About the Library
Welcome to the Foundation Center.
The Foundation Center strengthens the nonprofit sector by advancing knowledge about U.S. philanthropy.
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.
One of the most difficult aspects of the
grantseeking process is selecting prospective funders who might be interested in
your project. 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.
The Foundation Center-San Francisco opened to the public on December 1, 1977. During our first year of operation we had two staff members, a total of 4,494 visitors, 445 orientation attendees, and not a single computer. Today we have three full-time librarians, a full-time training coordinator, a total of nearly 10,000 visitors to our library and learning center, and we annually provide training for more than 3,500 participants. We maintain twenty-two public computers with access to The Foundation Directory Online, FC Search: the Foundation Center's Database on CD-ROM, and several other databases, as well as the Foundation Center's Web site. We have grown in the scope of services that we provide: we now offer reference services in Spanish, circulate select books and videos, regularly host workshops on topics of interest to nonprofits, and schedule Meet the Grantmakers panels in conjunction with Northern California Grantmakers.
The Foundation Center-San Francisco 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 Western region are met.
Cooperating Collections maintain core collections of Foundation Center
publications including either FC Search or The Foundation Directory Online 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 San Francisco field office work
closely with include:
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