August 28, 2008  

MEDIA CONTACTS: Joan Ziemba
(703) 726-3651; jziemba@va.gwu.edu
Michelle Sherrard
(202) 994-1423; mcs1@gwu.edu

GW VIRGINIA CAMPUS OFFERS GRANT WRITERS FREE RESOURCES AND ACCESS TO NATIONAL GRANT DATABASE

Fundraising Tools and Resources Now Available to Local Nonprofit Organizations

ASHBURN, VA. - Grant writers in Loudoun County, Va., seeking additional resources and assistance now have access to the most comprehensive, searchable grant database on the Web, as well as many publications focused on grant proposals. The George Washington University Virginia Campus Library is housing one of the Foundation Center's Cooperating Collections, a funding information center that offers a variety of materials and services to grantseekers.

The Cooperating Collection at the Virginia Campus Library offers free access to the center's electronic resources, The Foundation Directory Online Professional and the Foundation Grants to Individuals Online, which provide detailed profiles of all active U.S. foundations and an extensive file of recent grants awarded by the nation's top funders. Additionally, the core print collection contains a complete and up-to-date selection of Foundation Center publications ranging from The Foundation Directory series, to books on proposal writing, funding for international and foreign programs, social justice grantmaking, and many more.

"The Cooperating Collection provides the Loudoun County community with the needed tools, training, and resources for fund-raising," says Donald R. Lehman, GW executive vice president for academic affairs. "GW has a major economic investment in the region, and the economic health of our nonprofit organizations is essential to meeting the demand for services in this fast growing community. Offering access to resources such as the Cooperating Collection is at the core of GW's corporate and community relations program in Virginia."
 
Kief Schladweiler, the Foundation Center's coordinator of Cooperating Collections, said, "We are delighted to have a new Cooperating Collection serving the needs of nonprofits in Loudoun County.  The George Washington University Virginia Campus is wellpositioned to offer assistance to grantseekers who need help finding funders to support their worthy endeavors.  We look forward to a long and fruitful partnership with the Virginia Campus Library."

The Foundation Center was established in 1956 and is supported by more than 600 foundations nationwide. The center maintains the most comprehensive database on U.S. grantmakers and their grants, and operates research, education, and training programs designed to advance philanthropy. With more than 340 Cooperating Collection sites, thousands of people gain access to free resources in its five regional library/learning centers and its national network of Cooperating Collections. 

The Virginia Campus Library, part of the GW's Gelman Library System, also provides supplementary grant writing materials, and librarians are available to introduce grantseekers to the system. The Virginia Campus Library is located on the first floor of Building 2, 44983 Knoll Square in Ashburn and is open from 9 a.m. - 5:30 p.m., Monday - Friday; and from 10 a.m. - 6 p.m. on Saturdays.  Guests must show a form of identification and sign in at the at the Building 2 lobby.

The GW Virginia Campus is the university's research and technology campus, with nearly a dozen research centers of excellence and laboratories, and offering more than 20 graduate degree programs and certificates. The 100-acre campus is located in the Dulles business and technology corridor at 20101 Academic Way in Ashburn, Va.

For more information about the Foundation Center Cooperating Collection, call the GW Virginia Campus Library at (703) 726-8230.
For more news about The George Washington University, visit the GW News Center at www.gwnewscenter.org.

-GW-