Grant & Foundation Information

VU is a Foundation Center library which gives us access to the Foundation (Center) Directory Online database (only available in the Christopher Center) and all of the Foundation Center books. Community members are welcome to come in to use this collection!

Getting Started

A library reference room can be a good place to find expert sources of quick information. Encyclopedias, dictionaries and guides offer concise information in a variety of subjects. These are examples of a few of the resources found in our reference room; the same titles might also be found in another library. You will find the same subject areas in the library general stacks following the same call number system.

Corporate foundation profiles. Ref HV89 .C68.
The Foundation 1000. Ref HV97.F65 F67.
The Foundation Center's guide to grantseeking on the web. Ref HV41.2 .F68.
The Foundation directory. Ref AS911.A2 F65
The Foundation directory. Part 2, a Guide to grant programs, $25,000-$100,000. Ref AS911.A2 F652.
The Foundation directory. Supplement. Ref AS911.A2 F653.
Foundation fundamentals.Ref HV41.9.U5 F68.
Foundation giving trends: update on funding priorities. Ref HV85 .F678.
Foundation grants to individuals. Ref LB2336 .F598.
Foundation growth and giving estimates: ... preview. Ref HV85 .F674.
Foundation yearbook: facts and figures on private and community foundations. Ref HV85 .F684.
Guide to funding for international and foreign programs. Ref AS8 .G85.
Guide to U.S. foundations, their trustees, officers, and donors. (3 v.) Ref HV97.A3 G84.
National directory of corporate giving. Ref HV89 .N26.
National guide to funding for libraries and information services. Ref Z683.2.U6 N38.
National guide to funding for the environment and animal welfare. Ref GE20 .N38.
National guide to funding in aging. Ref HV1461 .W42 1992.
National guide to funding in AIDS. Ref RA643.83 .N38.
National guide to funding in arts and culture. Ref NX396.6 .N385.
National guide to funding in health. Ref R853.R46 N38.
National guide to funding in higher education. v LB2336 .N37.
National guide to funding in religion. Ref HV89 .N28.

Finding Journal & Magazine Articles

Some indexes and databases will provide the full-text of articles online; others offer only a citation and/or abstract of the article. If the database you're using doesn't provide the full-text of an article, first check JournaLocator to see if it is available online in another database or in Christopher Center's in-house collection. Still wondering what to do? Go to Quick Tips: Searching for Articles.

Subject Headings and Controlled Vocabularies
Use these for subject searches, the "authoritative" words or phrases used to categorize information in a specific discipline.

Business Source Premier      For community members off campus, click here.

Corporate Resouce Net      For community members off campus, click here.

Foundation (Center) Directory Online      Access available ONLY from Christopher Center

MasterFile Premier      For community members off campus, click here.

ABI Inform

Finding Books

For finding resources in Christopher Center and other libraries, construct keyword & subject searches. A good strategy is to do a keyword search first, using words that you think might be in the title or content notes. When you find a resource that looks worthwhile, see what subject headings are used to categorize that item and use them to do subject searches.

Searches in GALILEO will display what resources VU owns in those areas. To check for items in other libraries in your area, perform those same searches in WorldCat, an online index of library holdings worldwide.

Need a borrower's card? Go to Affiliated Borrower's Lending Policy.

Subject Headings and Controlled Vocabularies
Use these for subject searches, the "authoritative" words or phrases used to categorize information in a specific discipline. For GALILEO, VU's online catalog, use Library of Congress Subject Headings, found in the big red books located near the Reference Desk. WorldCat also uses these headings.

Nonprofit organizations -- Finance
Nonprofit organizations -- Management
Charitable uses, trusts, and foundations -- United States
Proposal writing for grants
Fund raising - United States

Galileo: VU's online catalog

WorldCat      For community members, click here and scroll to bottom of page.

Porter County Public Library Catalog

Lake County Public Library Catalog

Michigan City Public Library Catalog

InCat (all Indiana libraries)

Finding Internet Resources

The Internet is a very useful resource, but it can be frustrating to use if you don't know where to look for quality information, or to learn if the information you have found is accurate and true. To begin, use Internet sites that your program and Christopher Center have chosen. Those sites have been checked for the accuracy of their information.

If you still question the information, ask a librarian, or use the Christopher Center guide, Evaluating the Quality of World Wide Web Resources, to help you evaluate various web sites.

For quick access to the seven primary evaluative criteria, go to the Web Evaluation Criteria section.

Selected Web Links

Foundation Directory Online http://fconline.fdncenter.org/ipl.pl Access restricted to Christopher Center only

Foundation Center http://fdncenter.org
The Council on Foundations http://www.cof.org
Alliance for Nonprofit Management http://www.allianceonline.org
Idealist: Tools for Nonprofits http://www.idealist.org/tools/index.html
National Council of Nonprofit Associations http://www.ncna.org
Society for Nonprofits http://www.danenet.org/snpo/
Free Management Library http://www.managementhelp.org/
MAP for Nonprofits http://www.mapfornonprofits.org/
New Media for Nonprofits (developing an online presence for nonprofits) http://www.fornonprofits.com/home.php
Nonprofit Good Practice Guide http://www.npgoodpractice.org/
Development Resources on the Internet (from Association of Gospel Rescue Missions) http://www.agrm.org/dev-trak/links.html
Grants.gov http://www.grants.gov/
Firstgov.gov for Nonprofits
http://www.firstgov.gov/Business/Nonprofit.shtml
Government Benefits, Grants and Financial Aid http://www.firstgov.gov/Citizen/Topics/Benefits.shtml
Yahoo: Nonprofit Resources http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Issues_and_Causes/Philanthropy/Nonprofit_Resources/

Final Writing & Presentation

Foundation Center's guide to proposal writing. REF HG177.5.U6 G44. Also on Internet
http://fdncenter.org/getstarted/tutorials/shortcourse/index.html

Guia para escribir propuestas. (Foundation Center's guide to proposal writing. Spanish.) HG177.5.U6 G4418.
Foundation Center's guide to winning proposals. HV41.9.U5 F67.
Foundation Center's guide to winning proposals II. REF HV41.9.U5 F67.
Proposal planning and writing. REF HG177.5.U6 M56 1998
The "how to" grants manual : successful grantseeking techniques for obtaining public and private grants. HG177 .B38 2003
How to write a grant proposal. HG177 .N49 2003

Developing and Writing Grant Proposals.
(from Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance)
http://12.46.245.173/pls/portal30/CATALOG.GRANT_PROPOSAL_DYN.show

Contact Librarian for help:

Prof. Becky Byrum [info]

Search Strategies

--Keyword Searching
 
--Advanced Keyword Searching
 
--Subject Searching  

Additional Resources

--Interlibrary Loan

--Writing Center

--Library User Guides
 
--Call Numbers: Locating Library Materials
 
--Scholarly Journals

--Library FAQs: How Do I...?

--Library Lingo: Terminology