UCLA EXTENSION

THE ART OF FUND RAISING
Spring 2001

Thursday, May 17, 2001

RESEARCHING FOUNDATION AND CORPORATE GIVING PROGRAMS

Presented by

Nancy Ellis Taylor
Associate Director/Development Research
University of Southern California
netaylor@usc.edu

Session URL: http://www.usc.edu/dept/source/Presentations.htm


I. Development Research -- The Basics

A. Why am I here?
And the answer is: To find the 3Cs
            1. CONNECTION to my organization
            ex. Previous donors? Shared Board members?

            2. CARING for my organization
            ex. Have they made gifts to similar groups? Do they give in my
            area?

            3. CAPACITY to give to my organization
            ex. What's their largest single annual gift? What are their assets?

B. How do I get started?
And the answer is: Always review in-house resources

ex. computer database; paper files; institutional memory
(ask around!)
II. Grant-Making Foundations: They're in the business of giving out money
A. What information should I collect?

Sample Research Report Form
http://www.usc.edu/source/FdnForm.html

B. What are the best sources?

#1 MUST-HAVE ITEM:

The Foundation Center Directory or FCSearch CD-ROM version
http://fdncenter.org

Top Freebie Web Sites:

GuideStar
http://www.guidestar.org/
Searchable database of 700,000+ charitable groups 990PF filings

The Foundation Center
http://lnp.fdncenter.org/finder.html
Quick foundation look ups and an additional 990PF source

USC Development Research Power Tools
http://www.usc.edu/dept/source/DevResTool.htm

III. Corporate Foundations & Corporate Sponsorships: They're in the business to make money
A.  What information should I collect?

Sample Research Report Form
http://www.usc.edu/source/CorpForm.html

B. Corporate Foundations vs. Sponsorship vs. Direct Giving

1. Foundations: philanthropic, regional, good citizen image

2. Sponsorship: marketing/event driven, nationwide, corporate image

3. Direct Giving: philanthropic or marketing, regional, CEO image

C. What are the best sources?

#1 MUST-HAVE ITEM:

Taft Corporate Giving Directory
http://www.taftgroup.com/taft/cgd.html

#1 Really Should Have If You Can Afford It

IEG Sponsorship Report
http://www.sponsorship.com/products/products.html

Top Freebie Web Sites:

Hoover's Online Company Capsules
http://www.hoovers.com/
Company descriptions, links to bios, proxies, Web site, subsidiaries

Corporate Grantmakers on the Internet
http://fdncenter.org/grantmaker/corp.html
From the Foundation Center; collection of direct links to company giving info

Additional Important For-Fee Resources:

Advertising Age (or similar publications)
http://adage.com/index.html

Book of Lists/Los Angeles Business Journal
Comes with subscription; lists top companies in a variety of categories
http://www.labusinessjournal.com/

Corporate Giving Watch
http://www.taftgroup.com/

Dun & Bradstreet
Important for finding private companies & great for creating lists of prospects
http://www.dnb.com

Southern California Business Directory
Lists local businesses by categories; another good source for subsidiaries
Database Publishing Co.
(714) 778-6400

IV. Super-Bonus Resource: Your Public Library

   Los Angeles Public Library
        http://www.lapl.org