977, the collection
became a full-blown field office of the Foundation
Center and moved to expanded quarters, still within
the offices of the Cleveland Foundation. The Foundation
Center-Cleveland was named the Kent H. Smith Library
to honor the man who was instrumental in initially
bringing these services to Cleveland. On August
12, 1991, the Foundation Center-Cleveland moved
again, this time to its own quarters. Again, the
Cleveland Foundation was instrumental in making
this move possible. The library employs two full-time
professionals, one part-time paraprofessional,
and one part-time clerk. We offer a weekly orientation
in addition to many other free and fee-based programs
that support the efforts of the nonprofit grantseeking
and grantmaking community in our region.
The Foundation Center-Cleveland library works
closely with the Center's Coordinator of Cooperating
Collections at the Center's headquarters
in New York to ensure that the information needs
of Cooperating Collections in the Midwest region
are met. Cooperating Collections maintain core
collections of Foundation Center publications
(most have FC Search available for public
use) along with a variety of supplementary materials
useful to grantseekers. They are housed in libraries,
community foundations, and other nonprofit organizations.
Cooperating Collections that the staff of the
Cleveland field office work closely with include:
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