The FOUNDATION CENTER-CLEVELAND, was established in 1978 as one of the 6 field offices of the Foundation Center, an independent nonprofit organization based in New York City founded by FOUNDATIONS to inform the public about charitable nonprofits. Maintaining the Kent H. Smith Library and sponsoring workshops and classes for the interested public, the local facility has represented a valuable resource for foundations, individuals, and others involved in PHILANTHROPY. In the 1990s it has served almost 10,000 grantmakers and grantseekers per year; telephone requests and in-person visitors came from outside of Ohio as well as from the immediate area. Support has come from foundation grants (including support from the CLEVELAND FOUNDATION), the corporate community, and gifts from individuals, such as KENT HALE SMITH, whose donation helped furnish a new library for the center in the 1980s. The Kent H. Smith Library has maintained a special multimedia collection focused on information about foundations, fundraising, grantmaking, proposal preparation, and nonprofit management; it has included all publications of the Foundation Center.
In 1979 the Foundation Center-Cleveland began its annual Survey of Foundations, which has utilized foundation tax returns to list area corporate and independent foundations with their grantmaking amounts. In response to a rise in queries in 1985 and again in 1989, the center expanded its programming. Under Director Patricia Pasquale, it initiated Dialogue With Donors in 1985 and proposal writing workshops in 1989. Providing grantseekers the unique opportunity to interact with funders, the programs proved extremely popular. In 1995 the Foundation Center-Cleveland, directed by Mary Crehor, was located in the Hanna Bldg. at PLAYHOUSE SQUARE.
The Kent H. Smith Library, Foundation Center-Cleveland.