Eye on FDO

Online Communications

Do you use Twitter? YouTube? Facebook? Well, a lot of foundations do, and we've recognized this by adding a new Online Communications section to FDO's grantmaker profiles. We've been collecting this information for some time now, and it's previously appeared in the Additional Contact Information section, but now it has a home of its own. Look for the new Online Communications section, listing and linking to a foundation's presence on everything from MySpace to Flickr to Second Life, near the top of selected grantmaker profiles.

Guided Tours

Our Foundation Directory Online guided tours are getting a new look...and a new sound! When you visit FDO's guided tours page, you'll see a link to a new version of our Search Grantmakers guided tour that contains audio narration. Soon, we'll also be updating our three other guided tours: Search Companies, Search Grants, and Search 990s. In the meantime, we're still providing access to our four point-and-click classic versions.

As I've mentioned in the past, these are the same tours 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 introduction to FDO's functionality and features or by veteran users in need of a refresher course.

FDO Talk

Back in April, I mentioned that the headline of my most recent blog entry was now appearing on the left side of the FDO Home Screen in the blue Eye on FDO box. You'll notice that we're now displaying the headline of the most recent post to FDO's message board, too. Look for it in the blue FDO Talk box, directly underneath the box for Eye on FDO. So, the next time you log in to FDO, take a peek at what people are talking about. If it's a subject you're interested in, click on the headline to go directly to the latest post and join the discussion.

While I'm on the subject of FDO Talk, I'll remind you that our message board is a great way to connect, communicate, and network with other Foundation Directory Online subscribers. Feel free to ask for advice, share a favorite strategy, or just keep up with the latest dialog. As with most message boards, you can initiate new conversations or participate in ongoing ones. You can also search several years worth of message board posts by keyword or key phrase. Check out FDO Talk today. Your fellow grantseekers will be happy to hear from you.

Dog Photos

Thanks to everyone who submitted a photo for our Foundation Directory Online Grantseeker's Best Friend Photo Contest. On the FDO Home Page, you'll now see a small slideshow featuring all the photos we've received. To see a larger version of the slideshow, click the View Larger link.

If you haven't yet entered the contest, there's still time to do so. Please e-mail one photo of your dog to dogphotos@foundationcenter.org and include your name, your organization's name, and your dog's name. We'll add your photo to the slideshow and at the conclusion of the submission period FDO users will vote for their favorites. The owner of the winning dog will receive a free, one-month extension of their current Foundation Directory Online subscription.

Again, thanks for all the great photos! Be sure to check out the slideshow and stay tuned to find out when and how to vote.

Keep Current to Keep Current

As you know, Eye on FDO was designed to keep you current on everything FDO. But fulfilling this mission means that you need to keep current on Eye on FDO itself. Ironic, isn't it?

Happily, keeping tabs on Eye on FDO is now easier than ever. Want to receive my latest posts via e-mail? Now you can. Subscribe to this blog's feed by entering your e-mail address in the box at the top of the left-hand margin. We've also made it easy to subscribe with your favorite feed reader, such as Google Reader or FeedDemon. Just click the "Subscribe in a reader" link, also in the left-hand margin. Finally, you'll notice that the headline of my most recent blog entry now appears on the left side of the FDO Home Screen in the blue Eye on FDO box. Click on the headline to go directly to the latest post.

Archived Webinars

We've posted a recording of a new version of our "Unique Benefits of FDO Professional" webinar to the Archived Webinars section of the FDO Home Screen. This update includes a section on our recently introduced FDO Alerts feature. Be sure to set aside some time (60 minutes, to be exact) to find out how Professional can help you get more of the grants you need now!

Selected Grants, and More...

You've probably noticed the lists of up to ten selected grants that appear at the bottom of FDO's grantmaker profiles for those foundations with total giving of at least $100,000. But did you know that these samples represent just the tip of the iceberg? Plus, Premium, Platinum, and Professional subscribers can search FDO's grants database by grantmaker name to view thousands of additional awards. In all, our grants database contains detailed descriptions of over 1.5 million recent grants.

To provide easy access to the Search Grants Screen for Plus, Premium, Platinum, and Professional subscribers, we've added a link at the bottom of every selected grants list. Professional subscribers can also access the Grantmaker-Specific Search Grants Screen by clicking the Search Grants tab at the top of a grantmaker record. Still a Basic subscriber? To gain immediate access to our grants database, log in to FDO and click the Upgrade Subscription link in the menu on the left side of the screen.

Exporting Tool Enhancement

I have great news for those of you who use FDO's exporting tool: your spreadsheet file will now contain complete contact and address information when you export data from a grantmaker search results list. In all, up to nine new data fields will appear in addition to the original five, grantmaker name, city, state, total giving, and total assets.

As with the funder-specific alert service that we added to FDO earlier in the week, this enhancement was also a frequent subscriber request. In the interest of serving you better, we're pleased to oblige.

Economic Crisis Grants

The Foundation Center is actively collecting data from a variety of sources on grants made in support of those affected by the current economic crisis. As part of this effort, we've added a new "Economic crisis" index entry for the Subjects search field in FDO's Search Grants database. Subscribers to our Plus, Premium, Platinum, and Professional plans can use this search term to identify these recently awarded grants related to the downturn. Each grant record will include details on the recipient receiving the grant, the grantmaker awarding the grant, the amount and duration of the grant, and the purpose of the grant, include food assistance, employment services, health care, and housing and shelter.

Are you aware of an economic crisis-related grant that's not in FDO? Send an e-mail to mr@foundationcenter.org and let us know.

Printing, Saving, and Exporting

Today, a quick reminder for those who use the printing, saving, and exporting tools on FDO's search results screens: if you've selected any records, remember to extract your data before navigating away from the page. This is especially important to remember when your search returns more than one page of results; your record selections won't be preserved if you click a navigation link at the bottom of the page and return again later.

We've added a short reminder message about this at the bottom of the screen when multiple pages are returned.