With funding provided by The Clark Foundation, the Foundation Center is launching a new project intended to promote organizational learning within the fundraising consultant community. This grant is one of five recently awarded by The Clark Foundation in a new effort to fund projects that will improve the quality and capacity of technical assistance providers and consultants in New York City.

The Fundraising Consultant Network is only open to practicing fundraising consultants in the New York area with experience or interest in under-resourced nonprofits. The objectives of the project are as follows:

• To build a community of consultants better equipped to assist under-resourced nonprofits in their fundraising efforts
• To help develop expertise in use of Foundation Center print, electronic, and online funding research tools and techniques that participants can pass along to their clients
• To create and support a learning circle of the fundraising consultants both in the classroom and on the Internet whereby program participants interact with one another on an ongoing basis
• To offer program participants opportunities to reflect on their experiences and to share with one another for continuous professional development.

The project will commence in September 2001 and will continue through April 2002. Consultants selected to participate in the Network will receive sophisticated tools and intensive training in funding research, Web-based grant seeking, proposal writing, funding plan development, special events, and training and development. The eight-month program also features dialogues with foundation representatives and donors, online discussion and resource sharing sessions with trainers and funding experts, and pro bono consulting opportunities with under-resourced nonprofit organizations.

Up to 20 fundraising consultants will be selected to participate, and the application process is competitive. Preference will be given to those currently working with or interested in working with under-resourced nonprofits. Candidates' schedules must permit them to participate fully in the program. Internet access and a commitment to volunteer time with a local nonprofit will also be required.

Many thousands of nonprofit organizations in the greater New York metropolitan area rely on the Center's information and training to help them acquire resources to accomplish their missions. The Center has identified various segments of the population requiring the most assistance. These include those working in inner city and rural areas, those serving ethnic and racial minorities, those that are new or very small, and those who have lost their government or other funding sources. In addition the Center is interested in reaching out to nonprofits that serve disabled populations and non-English speaking groups. The Fundraising Consultants Network project is aimed at building the skills of consultants to assist these audiences.

All program sessions will take place at the Foundation Center's new state-of-the-art training facility and library, including its training room and computer lab. In addition online discussion groups will be formed, accessible from a special area on the Center's Web site.

At the conclusion of the program, as a result of a variety of evaluation activities, the experience gained and wisdom generated will be measured and shared with the greater nonprofit community by means of a special report to be distributed broadly to the nonprofit community.

Those interested in participating in the Fundraising Consultants Network should apply by July 6, 2001. Application forms may be obtained online at http://foundationcenter.org/learn/consult.html.

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