Library
Services
The Donors Forum Library is the Midwest's
largest collection of resources on philanthropy, nonprofit
management and fundraising. A cooperating collection of The
Foundation Center, the Library holds more than 3,000 volumes
focused on grantmaking, fundraising and nonprofit management
in the Chicago area and throughout the United States.
About
the Collection
The Library's collection includes:
- extensive materials on proposal
writing, fundraising, board governance and all aspects of
nonprofit management
- private and corporate foundation
directories
- grants lists
- foundation annual reports
- giving guidelines
- periodicals on philanthropy and
nonprofit management (see
our current list of holdings)
- grantmaker files, including
press releases, application guidelines, newsletters and
press clippings
- videotapes about nonprofit organizations,
grantmaking and fundraising
- access to databases
that can help with fundraising
- a job binder containing open positions
in nonprofit organizations
Library materials do not circulate.
You may make photocopies of any information you wish. A small
selection of popular materials is for sale.
Online
Library Catalog
Donors Forum offers an online, searchable
database of the Library’s collection. Because Library
materials do not circulate, we provide call number and location
information for all search results so you can find the resource
during your next visit. The Library uses a modified Library
of Congress classification scheme. Click
here to begin your search.
Other
Collections
The Literature
of the Nonprofit Sector is the Foundation Center's searchable
bibliography of selected literature, including articles with
abstracts held by the Donors Forum Library and other libraries.
Researchers seeking older historical
foundation materials should contact Indiana
University-Purdue University Indianapolis, which houses
the Ruth Lilly Special Collections and Archives and the Joseph
and Matthew Payton Philanthropic Studies Library, or the Chicago
History Museum.
Preserving
the Public Trust Initiative Annotated Bibliography
This bibliography
supports the Preserving
the Public Trust Initiative which is designed to help
nonprofit organizations - including grantmakers - take specific,
concrete steps to ensure adherence to high ethical standards
and strong governance principles. All titles are available
in the Donors Forum Library.
Resources
for Individuals
Because relatively few foundations fund
individual grantseekers directly, most of the materials in
the library relate to the information needs of representatives
of nonprofit organizations. If
you are looking for grants as an individual, we recommend
you review that section of in the Grantseekers
Toolbox to get started.
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New
Arrivals
Here's a sampling of the latest books we've added
to our collection (as of April 23, 2008):
Effective Foundation
Management: 14 Challenges of Philanthropy Leadership –
and How to Outfox Them by Joel J. Orosz (AltaMira
Press, 2007).
Lists 14 challenges and dilemmas of managing foundations.
Some of the challenges discussed include best practices, cohesion
between board and staff, strategic planning, and employment
training.
Event Sponsorship
by Bruce E. Skinner and Vladimir Rukavina (Wiley, 2003).
Comprehensive guide provides successful strategies and step-by-step
guidelines for obtaining and retaining sponsorship for a major
event. Covers legal issues, the benefits of sponsorship, negotiating
the deal as well as creating a positive image of the event.
Fearless Fundraising:
For Nonprofit Boards by Worth George (BoardSource,
2003).
Revised edition written for board members and nonprofit executives.
Discusses donor motivations for giving (and not giving), motivation
tools, and overcoming the fear of asking. Includes fundraising
development worksheet.
Guide to Nonprofit
Corporate Governance in the Wake of Sarbanes-Oxley by
the ABA Coordinating Committee on Nonprofit Governance (ABA,
2005).
Discusses how Sarbanes-Oxley affects nonprofit governance
and 10 governance principles that have emerged from the Sarbanes-Oxley
Act.
Handbook on Counter-Terrorism
Measures: What U.S. Nonprofits and Grantmakers Need to Know
report from the Independent Sector, InterAction, Council on
Foundations and the Day, Berry & Howard Foundation (2004).
Managing Conflicts
of Interest: A Primer for Nonprofit Boards by Daniel
L. Kurtz and Sarah E. Paul (BoardSource, 2006).
Covers recent state and federal laws on conflicts of interest
and creating a conflict-of-interest policy. Argues for the
need for disclosure, responding to existing conflicts and
describes situations that give rise to conflicts of interest.
Also addresses considerations for private foundations when
dealing with conflicts of interest.
Moving Beyond Founder’s
Syndrome to Nonprofit Success by Thomas A. McLauglin
and Addie Nelson Backlund (BoardSource, 2008).
Written for both founders and board members during or before
a troubled time. Provides case studies and narratives written
for both audiences to help repair or improve the relationship
with each other.
New in the Member Resource File in the library:
Racial, Ethnic and Tribal Philanthropy:
A Scan of the Landscape report by the Forum of
Regional Associations of Grantmakers (November 2006).
Planned Giving: A
Board Member’s Perspective by Grant Thornton,
LLP (BoardSource, 2003).
Clarifies the difference between present and deferred gifts.
Discusses bequests, charitable remainder trusts, charitable
lead trusts and reflecting these gifts in the organization’s
financial statements.
The Donors Forum Library has received the
latest edition of The Wise Giving
Guide (a publication of the BBB Wise Giving Alliance).
This lists national soliciting charities and indicates if
they have met the BBB Wise Giving Alliance’s standards
for charity accountability.
Grantmaker
Services
The Library serves
grantmakers with reference materials on such topics as:
- grant administration
- foundation management
- giving statistics
- benchmarking
- sample documents
- policies, practices and procedures of
foundations
- establishing a foundation
- charitable vehicles
Grantmakers can also use the Library to find:
- other grantmakers who share the same funding
interests
- which grantmakers are investing in the
same community
- demographic and socioeconomic data and
indicators
The Library staff can help our grantmaking
Members with research and reference questions. E-mail us at
info@donorsforum.org
today with your question. We're happy to help! If you are
a grantmaker who is not a Member, consider joining
the Donors Forum to take advantage of this benefit.
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Library
Orientations
Learn how to use the Library's extensive
collection to get the information you need. A free Library
orientation, explaining the process of locating potential
private donors for your organization and how to use library
resources, is offered every
other Tuesday at noon.
Reservations are necessary. Call (312)
578-0175, or send an e-mail (including your name, organization,
address, phone number and e-mail address) to info@donorsforum.org.
For an online tutorial on the grants
research process, go to the Grantseekers
Toolbox. This Donors Forum's web resource is a valuable
step-by-step guide to the grantseeking process.
A video
orientation for the Library is also available.
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Fundraising
Journey Video
"The Fundraising
Journey" is a video that introduces the basic concepts
of prospect research and how to use the resources of the Donors
Forum Library.
You can watch the video online now. The video
is available in two formats:
This video orientation is also available
for viewing at any time in the Library.
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Free
Access to Databases
The Library provides free
access to a number of electronic fundraising directories.
- Illinois
Funding Source: The Donors Forum's online searchable
database combines FunderSource (directory of more than 3,000
foundations) and GrantSource (records of $3.2 billion in
grants from local funders). Visit the Library to search
IFS for free, or subscribe
today and search from the comfort of your home or office.
IFS is available by subscription only and is not a benefit
of Forum Partnership.
- FC Search: A searchable CD-ROM from the
Foundation Center of US foundation and corporate giving
programs. Includes grants data and links to foundation web
sites.
- WealthEngine:
A searchable database on individual giving. Includes name
and charitable contributions of potential prospects.
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Ask
a Librarian
The Donors Forum is a
membership association and all categories of membership receive
special benefits. The Library staff can help Members, Associate
Members and Forum Partners with research and reference questions,
benchmarking data, grant proposals guidance and more. E-mail
us at info@donorsforum.org
today with your question. We're happy to help!
If you are not a Member, Associate Member
or Forum Partner and have reference questions, consider joining
the Donors Forum to receive reference help, or visit the
Donors Forum of Chicago Library or Philanthropy Centers.
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Library Services
We offer a number of services
to Library patrons:
Photocopying
Equipment for photocopying from paper
and microfiche materials is available at the library. Visitors
may also print from the library's public computers. Nominal
fees are charged for copying materials: 20 cents per page
for photocopies and computer printing and 35 cents per page
for microfiche copies.
Library visitors: Please observe federal
laws about unauthorized duplication of copyrighted materials
and software.
Public
Computers
Visitors have free access to a number
of electronic fundraising
databases and the Internet at the Library workstations.
There are also word processing or spreadsheet programs on
Library computers.
To download information, you will need to
buy a diskette in our bookstore for $1.00. This fee helps
cover the cost of the databases to make them available to
the public and protect the network from viruses. Downloaded
records are saved in ASCII or text format, which can be converted
by most IBM-compatible word processing software.
Services
to People with Disabilities
To ensure that everyone has equitable
access to our library resources, the Donors Forum is committed
to providing services to people with disabilities. These services
include the wheelchair-accessible reference desk and computer
workstations and a CCTV magnifier for the visually impaired.
Feel free to contact us to let us know of your special needs
before you visit.
Book
Sales
Donors Forum publications, including
Giving in Illinois and the Directory of Illinois
Foundations, can be purchased in person at the Donors
Forum Library. Or
buy publications online.
Interlibrary
Loan
With very rare exceptions, the library
does not lend out its materials, nor do we participate in
interlibrary loan programs.
Media
The Donors Forum can help reporters
find statistics about philanthropy and nonprofits as well
as contact experts in the field. Please contact Marilou Jones,
communications manager, at mjones@donorsforum.org
or (312) 327-8942. Other resources for media are located in
the Press
Room.
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Jobs
at Nonprofits
The Donors Forum Library collects information
on employment opportunities available at Member and Forum
Partner organizations (foundations and nonprofits) throughout
the Chicago area. These job listings are collected in a binder
and are available for review during regular Library
hours.
For more nonprofit job listings, see
our Nonprofit
Employment Opportunities page.
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Group
Training
Do you
have specific needs for your organization or group? The Library
can help!
Group
Library Visits
The Donors Forum welcomes group visits
to our library. We often host educational and non-educational
groups, including: undergraduate or graduate students learning
about the nonprofit sector (especially fund development) as
it relates to foundations, corporate giving and other private
funders; or groups of international visitors being hosted
by other organizations, as part of their training.
Our staff trainers can talk about funding
research and how to use the library, or we can tailor a presentation
to your specific interests.
If your group has 10 or fewer people, consider
attending a regularly scheduled orientation. If you have a
group of at least 15 people, please contact the Library's
reference librarian at info@donorsforum.org
or (312) 578-0175 to discuss your group's training needs.
Outreach
Program
Can't come to us? We occasionally give
off-site presentations on various fundraising and proposal
writing topics. Outreach programs are generally conducted
during normal business hours, Monday through Friday 9 a.m.-5
p.m.
Contact us about outreach programs if you
are:
- working for a nonprofit organization
or government agency serving the Chicago area
- planning a meeting or event for
25 or more
- looking for information on foundation
and corporate fundraising
- representing a constituency that
is new, grassroots or under-served
We may charge a modest honorarium for
groups that do not fit the above criteria.
We are also happy to participate in panel
discussions with funders or technical assistance providers
on-site and off-site at conferences run by other organizations
in our areas of expertise. We give priority to groups that
serve community-based organizations and other under-resourced
groups.
For more information, contact the Library
at (312) 578-0175 or info@donorsforum.org.
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Other
Resources for Nonprofits
We offer many resources for nonprofit
organizations:
Workshops
The Donors Forum Library sponsors
many opportunities for staff, trustees and volunteers of nonprofit
organizations to learn about the basics of fund development,
nonprofit management and to educate themselves about foundations
and corporate giving programs in the Chicago area. For descriptions
of these workshops and to register, click
here.
Forum
Partners Program
Gain access to critical programs, services and networking
opportunities that will help your organization fulfill its
mission by becoming a Forum Partner. Benefits for Partners
include a 20 percent discount on publications and workshops,
telephone reference assistance, a subscription to the monthly
newsletter Forumnotes and more. Learn
more about the Forum Partners program.
Grantseekers
Toolbox
Check out this one-stop resource if you have questions about
nonprofit fundraising. Does your organization qualify for
grants? How do you find the right funder for your program?
How do you approach funders and make the ask? Visit the Grantseekers
Toolbox to find the answers.
Philanthropy
Centers
Resources are not only available at the Donors Forum Library
in downtown Chicago, but can be easily accessed at our five
Philanthropy Centers. Learn
more about their locations, collections
and orientations.
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