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Gaining Access to the "FC Search" Database Description: The "FC Search" CD-ROM database includes profiles on over 53,000 grantmakers and 200,000 grant listings with an easy searching interface. The 21 search fields include grantmaker name, grantmaker state, grantmaker city, grantmaker type, geographic focus, establishment date, fields of interest, types of support, total assets, total giving, corporate name, corporate location, text search, trustees, officers, donors, recipient name, recipient state, recipient city, recipient type, subjects, grant amount, and authorization year. Purchase: The current price for a single-user version is $1,195 and for the local area network version (2 - 8 users in one location) is $1,895. Before purchasing, visit a funding information center library or Foundation Center-affiliated library to run sample searches.
Order: http://fdncenter.org/marketplace/catalog/fcsrch1.htmlFunding Libraries: Foundation Center Libraries are located in Washington D.C., Atlanta, San Francisco, Cleveland, and New York City. Smaller "Cooperating Collections" are free funding information centers in libraries, community foundations, and other nonprofit resource centers that provide a core collection of Foundation Center publications and, in some cases, installed copies of the "FC Search" database.
Find a location near you: http://fdncenter.org/collections/index.htmlLocal in San Luis Obispo, CA: Nonprofit organizations in the hometown of Grantproposal.com, can access "FC Search" for free at SLONET. The database terminal can be used Monday through Friday from 9am to 4pm. Nonprofit representatives must first attend a brief training session. This resource is made available through a collaboration between SLONET Regional Information Access and the San Luis Obispo County Community Foundation, with the generous sponsorship of James Maino and Lisa Kilburn. SLONET is located inside the building of Public Radio KCBX, at 4100 Vachell Lane in San Luis Obispo, California. Call 545-5002 for information on training sessions.
Getting Started with the "FC Search" Database (1) To access the database through a standard PC installation, choose FC Search from the Programs listing on the Window's Start Menu. Please note that the CD-ROM must be in the drive and the software must be properly installed on the hard drive. (2) Click the "Basic Grantmaker" search button, which is sufficient for most purposes. (3) The interface is fairly intuitive and a help feature is built-in (click the question mark icon to access "Help"). In the "Grantmaker Name" field, you can type a partial or full funder name (for example, just Rogers or the full Mary Stuart Rogers Foundation). If you are unsure about the correct spelling, click the "Index" button to see a list of every funder in the database. (4) If you are searching for any funders that might support a certain project or department at Cal Poly, you might first limit "Grantmaker State" to California (over 4,000 entries). However, this will exclude national funders based in other states. Next click the "Fields of Interest" button to select specific program areas, such as Higher Education (almost 8,000 entries) or Engineering/ Technology (over 200 entries). Alternatively, you could use the "text search" field to hunt by keywords, such as San Luis Obispo (16 entries) or Harvard (243 funders who have supported Harvard in the past). (5) Click the "Search" button to see a display of results. The "View Record" button will let you review the description for each funder found. (6) Use the Marked Records feature to select records that you may want to review, save, or print later. Marks can be added or deleted at any time from the record display screen or from any marked list by clicking to place a checkmark in the "Mark" box. Technically, you can maintain a list of up to 200 marked grantmaker records -- however, the database sometimes crashes, so a smart idea to only mark and save 50 records at a time. (7) Unfortunately, information cannot be simply copied and pasted into a Word document. Saving as a text file is the necessary intermediary step. To save marked funder records, you can select "File" from the Menu Bar, then select "Save;" or you can click on the "Save" toolbar icon that looks like a floppy disk. Be careful when selected to save either "This Record" (for a single funder entry) or "Grantmaker Search Results" (if more than one matching funder has been marked). Important: under "Options," choose "Full Record." (8) By default, FC Search saves on the C-drive in the "fcsearch" folder. Give the file a short name,such as teach.txt or ford.txt. These text files can later be opened so that contents can be pasted into an email message or a Word document. (9) Click the "I" restart icon to clear all marked records and begin a new search.
Limitations of Funding Databases "FC Search" is currently the best database for foundation prospect identification. Howerer like all commercial funding databases and print directories, the resource has serious limitations: Only approximately 40% of the listed funders voluntarily answered a questionnaire to clarify their funding interests. The majority of entries are based on minimal tax forms, which translates into misleading data.
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