New CD-ROM Revolutionizes Fundraising Research 

Introducing FC Search: The Foundation Center's Database on CD-ROM

May 1996 -- The Foundation Center, the nation's premier source of
information on foundations and corporate givers, is pleased to announce a
major advance in fundraising research technology. With the release in July
of FC Search: The Foundation Center's Database on CD-ROM, fundraisers will
have the ability to search the Foundation Center's entire universe of
grantmakers and their associated grants, taking full advantage of the
power and speed of state-of-the-art database software. Even grantseekers
with little or no electronic searching experience will find it easy to
conduct fundraising research on FC Search; those familiar with electronic
fundraising tools will appreciate its sophistication and versatility. The
program's flexible search capabilities dramatically reduce the amount of
time required to develop lists of potential funders, research the policies
of specific funders, discover the grantmaker affiliations of particular
individuals, and view recently awarded grants in one or more fields. In
fact, grantseekers with access to FC Search will be able to accomplish in
seconds work that now takes hours or days. Moreover, grantmakers and
consultants to the nonprofit field will also benefit from the ability to
quickly search through a wealth of data on foundation and corporate giving
within their fields of interest or geographic locations. 

Comprehensive Coverage of U.S. Foundations and Corporate Givers

FC Search is the only CD-ROM that features up-to-date information on
43,000+ U.S. foundations and corporate direct givers, and the names of
close to 180,000 trustees, officers, and donors who make the funding
decisions at these institutions. It also contains descriptions of more
than 115,000 grants of $10,000 or more awarded by over 1,000 of the
nation's largest foundations. Since FC Search features authoritative facts
on all private U.S. grantmaking foundations, fundraisers will be able to
conduct searches on the largest national or international funders right
down to small, family-run foundations that award grants locally. 

Grantmaker and grant records comprise the same accurate, in-depth data that
appears in the Foundation Center's major fundraising directories,
including The Foundation Directory, The Foundation Directory Part 2, the
Guide to U.S. Foundations, Their Trustees, Officers, and Donors, the
National Directory of Corporate Giving, the Foundation Grants Index and
the subject-specific Grant Guide series. 

Grantmaker records provide crucial facts -- fiscal data, giving priorities,
types of support awarded, geographic focus, selected grants, application
information -- and much more. Grant records include the recipient's name,
location, and type; the grantmaker's name and geographic focus; the grant
amount, year authorized, type of support and subject, and a concise
description. Grant records are directly linked to grantmaker records and
can be accessed with the simple click of a button. 

Powerful Search Engine Accomplishes Multiple Research Tasks

FC Search represents a great leap forward in fundraising research. It gives
fundraisers and other researchers the power to design their own searches
from the Foundation Center's comprehensive database files. It provides an
array of search modes to accommodate a wide range of fundraising research
strategies: 

The Browse mode provides the fastest way to access individual records,
allowing users to scan for the names of grantmakers and grant recipients
from alphabetical indexes. 

The Basic Grantmaker Search mode pres-selects four of the most common
criteria researchers use to identify grant prospects: grantmaker name,
grantmaker state, fields of interest, and names of trustees, officers, and
donors. A user-defined free text field is designed to narrow searches by
locating specific words or phrases throughout the database. From this
screen, users can rapidly retrieve grantmaker records by the name of the
foundation or corporate giving program or by the names of specific
trustees, officers, or donors. It also facilitates fast searches for
grantmakers in one or more states that make awards within their fields of
interest. Users insert the Boolean terms, "AND," "OR," and "NOT," to
expand or limit their search within each criterion box. 

FC Search's "Advanced" search modes make it easy to conduct complex
multi-criteria searches. The Advanced Grantmaker Search option helps
grantseekers generate fine-tuned lists of the funders most likely to
support their project by selecting their own search criteria from among 14
possible choices: 

* grantmaker name 
* grantmaker state 
* fields of interest 
* trustees, officers, and donors 
* "free text" field
* grantmaker city 
* geographic focus types of support 
* total giving 
* total assets 
* corporate name 
* corporate location 
* grantmaker type 
* establishment date

The Advanced Grants Search option helps fundraisers discover which
grantmakers have already demonstrated a commitment to projects similar to
their own. Fundraisers may custom-design searches for recently awarded
grants by selecting from among 11 criteria: 

* grantmaker name 
* grantmaker state 
* geographic focus 
* types of support 
* recipient name 
* recipient state 
* recipient city 
* subjects 
* "free text" field 
* grant amount 
* year authorized 

After structuring an Advanced Grantmaker or Advanced Grants search by
choosing search criteria, researchers simply fill in the fields they have
chosen with the appropriate terms, selected from easily accessed indexes.
Fundraisers can expand or limit searches in either mode by inserting
Boolean terms between the fields selected as well as within each criterion
box. 

A User-Friendly Environment for Sophisticated Fundraising Research

Even computer novices will find it easy to conduct fundraising research
with FC Search. Designed to operate in Windows on IBM compatible PCs, it
presents users with carefully designed screens that offer clearly defined
options. GUI (graphical user interface) technology makes it easy for users
to progress through searches with speed and confidence by simply pointing
and clicking the mouse. 

Users can access extensive, context-sensitive Help throughout their
sessions with a single "click." The Help program features time-saving
hints for designing search strategies, explanations of all toolbar and
function buttons, a glossary of fundraising terms, and much more. Also
included is a comprehensive User Manual, which covers the online Help
material and more in print format, featuring illustrations of sample
searches to help grantseekers maximize their use of the search options
available to them. 

FC Search has been designed with the fundraiser's needs in mind. A
convenient "Notepad" function allows users to attach notes to records that
stay affixed until they are "clicked" off. With a full range of Print and
Save options, grantseekers can quickly print or download full or partial
grantmaker or grants records, either those they have specially "marked" or
entire search result lists. FC Search also features special options for
library use, including a "time-out" mechanism and variable limits on the
number of records patrons can print or download. 

Upcoming Opportunities to See FC Search in Action

The Foundation Center will be conducting demonstrations of FC Search at
several conferences this summer. Conference attendees at Fundraising Day
in New York, June 21, the American Library Association, also in New York,
July 6-9, and the Association of Professional Researchers for Advancement
in San Diego, CA, August 21-23, are invited to free demonstrations of FC
Search at the Foundation Center's exhibit booth. 

Ordering Information

Orders are now being accepted for FC Search. The special introductory price
for a standalone (single user) version is $995. Network (multi-users at a
single site) versions are also available. Orders may be charged with VISA
or MasterCard by calling the FC Search Hotline, 800-478-4661; or by
mailing orders with payment to the Foundation Center, Dept. PR89, 79 Fifth
Avenue, New York, NY 10003-3076. Please add $4.50 shipping and handling
for the first copy ordered, and $2.50 for each additional copy. Make
checks payable to the Foundation Center in U.S. dollars only. 

As part of its mission to provide reliable information on foundation and
corporate philanthropy to the public, the Foundation Center will also
distribute copies of FC Search to many of its 200+ "cooperating
collections" -- libraries and other nonprofit institutions throughout the
U.S. that maintain core collections of Foundation Center reference
materials. At these locations, grantseekers will be able to use FC Search
free of charge.
 
 =========================================================
 From the 'New Product News' Electronic News Service on...
 AOL (Keyword = New Products) and Delphi (GO COMP PROD)
 =========================================================
 This information was processed from data provided by the
 company/author mentioned. For additional details, please
 contact them directly at the address/phone# indicated.
 Trademarks are the property of their respective owners!
 =========================================================
 All submissions for this service should be addressed to:
 BAKER ENTERPRISES,  20 Ferro Dr,  Sewell, NJ  08080  USA
 Email:   rbakerpc@aol.com   --or--   rbakerpc@delphi.com
 =========================================================
