Association of Fundraising Professionals (www.afpnet.org)The Association of Fundraising Professional (AFP) represents nearly 28,000 members in more than 190 chapters throughout the world, working to advance philanthropy through education, training, research and advocacy. The association fosters development and growth of fundraising professionals and promotes high ethical standards in the fundraising profession.
CFRE International (www.cfre.org)As stewards of the public trust, Certified Fund Raising Executive (CFRE) International certifies fundraising professionals who demonstrate the knowledge, skills and commitment to the highest standards of ethical and professional practice in serving the philanthropic sector. CFRE International fulfills this mission by establishing and administering a voluntary certification process based on current and valid standards that measure competency in the practice of philanthropic fundraising. CFRE International promotes voluntary certification, in dialogue with government and other bodies globally, as the preferred alternative to licensure and/or government regulation.
The Foundation Center (www.fdncenter.org)The mission of the Foundation Center is to foster public understanding of the foundation field by collecting, organizing, analyzing, and disseminating information on foundations, corporate giving, and related subjects. Established in 1956, and today supported by more than 600 foundations, the Foundation Center is the nation’s leading authority on philanthropy, connecting nonprofits and the grantmakers supporting them to tools they can use and information they can trust. The Center maintains the most comprehensive database on U.S. grantmakers and their grants — a robust, accessible knowledge bank for the sector.
BoardSource (www.boardsource.org)BoardSource provides: resources to nonprofit leaders through workshops, training, and an extensive Web-based database; governance consultants who work directly with nonprofit leaders to design specialized solutions to meet an organization’s needs; the most comprehensive selection of material on nonprofit governance, including a large selection of booklets, books, videotapes, and audiotapes; and an annual conference that brings together approximately 600 board members and chief executives of nonprofit organizations from around the world.
Guidestar (www.guidestar.org)Guidestar’s mission is to revolutionize philanthropy and nonprofit practice with information. Guidestar envisions the evolution of an increasingly efficient nonprofit marketplace where information about the operations and finances of nonprofit organizations is readily accessible; donors seek out and compare charities; nonprofit organizations pursue more effective operating practices; and society benefits from a more efficient, generous, and well-targeted allocation of resources to the nonprofit sector. Guidestar provides a list of over 600,000 nonprofits nationwide and provides free access to IRS Forms 990.