Collection ID: FA023

Collection context

Summary

Creator:
Foundation Center
Extent:
1.92 Cubic Feet and 173 microfilm reels, 1 half-letter document box, 40 bound volumes
Language:
English .

Background

Scope and Content:

The records of the Foundation Center span the years 1922-2004, with the majority of the records dating from the mid-1950s, when the Center was created, to the early 1990s. Most of the material prior to 1956 comes from F. Emerson Andrews, the first president of the Foundation Center. Prior to 1956, Andrews had worked at the Russell Sage Foundation, and much of the correspondence relating to the Foundation Center was addressed to him there.

Containing correspondence, annual reports, financial records, publications, clippings, and a large collection of organizational pamphlets, the collection reveals the history of the Foundation Center and its projects, including fund-raising programs, the directories, "Foundation News," and various seminars in technology and other areas of interest. It also provides a history of governmental influence and tax reform in relation to non-profit organizations. The collection contains manuscripts and articles by F. Emerson Andrews on the world of philanthropic organizations, including his book "The Foundation Watcher." It also includes photographs, a Foundation Center video entitled "Foundations: The People and The Money," a scrapbook containing articles on the Congressional tax reform hearings, and transcripts from these hearings.

The Foundation Center collection exists on 173 reels of 35mm preservation standard microfilm.

Biographical / Historical:

The Foundation Center was created in 1956 by foundation leaders who felt the need for an independent organization that would collect and make available information about philanthropic and non-profit organizations in the United States and throughout the world. On May 25, 1956, the Foundation Library Center was incorporated as an educational institution under the authority of the New York State Board of Regents. The Center was to gather comprehensive information about foundations, stimulate reporting and accountability where it did not yet exist, and provide "a convenient place where any person may find accurate information about foundations."

F. Emerson Andrews, long-time president of the Russell Sage Foundation, was the first president of the Foundation Center, serving from 1956-1966. He wrote extensively on the topic of philanthropic and non-profit organizations and was a strong advocate for a central information-collecting agency. He was succeeded by Manning M. Pattillo (1967-1970), Thomas R. Buckman (1971-1991), and Sara Engelhardt (1992-2008).

The books, reports, and files of the Russell Sage Foundation formed a core collection of the Foundation Library Center. The Center also purchased photographic transcripts of financial and other data on approximately 7,000 organizations, and it solicited complete annual reports files where they existed. The library opened to the public in late 1956. In 1960, the Center published its first Foundation Directory.

In 1968, the Foundation Library Center changed its name to the Foundation Center. For further information see its website, http://foundationcenter.org, and its publication "Philanthropy in the 21st Century: The Foundation Center's 50th Anniversary Interviews."

Arrangement:

The records are divided into five series:

Series 1 - Administrative Files (1922-2004)

Series 2 - Program and Project Files (1924-1999)

Series 3 - Non-Related Foundation Center Files (1947-1990)

Series 4 - Foundation Center Annual Reports (1956-2007)

Series 5 - Separated Materials.

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

Microfilm user copies are open or research.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

Reproduction/duplication of archival items is routinely provided in accordance with "fair use." If the RAC does not hold copyright for an archival collection, or items within a collection, it is the user's responsibility to contact the copyright holder, or make a fair effort to do so, prior to publication.

LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
15 Dayton Avenue
Sleepy Hollow, NY 10591, United States
CONTACT: