S ARA Engelhardt has been president of the Foundation Center, the nation' s leading authority on institutional philanthropy, for ten years. She joined the center's staff as executive vice president in 1987, having served as a trustee of the center from 1984.
For more than twenty years, Engelhardt was on the staff of Carnegie Corporation of New York. During the final twelve years of her tenure there (1975)(1976)(1977)(1978)(1979)(1980)(1981)(1982)(1983)(1984)(1985)(1986)(1987), she served as secretary of the corporation and managed the foundation' s grants. In addition, she was program officer in the areas of philanthropy and nonprofit organizations and of women in higher education and public life.
Engelhardt serves on the board the National Council for Research on Women. She also serves as the Foundation Center' s liaison to the board of directors of the Council on Foundations. She chairs the Foundations and Corporations Committee of the Wesleyan University National Campaign and chairs the Annals Committee of the New York Academy of Sciences. A 1965 graduate of Wellesley College, Engelhardt holds a master's degree in administration of higher education from Teachers College, Columbia University.
The Foundation Center supports and improves institutional philanthropy by promoting public understanding of the field and helping grantseekers succeed. The center collects, organizes, and communicates information on U.S. philanthropy; conducts and facilitates research on trends in the field; provides education and training; and ensures public access to information and services through its Web site (http://www.fdncenter.org), print and electronic publications, five library learning centers, and a national network of over two hundred cooperating collections. Founded in 1956, the center is dedicated to serving grantseekers, grantmakers, researchers, policymakers, the media, and the general public.
NML Associate Editor Judith R. Saidel interviewed Engelhardt in December 2001 in New York City about current and longer-term trends in grantmaking.