THERE ARE AT LEASE 22,000 FOUNDATIONS IN THE UNITED STATES. IN TRYING TO FIND ONES WHICH WILL CONTRIBUTE TO A PARTICULAR COMMUNITY ORGANIZATION, IT IS NECESSARY TO NARROW THE CHOICE. AVAILABLE RESOURCES MUST BE EXAMINED. A STRATEGY SHOULD THEN BE SELECTED THAT FITS RESOURCES AVAILABLE BY COLLECTING INFORMATION ON THE FOUNDATION'S PURPOSES, PAST GRANTEES, GEOGRAPHIC RANGE, AND FINANCIAL DATA AND ALSO ON FACTS ABOUT THE FOUNDATION WHICH ARE NECESSARY TO APPROACH IT (ADDRESS, PHONE NUMBER, SUGGESTED PROPOSAL AND APPLICATION PROCEDURES, CONTACT PERSON, AND SCHEDULE OF BOARD MEETINGS). THE PROCESS USED TO APPROACH A FOUNDATION WITH A REQUEST FOR A GRANT INVOLVES MAKING AN INITIAL CONTACT BY LETTER AND CALLING FOR A MEETING. FOLLOWING UP ON EITHER A NEGATIVE OR AN INTERESTED RESPONSE MUST BE PROMPT. INFORMATION NEEDED TO PRESENT A CASE AT A MEETING MUST BE GATHERED CAREFULLY AND PRESENTED CLEARLY. A FINAL PROPOSAL SHOULD INCLUDE A BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANIZATION; OUTLINES OF PROBLEMS AND SOLUTIONS, PROPOSED METHODOLOGIES, AND BUDGET AND STAFF CONSIDERATIONS. COURTESY MUST BE MAINTAINED THROUGHOUT THE PROCESS. EIGHT APPENDIXES INCLUDE A RESOURCE MATERIALS GUIDE, A RECORDING FORMAT, AN EXPLANATION OF TAX-EXEMPT STATUS, A LIST OF PUBLICATIONS, AND SAMPLES OF THE FOUNDATION DIRECTORY, FOUNDATION GRANTS INDEX, NATIONAL DATA BOOK, AND SOURCE BOOK PROFILES.