Carbon County Commissioners have approved the purchase of a license to access a database on foundations that provide grants. At the recommendation and request of Tami Ursenbach, Director of the Carbon County Office of Economic Development, commissioners approved the purchase of a five year license with FoundationSearch, at the regular Commission meeting of May 17. FoundationSearch is a subsidiary of Metasoft Systems, a privately owned information technology consulting and development corporation based in Vancouver, BC.
According to the company’s website, FoundationSearch is an online database of foundations containing information about the funding history, preferences, and contacts of over 100,000 U.S. foundations. It is one of many online for-profit and nonprofit data base firms that provide such information.In addition, many states publish lists of grantmakers, and the U.S. Government provides information on federal grants at grants.gov.
County Clerk/Auditor Seth Oveson said the FoundationSearch software is the best because it includes many private foundations, while the other demos they have received only include state and federal grants. He said FoundationSearch provides lists and includes names, numbers, and possible local ties and associations.
Ursenbach made the initial request at the May 4 meeting, but the commission balked at the expenditure because it wasn’t included in the budget. Commissioner Jake Mellor led the discussion, saying the software package was available for a limited time and the county can purchase five licenses for the next five years for roughly $9,000. It is meant to benefit all the cities and all the communities, and all the businesses in the county.
The Economic Development Department did not currently have enough money to cover the license fee, so the item was tabled until funds could be found elsewhere. By May 17, Ursenbach reported she had pledges for most of the funding, with $2,000 from the Sheriff’s Department, $2,000 from the Senior Center, $1,000 from Carbon Recreation, $1,000 from Fairgrounds and Tourism, and $1,000 from the Clerk/Auditor’s Office. Ursenbach said she was confident the balance could be secured within a week, but “We have to do it quickly and get the money out. If not, it goes from $9,000 to $20,000,” she advised, noting the deadline to take advantage of the lower fee offer is May 31.
A motion was made to approve the license agreement, with the stipulation that the remaining amount for the fee would come out of the commission budget if no other departments join in. The motion was approved
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