May 8, 2001, New York, NY - For the entire month of June, the Foundation Center will feature a wide range of special programs, publications, and Web site content focused on funding for health, broadly defined. This will be the first of three theme-based months in 2001, followed by "Nonprofits and Technology Month," in September and "Celebrating Philanthropy Month," in November. Judi Margolin, Vice President for Public Services, comments: "To respond to requests from our various audiences for special programming and Web features specific to their funding interests, we have decided to enhance existing resources as well as develop new ones, beginning with the area of health. We have lots of exciting events planned throughout the month on the Web and at all five of our libraries, in New York, San Francisco, Washington, D.C., Atlanta, and Cleveland."

Special Programs and Training Opportunities

One of the key components of "Funding for Health Month" is to offer grantseekers the opportunity to learn directly from prospective grantmakers about their health funding initiatives. Each Foundation Center library will sponsor a "Meet the Grantmakers" or "Dialogue with Donors" program. On June 12, the New York library, together with the New York Regional Association of Grantmakers, will sponsor a half-day "Meet the Grantmakers" session on "Preventive Health Care," in which representatives from four major local foundations will serve on a panel discussion and take questions from the audience concerning their health funding programs. The Center's Atlanta library will sponsor a "Meet The Grantmakers" session, "What's New in Health Funding?" on June 15. The Washington, D.C., and Cleveland libraries will offer "Dialogue with Donors" programs on June 8 and 27, respectively, featuring local funders in health.

Additional opportunities to learn directly from grantmakers that fund in the health field will be offered through several "Technical Assistance Breakfasts" at our various locations, focusing on such pressing topics as biotechnology, children's health issues, new directions in health philanthropy, fundraising for HIV and AIDS-related organizations, and more. And, the Center will offer specially tailored free training programs - including our Cybertour, Grantseeking Basics, Getting Started with FC Search, and BiblioTour - to help health grantseekers succeed. For dates and times, visit the Center's Web site: www.foundationcenter.org.

New Health Funding Report Cites Dramatic Growth in the Field

To recognize "Funding for Health Month," the Foundation Center's Research Department has created a special four-page Health Funding Update. This report provides a brief examination of the growth and distribution of foundation funding for health from the mid-1990s to the start of the new millennium. It is available at no charge at the Foundation Center's Web site: www.foundationcenter.org/research/trends_analysis.

Among the report's key findings:

* Foundation giving for health climbed to an estimated $4.46 billion in 2000, up nearly two and one-third times from $1.94 billion in 1995.

* Spurred by the establishment of "new health foundations" and increases in giving by a few newly large multi-purpose foundations-most notably the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (WA) and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation (CA)-estimated foundation giving for health grew faster than overall giving between 1995 and 2000.

* Hospitals and medical care and medical research accounted for the largest shares of health grant dollars awarded by a sample of over 1,000 larger foundations in 1999.

* Funding for public health and reproductive health care increased fastest for sampled foundations between 1995 and 1999.

The Center will also publish in June two of its most popular subject guides, the National Guide to Funding in Health, 7th Edition, and the National Guide to Funding in AIDS, 2nd Edition. The health guide contains up-to-date entries on more than 10,000 foundations, corporate givers and public charities that fund in health. The volume also includes close to 16,000 examples of recently awarded health grants with the name of the recipient, year awarded and amount. The National Guide to Funding in Aids features profiles of over 600 funders and 800 selected grants.

New Web Site Content

At the end of May, the Center will launch an area of its Web site, www.foundationcenter.org/health, to help direct audiences to the wide-ranging selection of Web content, events, and publications surrounding "Funding for Health Month." Among the major Web offerings in June will be a special health funding issue of Philanthropy News Digest that will be dedicated to health funding-related news and an extensive collection of Web links for grantseekers in the health field. To celebrate health month, weekly issues of PND will include health-related content - requests for proposals, interviews with representatives of prominent health grantmakers, book and Web site reviews on topics such as developing fundraising skills for healthcare professionals, "Spotlight" on health nonprofits, and more. PND is available at the Web site and as a weekly e-mail that is delivered free to over 32,000 subscribers. Targeted Web features will also appear throughout the month on all Foundation Center library home pages, profiling local grantmakers in health, announcing local grants that have made a difference in the field, and spotlighting health-related local nonprofits and their funding needs. And, the Center will be fostering networking and tip sharing opportunities for volunteers and professional fundraisers in the health field throughout the month by means of its various e-newsletters and electronic Message Boards.

Refer to The Foundation Center's Web site or individual library home pages (addresses below) for details on local events and programming during the month of June.

Locations:

New York: 79 Fifth Avenue, Second floor; www.foundationcenter.org/newyork
Atlanta: 50 Hurt Plaza, Suite 150; www.foundationcenter.org/atlanta
Cleveland: 1422 Euclid Avenue, Suite 816; www.foundationcenter.org/cleveland
San Francisco: 312 Sutter Street, Suite 606; www.foundationcenter.org/sanfrancisco
Washington, D.C.: 627 K Street, Third floor; www.foundationcenter.org/washington

Mission Statement

The Foundation Center's mission is to support and improve institutional philanthropy by promoting public understanding of the field and helping grantseekers succeed. To achieve our mission, we collect, organize, and communicate information on U.S. philanthropy; conduct and facilitate research on trends in the field; provide education and training; and ensure public access to information and services through our Web site, print and electronic publications, five library/learning centers, and a national network of over 200 cooperating collections. Founded in 1956, the Center is the nation's leading authority on institutional philanthropy and is dedicated to serving grantseekers, grantmakers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public.

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