Eye on FDO

Guided Tours

Look for a new link to our Foundation Directory Online guided tours on the left side of the FDO Home Screen near the top of the page. These are the same tours that you can access from the FDO Log-In Screen and that potential subscribers use to preview FDO. But the guided tours are also great for current subscribers. They can be used by new subscribers looking for an interactive introduction to FDO's functionality and features or by veteran users in need of a refresher course. There are four guided tours available, one for each of FDO's four databases: Search Grantmakers, Search Companies, Search Grants, and Search 990s.

Half A Million 990s

FDO's Search 990s database reached an important milestone this week when it surpassed half a million keyword-searchable filings...527,297, to be exact. Many of our Professional subscribers have told us that our Search 990s feature is one of their favorites because of the wealth of information it provides access to.

All IRS 990s are scanned with Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology, enabling you to search the contents of every 990 filed by every foundation and grantmaking public charity simultaneously. Since a 990 must, by law, include a list of all grants made by a grantmaker during the fiscal year, the Search 990s tool is invaluable as a way to keyword-search across every grant made by every grantmaker. Yes, our Search Grants database includes over 1.3 million indexed grants, but only the Search 990s tool provides access to all of them.

2008 Grants

As I search FDO Professional today for grants authorized in 2008 [Search Grants Screen: Year Authorized = From: 2008], I find 10,313 individual awards. Wondering how this is possible, considering most foundations haven't even filed their 2008 990s yet?

It's possible because the Foundation Center doesn't rely solely on the IRS Form 990-PF to update the data in our Search Grants database. Our editorial team scours the Internet to collect data on recently awarded grants and many grantmakers even report their grants to us electronically. We understand that currency is important to grantseekers and we work hard to ensure that you can base your fundraising decisions on the most recent data available.

The Grantseeker's Guide to Winning Proposals

Sure to be of interest to FDO subscribers, The Grantseeker's Guide to Winning Proposals is now available from the Foundation Center. The Guide features 35 real-world proposals, printed in their entirety, that led to funding success for a variety of needs: general operating support, program development, staff salaries, program evaluation, and more.

Featured proposals contain funding requests from $5,000 to $500,000 that were approved by international grantmakers, such as the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation; large regional funders, including the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation; corporate donors, like the Mitsubishi Electric America Foundation; and various local foundations. The Guide also includes letters of inquiry, completed application forms, and budgets and each proposal is accompanied by a critique written by the program officer who awarded the grant.

The Grantseeker's Guide to Winning Proposals is $34.95 and shipping is free in August. Visit the Marketplace section of our web site for more information and to order a copy. If you're an annual or bi-annual FDO subscriber, the Guide is just $20.00 at FDO's Discount Book Mall. Look for the Book Mall link on the left side of the FDO Home Screen.