CONTACT:
Nikki Ortolani
(212) 807-2492
e-mail: nao@foundationcenter.org
Web: www.foundationcenter.org
Foundation Center Issues New Release of FC Search
High speed searching on CD-ROM
Enormous volume of current and expanded data
Web links to 990-PF IRS tax filings
May 10, 2004, New York, NY—The Foundation Center, the nation's foremost authority on foundation and corporate giving, has just released the new edition of FC Search: The Foundation Center's Database on CD-ROM, Version 8.0. This expanded new version presents updated information on the Center's database containing in-depth descriptions of more than 76,000 grantmakers located in the United States. In addition to the extensive searchable data found in each grantmaker record, foundation records include links to the most recently available foundation tax filing, 990-PF, in PDF format. The CD-ROM also includes more than 324,000 grant records, plus the names of over 350,000 trustees, officers, and donors, with updates on their foundation affiliations.
FC Search is both a sophisticated and user-friendly fundraising resource. It's designed for use by grantseekers and other nonprofit researchers at all levels of experience—from seasoned researchers to those who may have little or no electronic searching experience. Joyce Infante, senior vice president for communications, marketing and product development for the Foundation Center comments, "FC Search is a unique research tool. It is the only CD-ROM in the field that includes a comprehensive file of independent and company foundations, corporate givers and grantmaking public charities, as well as a separate file of grants awarded in the past four years by the nation's largest funders. The Grants file in FC Search adds an especially valuable layer of information by including the subject and amount of each grant as well as grantmaker and recipient names and locations."
Thousands of new grantmakers and newly reported grants
According to senior database editor, Margie Feczko, "Since FC Search, Version 7.0 was released in Spring 2003, a majority of the entries in the Grantmaker file have been updated, and thousands of new grantmaker records have been added." This file now comprises over 76,000 grantmakers with updated information such as new contact names and application addresses, financial data, giving interests, application guidelines, the names of key trustees, and more. The fully searchable Grants file in FC Search now features more than 324,000 grant records. This updated grants archive, with grants of $10,000 or more that were awarded between 2000 and 2004, helps researchers to track their prospects' emerging interests as well as their historical giving patterns.
FC Search also provides direct links to grantmaker Web sites for users with access to the Internet. More than 4,000 grantmakers in the Foundation Center's database now have Internet addresses included in their records. Visiting these grantmaker Web sites will provide users with additional facts and even greater currency of information on the funders' activities. FC Search, Version 8.0 includes additional links to the company Web sites of approximately 2,250+ corporations that sponsor foundations or giving programs.
Time-saving benefits and free update disk in fall 2004
FC Search's powerful, flexible search capability based on 21 search criteria, including full text searching, dramatically reduces the amount of time required to: research the policies of specific funders, develop lists of prospective funders, discover the foundation affiliations of prominent individuals, and view newly reported grants in one or more fields.
FC Search contains many features specifically designed to aid users in organizing and recording the information obtained in their funding research. Users can create tailored lists of funding prospects by marking records in FC Search. These marked record lists can be stored for use in future sessions, as can commonly used search strategies. Researchers can use a wide range of flexible printing and saving options as well as the searchable Notepad function that allows information to be appended to individual records.
All FC Search, Version 8.0 licensees will automatically receive an Update disk in fall 2004. The disk will contain the full FC Search database and will reflect the most current information collected during the year by the Center's editorial researchers on foundations, corporate givers, public charities, and newly reported grant awards. This updated information will prove a major asset to researchers as they prepare their 2004 and early 2005 proposals.
System requirements and ordering information
The recommended system configurations for FC Search, Version 8.0, are Microsoft Windows '95, or higher on a Windows-based PC, with a minimum 64 MB of memory and a
Pentium microprocessor. Internet access and either Netscape's Navigator or Communicator or Microsoft's Internet Explorer browser are required to access 990-PFs and Web sites.
FC Search is licensed to users at $1,195 for a stand-alone (single-user) version. The local area network version (2-8 users in one building) is priced at $1,895. Larger local area networks and wide area network versions are also available. Prices include the April release of Version 8.0, the Update disk in fall 2004, and one User Manual.
To order, or for more information, inquirers may call the Electronic Products Hotline at
1-800-478-4661 or visit the Center's Web site: www.foundationcenter.org/marketplace. FC Search is also available for use by the public, free of charge, at the Foundation Center's libraries in New York City; Washington, D.C.; Cleveland; San Francisco; and Atlanta; as well as at Foundation Center Cooperating Collections across the country.
About the Foundation Center
The Foundation Center's mission is to strengthen the nonprofit sector by advancing knowledge about U.S. philanthropy. To achieve its mission, the Center collects, organizes, and communicates information on U.S. philanthropy; conducts and facilitates research on trends in the field; provides education and training on the grantseeking process; and ensures public access to information and services through its Web site, print and electronic publications, five library/learning centers, and a national network of Cooperating Collections. Founded in 1956, the Center is the nation's leading authority on philanthropy and is dedicated to serving grantseekers, grantmakers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public.
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