Southeastern to open Center for Funding Research
Press Release Date: 06-22-2009
DURANT, Okla. – Southeastern Oklahoma State University's Center for Funding Research will officially open its doors on July 1.
Located on the third floor of the Henry G. Bennett Memorial Library, the Center offers free assistance to nonprofit organizations and other grant seekers. Primary users will be local, but the center is open to everyone.
Fund seekers will now have access to a valuable new collection of resources at Southeastern, which has become a Cooperating Collection of the Foundation Center of New York.
Cooperating Collections provide nonprofits and underserved populations in need of vital information and training with tools they can use to become successful grant seekers.
Kathryn Plunkett, SE's Digital Information Literacy Librarian and also the Collection Supervisor, is available onsite for general guidance, as well as tips for effective search techniques.
Plunkett said, "The Southeastern Center for Funding Research is one of only four Cooperating Collections in Oklahoma. The other three are in Tulsa, Enid and Oklahoma City. The closest Cooperating Collections in Texas are in Dallas, Arlington and Tyler.
"We are offering these resources at a time of great need and our mission is to help nonprofits and individuals find the funds they need to continue their essential work in the community."
Seminars are scheduled for late 2009 to explore the effective use of the Foundation Center's database.
The Foundation Center's core collection includes The Foundation Directory Online Professional, profiling more than 95,000 U.S. grant makers and Foundation Grants to Individuals Online, print directories and proposal-writing guides.
The Foundation Directory Online Professional is the comprehensive database of U.S. Funders and their grants. The free online Foundation Finder provides basic information on grant makers.
Trend Tracker creates financial charts, graphs and tables on the top 20,000 foundations and 990 Finder provides access to more than one million Forms 990 or 990-PF. Foundation Grants to Individuals Online outlines programs that fund individual grant seekers.
Paul Buntz, former Durant City Manager, is now a grant writer for Southeastern's Department of University Advancement.
Buntz said, "Every time I use the Foundation Research Center, I learn something new. It is an excellent resource to find foundations that are looking for projects to fund that match up with your funding needs. It is also a tremendous time saver to quickly pinpoint which foundations are the best prospects for your geographic area and funding category."
"The Southeastern library staff is very helpful to get you the resources you need and assist you in your search."