IFS Orientation

Welcome to the Illinois Funding Source Orientation: 

Welcome to the Illinois Funding Source Orientation This orientation will help you: Understand the scope of information contained in IFS Enhance your basic searching skills Learn how to move between GrantSource and FunderSource for more comprehensive results Apply sophisticated search techniques to improve your results Answer some FAQ’s

Overview - FunderSource: 

Overview - FunderSource Use this database when you want to: Find out which Illinois funders give different types of grants, e.g. operating or campaign support Identify funders active in your region Discover if a foundation has changed its giving guidelines or staff Double-check a foundation’s contact information #1: FunderSource A searchable database of over 3,000+ Illinois foundations Illinois Funding Source is made up of two searchable databases:

Overview – GrantSource: 

#2: GrantSource A searchable database of over 92,000 grants totaling $3.4 billion Use this database when you want to: Find out who is making grants to organizations with similar missions or service populations to yours Learn which funders are active in your neighborhood Gain insight into a foundation’s funding patterns, including purpose and amount of grants Gain an overview of funding trends in an area of relevance for you Overview – GrantSource

What’s the difference between FunderSource and GrantSource?: 

What’s the difference between FunderSource and GrantSource? What does this mean? It means that the information available to you in GrantSource is unique, nuanced and richer than any other grants information available. Funders themselves describe, categorize, and disclose information about the grants they have made. It also means that the data in GrantSource is limited and is not comprehensive of funders in Illinois. Thus, we strongly recommend that you conduct searches not only in GrantSource, but also in FunderSource when possible. It is important to understand that the number of foundations represented in FunderSource is over 2500, while the number of foundations represented in GrantSource is just over 100. FunderSource, includes information on all Illinois Foundations and Corporate Giving Programs the Donors Forum can collect data on. Information from FunderSource is collected from the Attorney General, tax records and from the grantmakers themselves. All GrantSource data comes directly from the grantmakers themselves.

Getting Started with Basic Searching: 

To begin searching in either FunderSource or GrantSource, simply use a term in any one of the search fields. Not sure which term is best for you? Click on the field to understand what they are about. For tips on which fields will best expedite your search, skip to IFS Search Strategies. Getting Started with Basic Searching

Pull Down vs. Text Fields: 

Pull-down menus are used when there is a list of terms (city names, support types, beneficiaries) that are common across foundations or grants.  To use a pull-down menu, you can either pull down the menu and scroll down until you find the name you are looking for or enter the first letter of the word you are looking for. The text fields (such as foundation name or grant recipient) operate differently.  Here you can put in a word or a part of a word, and the search engine will find all entries that contain that word or those letters.  NOTE: You can only select one item from a pull down menu at a time.  If the name or word you are looking for does not appear in the list, no records containing the term in that field are in the database. NOTE: putting in ‘art’ will return all entries that include art, such as: arts, smart, particle….etc. Pull Down vs. Text Fields

Boolean Operators: 

Within any text field where you are entering a word (such as recipient), you can use AND/OR logic to further refine your results. This means you can… Use a comma between words to signify OR Use quotation marks to search for a specific name or phrase Use a space between words to signify AND example: Chicago and Foundation will only return FunderSource results containing both those words, such as Chicago Foundation for Education example: Arts, Painting will return any GrantSource recipients with Arts (the Arts Group, Special Arts, Kid Smarts) or Painting (the Center for Painting) contained in the name example: Doing a GrantSource recipient search for “Health Center” will return the John Smith Health Center but not the Smith Center for Health. Boolean Operators

Less vs. More The Secret to Searching: 

Consider this… Using less fields and putting in very general criteria may result in a list of several hundred or even thousands of records.  Depending on your system, these may take your computer more time to process.  However, using more fields may or may not return good results.  Sometimes if criteria are too many, and therefore too narrow, there may not be any foundations or grants matching that description. We recommend starting with a couple of key fields and then narrowing your results by selecting “refine search” to add more criteria if too many results are returned. Too Many! This search yielded 0 results  Too Few! This search yielded 121 results  Less vs. More The Secret to Searching

Understanding your Results: 

Understanding your Results Whether you are working in FunderSource or GrantSource, your initial search will return a results page. In each database it is possible to click on individual results for more details about a foundation or grant.

See how it works…: 

See how it works… I am the artistic director of a dance company, looking to raise funds for our youth program. How do I get started? Begin by entering “dance” in the Area of Interest field in FunderSource by using the pull-down menu. This search should yield a list of 21 funders Click on each funder name to be taken to a detailed profile to learn a little bit more about these foundations, their type, size and application requirements

See how it works…: 

See how it works… I am the Development Director for a senior housing program in Rogers Park. We are undertaking a capital campaign to renovate our existing space. Where do I start? Begin your search in GrantSource by using the pull-down menus to enter “Aging, Elderly, Senior Citizen” in the Beneficiary field, and “Rogers Park” in the Geographic Area field This should yield a list of ten grants containing these criteria. Click on individual grants to learn more about which specific programs were funded NOTE: If you had also populated the Type of Support field with “Capital Campaign”, your search would have yielded 0 results. Remember – Less is More. You can always conduct another search using other criteria later.

Using GrantSource and FunderSource Together for Maximum Results: 

Using GrantSource and FunderSource Together for Maximum Results When using IFS, the service that includes both FunderSource and GrantSource, you have the capacity to move between the two databases to deepen and enrich your research…

Moving Between FunderSource & GrantSource: 

Going from GrantSource to FunderSource If you are looking at a grant detail page in GrantSource, and want to find out more about the foundation giving the grant, use the “See Foundation Details” button underneath the name of the foundation. Selecting this button will take you to FunderSource to that specific foundation’s profile. EVERY foundation in GrantSource (if it is still active and based in Illinois) has a corresponding grants list in FunderSource Moving Between FunderSource & GrantSource Going from FunderSource to GrantSource If the foundation profile you are looking at has grants in GrantSource, you will see a button saying “View Grant Listing” at the top of the profile. Selecting this button will take you to GrantSource to a complete list of grants made by the foundation in the last six years. NOT every foundation in FunderSource has a corresponding grants list in GrantSource.

Additional Tips for Moving Between Directories …: 

Additional Tips for Moving Between Directories … Selecting the “View Grants Listing” button will take you to a complete list of a particular foundation’s grants. To tailor this list of grants, use the “Refine Grants Search” button in the upper-right hand corner. Choosing this button will provide you with a new search screen in which the “Foundation Name” field is already populated. Enter the criteria most relevant for your search to see if the foundation has made grants in your area of interest. NOTE: You can always use the “Search Another Directory” button located in the upper right-hand corner of the screen to begin a new search in either database.

See how it works…: 

See how it works… Remember the artistic director and her search for funding? By now she has reviewed her list of 21 foundations, and has decided to investigate the CommonEnergy* corporate foundation and the Wells Family Trusts*. Here’s how she can use GrantSource to help her do that: Begin by clicking the “View Grant Listing” at the top of the CommonEnergy Profile. This takes her to a list of all the grants made by CommonEnergy. Select the “Refine Grant Search” and use the drop down menu to populate the “Purpose -- General” category with “Arts, Culture, Humanities” * Fictitious organizations

See how it works…: 

3. Populating this field will provide another screen containing the option to specify further using the “Purpose -- Specific” category. Enter “Dance” here. 4. The search yields 0 hits – an important finding. Although CommonEnergy includes dance in their funding areas of interest, they have not made any grants to dance programs in the last five years. 5. Trying the same search again in GrantSource using Wells Family Trusts, and “Dance” in the “Purpose – Specific” field, however, yields 39 grants. Click on specific grants to get more information. See how it works…

See how it works…: 

The GrantSource search yielded a list of grants, in which two funders – Senior Action Fund*, and the Smithson Foundation* – appear repeatedly Click on a grant made by the Smithson Foundation to see grant details, and select “See Funder Profile” to learn more about them. Here he learns that the Smithson Foundation does give grants for construction and renovation. He also discovers that they request a letter of inquiry before submitting a proposal. Use a letter of inquiry to find out if your organization would be a good fit with the funder. See how it works… How about the Development Director and his list of ten grants to organizations serving seniors in Rogers Park? How can he use FunderSource to enhance his findings? NOTE: Need to learn more about writing a letter of inquiry? Go to DFC’s Grantseekers Toolbox for tips on how to do this. Click the above link or visit www.donorsforum.org>resources * Fictitious organizations

IFS Search Strategies : 

IFS Search Strategies As noted in the dance program example, just because a foundation includes something in its “Area of Interest” category does not mean that it is a primary focus of the foundation. Try these targeted search strategies for better results… To zero in on foundations actively funding a topic, start by populating the “Area of Interest” field in FunderSource. Then, as a second step, trying putting the same term in the “Purpose” field of GrantSource. See which foundations from the previous results list appear here. Finally, try conducting multiple searches using related terms (i.e. affordable housing, homeless centers/services, housing shelter). This strategy works in several fields, in both FunderSource (“Area of Interest” and “Beneficiary”) and GrantSource (“Purpose” and “Beneficiary”) Aside from moving between directories, there are several other strategies you can apply to improve your results…

IFS Search Strategies - -Quick Searches: 

IFS Search Strategies - -Quick Searches FunderSource offers a number of Quick Searches for your convenience on the opening screen. These Quick Searches include: New Foundations - a list of foundations that have just recently incorporated, and Recently Updated Foundations - a list of foundations for which something has been updated in the database – e.g. guidelines, staff or contact information. Click on any one of these search buttons for a quick set of results.

See how it works…: 

See how it works… A few weeks have passed, and our artistic director is now ready to write her proposal to the Wells Family Trusts. Before writing, she opens FunderSource and runs a quick search for “Recently Updated Foundations”. Wells Family Trusts is on the list. Clicking on the name of the foundation for an updated profile provides the name of a new program officer overseeing arts and culture grants. She can now address her proposal to the right person. And now, when she is ready, she can begin another search in FunderSource using “Youth” in the Beneficiary category.

See how it works…: 

See how it works… Our Development Director wants to add to his list of campaign prospects. Last time he began his search by selecting “Aging, Elderly, Senior Citizen” in the Beneficiary field of GrantSource. This time he returns to GrantSource conducts a search with related terms in the Beneficiary field – “Female – Aging, Elderly, Senior Citizen”. He also tries selecting “Housing Development, Construction, Rehab” in the Purpose field. His search yields two additional grants from funders that he had not seen before. Now he can begin research on those foundations using FunderSource.

Frequently Asked Questions: 

Frequently Asked Questions I am getting a message that says “Maximum user limit (1) has been exceeded” but I know that no one else is currently using the program. If you close your internet browser, without clicking the Logout tab (located near the My Account tab), the system will hold your login for the next fifteen minutes. After this time has elapsed, you will be able to login successfully. Next time you use Illinois Funding Source, be sure to click Logout instead of simply closing your browser. I have forgotten my password, or the password I have isn’t working. Send an e-mail to ifs-support@donorsforum.org to get the help you need. How can I change my password or other details about me or my account? Use the My Account menu - available at the top and bottom of every screen to change your password or let us know about a new title or address.

Frequently Asked Questions: 

I am searching for a particular foundation that I know exists, and I cannot find it in FunderSource Check the spelling to make sure you have the spelling correct Verify that the “Accepts unsolicited proposals” box is deselected Notify us at ifs-support@donorsforum.org and we’ll research the foundation and see what we can find to add to the database. Try another search engine like Google or Guidestar to see if records exist there. I would like to see the grants that a specific foundation has made, but when I look, they are not in GrantSource. Check the drop down list of foundations included in GrantSource to see if the foundation is included in the database. If it is, select that foundation and you will be taken to the grants list If it is not, chances are that this foundation has not yet contributed its grants information to GrantSource. E-mail ifs-support@donorsforum.org to find out if the grants information is likely to be added to the database in the near future. Try another search engine like Google or Guidestar to see if records exist there. Frequently Asked Questions

Thank you for visiting IFS: 

Thank you for visiting IFS Do you have other questions about fundraising, or the research process? The Donors Forum of Chicago offers a variety of resources at: www.donorsforum.org. These include: Our Grantseekers Toolbox – an on-line resource that takes you step-by –step through the grant seeking process The opportunity to register for one of our many instructional workshops including, “The ABC’s of Proposal Writing” and “Dialogue with Donors” If you have other questions about the product, or any technical support needs, don’t hesitate to contact us at : ifs-support@donorsforum.org Close window and begin searching Return to the start of the IFS orientation