In recently celebrating its 50 years of advancing knowledge about philanthropy, the Foundation Center also took the opportunity to look ahead to philanthropy's future. A $15-million capacity-building campaign was launched in 2006 in conjunction with our anniversary, and, to date, foundations and other friends of the Foundation Center have pledged over $10 million toward the goal.

Those in the nonprofit community have long turned to the Foundation Center for information and training to help them find funding for their activities, for the latest facts and objective analysis to illuminate their work, and for forums to share ideas and resources on key issues affecting the sector. Now, as the sector continues to expand and become more diverse and as public interest in private funding heightens, our audiences are asking more of us.

Our 50th Anniversary Campaign is enabling us to build next-generation services through four initiatives outlined in our Strategic Plan for 2006-2008, "Building for Philanthropy's Future":

• Philanthropy Data Factory: Building 21st-Century Information Services
  Providing nonprofits, grantmakers, and those who study philanthropy with more thorough, consistent, and up-to-date information on independent foundations and a range of other giving vehicles, in formats suited to their needs

• Research Institute: Building New Knowledge for the Field
  Providing nonprofit and foundation leaders, researchers, policymakers, and journalists with answers to their questions and interpretation of patterns in grantmaker giving and operations; probing many facets of foundation practices and attitutes through collaborative studies and special surveys to anticipate and shape future trends; and serving as the authoritative source for the field

• FC Anywhere: Building the Capacity of the Nation's Nonprofits
  Ensuring access to information on grantmakers and their giving and expanding the scope and models for our grantseeking training and assistance, to provide resources and guidance to grantseekers anywhere and at any time

• Public Outreach: Building Understanding of Philanthropy
  Advancing knowledge and understanding of philanthropy among a wide public audience and ensuring that nonprofits, grantmakers, policymakers, journalists, and others who can benefit from the Foundation Center's resources know where to find them