The Northwest Suburban Philanthropy Center is a partnership between the Donors Forum of Chicago and the Schaumburg Township District Library that makes available a wealth of research information to the nonprofit community. Though this self-help center, located in the Schaumburg Township District Library, is unable to do research for you, either by telephone or in person, library staff can guide you in doing your own research. Materials in the Philanthropy Center provide information on various aspects of fundraising including identifying and researching potential funding sources, proposal writing and nonprofit management. The majority of these resources are for nonprofit organizations seeking grants. Materials in the Philanthropy Center collection, for the most part, do not include information on scholarships, grants to individuals, or grants and loans for small business, although the Schaumburg Township District Library may have materials on these areas.

DIRECTORIES

Directory of Illinois Foundations.  R361.7 DIR.  A directory of the 2200 largest Illinois foundations, including independent, corporate and community foundations. Includes extensive profiles of 465 foundations and 29 corporate giving programs that make more than $50,000 in grants annually. Included in each entry is contact information, purpose of foundation, fields of funding, number of grants given, application procedure, limitations and deadlines, etc.

Giving in Illinois.  R361.7 GIV.   A comprehensive report on the state of philanthropy in Illinois, it examines grants data on 1,933 Illinois foundations, presents a detailed sample of 77 Chicago-area grantmakers, individual giving, as well as national trends.

Foundation Directory.  R361.7 FOU.  Provides information on over 8,000 U.S. grantmaking foundations that hold assets of at least $2 million or that award grants totaling $200,000 or more annually. Arranged by state and covers more than 200 specific subject areas.

Foundation Grants Index.  R361.7 FOU.   An annual index that provides comprehensive coverage of 72,000 grants, of at least $10,000, awarded by more than 1,000 foundations.

Corporate Giving Directory.  R361.765 COR.  Comprehensive profiles of the 1,000 largest corporate foundations and corporate charitable giving programs.

Corporate Foundation Profiles.  R361.765 COR.   An annual supplement to the National Directory of Corporate Giving (see below) contains data on nearly 235 grant makers who give at least $1.25 million annually.

National Directory of Corporate Giving.  R361.765 NAT.  Offers information on 1,950 company-sponsored foundations and more than 650 direct corporate giving programs which give grants and awards primarily to institutions and organizations.

Foundation Grants to Individuals.  R361.7 FOU.  Lists scholarships, fellowships, internships, general welfare, and travel awards available to individuals. Arranged by type of grant and then by state.

Grants Register.  R378.3 GRA.  Describes assistance available, from government agencies and organizations, for professional or advanced vocational training and for students above the graduate level. Scholarships, fellowships, research grants, grants-in-aid, artistic or scientific project grants, professional awards, and vocational awards are included.

Government Assistance Almanac.  R361.6 DUM.   An annual guide to more than 12,000 federal financial and other domestic assistance programs, includes coverage of grants, loans, fellowships, business assistance, loans, and scholarships for individuals as well as organizations. Purpose, type and amount of benefits available, eligibility requirements, application procedures, and contact information are provided for each program.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance.  R353.008 UNI.  A government-wide compendium of Federal programs, projects, services, and activities which provide assistance or benefits to the American public. It contains financial and non-financial assistance programs administered by departments and agencies of the Federal government and includes description, eligibility, deadlines, and award procedures.

National Directory of Nonprofit Organizations.  R361.765 NAT.   Provides contact information and annual incomes for more than 240,000 organizations. Indexed by geographic location and by the type of activities each organization supports. Volume 1 is limited to organizations with annual revenues of more than $100,000, and Volume 2 to smaller organizations with annual revenues between $25,000 and $99,000.

ELECTRONIC RESOURCES

Illinois Funding Source.  Fully searchable database produced by the Donors Forum of Chicago. It combines two databases, FoundationSource, a directory of more than 2,500 Illinois Foundations, and GrantSource, a database tracking $2.5 billion in grant dollars awarded by area funders.

Wealthengine.  This database can be used for prospect research and includes biographical and financial information compiled from Dun and Bradstreet, Marquis Who’s Who, Market Guide and Acxiom Corporation.

PROPOSAL WRITING AND NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT

The Foundation Center’s Guide to Proposal Writing.  R658.152444 GEE.  Provides guidance on every step and aspect of proposal preparation and follow-up.

Grant Your Wish: Learn From the Professionals How to Write a successful Grant Proposal.  VIDEO 361.7 GRA.  This video will give you valuable insights into the grant writing process — not only from the professionals who write them, but from the heads of foundations who approve them.

Grantseeker’s Answerbook.  361.7 FERGUSON.  Experts answer your questions on fundraising proposal writing, etc.

Duties and Responsibilities of Directors and Trustees of Illinois Private Foundations.  R361.76 CHE.  This handbook, aimed at the foundation officer, clarifies the often complex laws that affect private foundations and promotes responsible oversight of foundations.

How to Form a Nonprofit Corporation: With Forms.  346.064 WAR.  All the forms and instructions needed to start a nonprofit corporation.

Starting and Managing a Nonprofit Organization: A Legal Guide.  346.064 HOP.  A practical guide to nonprofit law including starting a nonprofit, taxes, fund raising, etc.

For additional materials check the library’s online catalog under: “foundations”, “nonprofit”, “grants”, “fund raising” or “proposal writing”.

WEBSITES

For more information on using the Internet to find grant information consult:

The Foundation Center’s Guide to Grantseeking on the Web.  R361.70285 FOU.  which provides assistance to both novice and experienced web users with numerous online resources available to grantseekers.

The Donors Forum.  (http://www.donorsforum.org).  The web site has information about local philanthropic trends and a link to the “Chicago Area Grant Application.” This site includes a list of upcoming Donors Forum seminars.

The Foundation Center.  (http://www.fdncenter.org).  Use the “Foundation Finder” to search for basic information about more than 60,000 private and community foundations in the U.S

GuideStar:.  (http://www.guidestar.org).  Includes a database of more than 700,000 U.S. nonprofit organizations.

GrantSmart:.  (http://www.grantsmart.org).  An interactive resource center for and about the nonprofit community with data about private foundation activities that may be of interest to grantseekers and philanthropic organizations.

Philanthropy News Network:.  (http://www.pnnonline.org).  Provides news of value to nonprofit organizations, as well as a marketplace for goods and services nonprofits need.

Nonprofit Guides:.  (http://www.npguides.org).  Features a grantwriting guide for private grantseeking, including sample inquiry letters, applications, budgets, etc.

NPO-NET:.  (http://www.npo.net).  Operated by the Information Technology Resource Center (ITRC), NPO-NET provides a comprehensive set of resources for Chicago-area nonprofits, including lists of upcoming seminars.