Foundation Directory Online Free at a Library: Candid Locations Near You

Foundation Directory Online free at a library still works in practice, under a new name: the funder database now runs as Candid search, and partner libraries give it to you at no cost, on their premises. Candid, the organization formed in 2019 when GuideStar and Foundation Center merged (Candid press release, January 15, 2026), keeps a partner network of host sites that offer its research tools free on site.

Two things about that network matter before you plan a visit: library websites still use the old product names, and an individual host site can drop the subscription. Both facts change how you find a site and how you work when the nearest location is a long drive away.

Quick Answer: Can You Use Foundation Directory Online Free at a Library?

Yes, under a new name: Foundation Directory Online free at a library now means Candid search, which partner libraries switched to on April 21, 2026. Candid counted over 2,180 US locations with free on-site access in July 2026 (Candid blog, July 15, 2026). Find one on Candid's "Free access to Candid near you" page, then call ahead.

What Libraries With Foundation Directory Access Are

A library with Foundation Directory access is a Candid partner location, once labeled a Funding Information Network member, that offers Candid's research tools free on its premises. Candid's help center still uses the older product names: "You can gain free, in-person access to GuideStar and Foundation Directory at any of Candid's partner locations." (Candid Learning, read September 2026).

The program name is mid-change, so library websites disagree with each other. Oak Park Public Library writes that "As a Funding Information Network partner, the library provides access to Candid" (Oak Park Public Library, May 1, 2026). A site can hold the license and never put the words "Foundation Directory" on its website at all, which turns finding one into a search problem.

What runs on the terminal is Candid search, the platform Candid launched on January 15, 2026 (Candid press release, January 15, 2026). It reached partner locations on April 21, 2026: Candid's access guide for those sites lists Candid Search "access starting April 21, 2026" (Candid Learning, read October 2026). The old platform did not run alongside it for long: Rutgers University Libraries posted that it "will be fully retired as of July 20, 2026" (Rutgers University Libraries, July 20, 2026), and our explainer on whether Foundation Directory Online still exists covers what that meant for subscribers.

Candid's product page counts "1.9M+ nonprofit profiles", "304k+ funder profiles" and "29M+ grants" (Candid search product page, read September 2026). Those counts are the pool a host site opens up for an afternoon of research.

Candid also offers free classes, including "Introduction to Finding Grants" and "Introduction to Proposal Writing" (Candid Learning, read September 2026). A class plus a planned session on site beats guessing at the search alone, and a guide for first-time grant writers helps once you have a funder list to write to.

How to Find a Candid Partner Location Near You

Start with Candid's "Free access to Candid near you" page, then confirm the details on the library's own website and by phone. Candid says "Partner locations throughout the U.S. and internationally offer access to Candid and nonprofit fundraising resources for free." (Candid, read September 2026).

Library listings carry stale names, which costs search time. Hedberg Public Library announced on July 30, 2026 that "Foundation Directory & Guidestar Are Now Candid" and that the databases are "Now combined into one database" (Hedberg Public Library, July 30, 2026). A university catalog recorded the change as "Foundation Directory Online - Professional (TITLE CHANGED TO 'CANDID,' JUNE 2026)" (University of Delaware Library, read September 2026). Searching a library website for the old product name can return an announcement instead of the access page.

Some libraries list the tool under "Funding Information Network" while others use "Candid". On any library site, try searching for "Candid", then "funder research", then "Funding Information Network", then the old product name. Whichever term finds the access page, call the reference desk. Ask what the website did not tell you: which machines carry the tool, which branch the license covers, whether access is limited to the building, and whether you can save, export or print. If two pages on the same site disagree, call rather than guessing. If the nearest site is a long drive away, our list of free foundation directory sources covers what you can research from your own desk.

Can You Use Candid Search at the Library From Home?

At partner sites the license is generally tied to the building, so the search runs on site and stops at the door. Candid describes the free partner access as "available on site" (Candid blog, July 15, 2026), and several host libraries state the same rule themselves.

From home you get Candid's registered free tier: "Candid search is free for anyone who registers at candid.org" (Candid press release, January 15, 2026), with one full profile view per month (Candid pricing page, read September 2026). That covers a spot check. It does not cover a prospect list, and the price guide for Candid's paid plans shows what removing that limit costs.

If the nearest partner site is across town or in the next county, the visit still beats the free tier for serious prospecting, because most partner libraries carry subscription-level data (Candid help center, read September 2026).

Sources: Brooklyn Public Library, Hedberg Public Library (read October 2026), Dauphin County Library System and Oak Park Public Library web pages, read September 2026.

Plan the visit as a block inside opening hours, not as a stop between other errands. Bring your target criteria in writing, take a seat early, and treat the session as time you do not get back when the building closes.

What You Can Do on a Partner Library Terminal

Candid states that at "Funding Information Network locations and most libraries, you will access the same depth and breadth of data that you would find in an individual subscription." (Candid help center, read September 2026). The data is the point. Tools are a different matter: Candid's help center notes that an individual subscription includes features "not available in public access versions" (Candid help center, read September 2026), so most host sites give you the full data with a shorter tool list.

The search covers grants given, grants received, grant guidelines and grant transaction profiles (Candid help center, read September 2026), which is the data a funder shortlist is built from. Open guidelines show whether a funder is accepting applications, and grants given show who it has funded.

What you can carry home depends on the site. Ask whether the library's access lets you save, export or print before you plan on taking files home, because Candid's published export instructions were written for the legacy Foundation Directory (Candid Learning, read September 2026). Candid's own subscriber agreement bars bulk extraction (Candid Subscriber License Agreement, April 25, 2025 page, read September 2026), so plan on a short list, not a data dump.

So the right output from a session is a short, well-read list plus notes on the strongest funders. Candid's 990s "are available as far back as 2000" (Candid Learning, read September 2026), so older filings can fill in a funder's history during the same visit. For browsing foundation giving patterns away from the terminal, a state index of private foundations is a workable companion document.

Is Free Library Access Shrinking?

Candid's own count of free access points has grown, but an individual site can still drop the subscription, so a site that worked last year may not work this year. In February 2024, Candid reported "complimentary access to Candid services and tools, including GuideStar and Foundation Directory, at 1,250 Candid community locations." (Candid blog, February 20, 2024). By July 2026 it described free access "through over 2,180 locations across the United States" (Candid blog, July 15, 2026).

User reports point the other way at the level of individual sites. One commenter on Reddit said "a lot of places have been dropping Candid over the past year or two" and described the free library route as decaying (Reddit thread 1p511oo, read September 2026). That is one user's report, not a Candid statement, and the library route still came up as a free workaround in four separate threads (Reddit threads 1p511oo, 1r8eviy, 1lgaq91 and 1vb5ctu, read September 2026).

Host sites carry the cost locally. Candid invites libraries and nonprofit resource centers to become partners, calling it "An economical way to provide onsite access to Candid's resources" (Candid, read September 2026), so each site's access rests on a local budget decision.

Other free access routes exist beyond libraries, including promotions Candid runs directly for qualifying organizations (Candid Learning, read September 2026), and our guide to Candid free access for small nonprofits walks through each one.

What to Do When There Is No Partner Library Near You

Free filing sources cover a foundation's own filings, so a distant host site is not the only route to funder research. Three free routes are available from any desk with internet access.

Sources: Candid, ProPublica and Grantmakers.io pages, read September 2026.

Grantmakers.io covers Form 990-PF filers only, so community foundations, which file Form 990, do not appear there (Grantmakers.io, read September 2026). Pair it with a filing viewer before you decide a funder does not give.

Use the registered Candid search for spot checks during the week, ProPublica and Grantmakers.io for filings and giving histories, and save the library visit for deep profile work. If the free routes stop being enough, grant database pricing compared sets the paid tools side by side.

Distance matters less for a first pass. GrantCue's public directory of more than 10,000 private foundation profiles, built from IRS 990-PF public filings, opens in any browser and has a filter for foundations that indicate they accept applications, and its Free plan covers one user, search across every source GrantCue covers with saved searches and email alerts, up to 10 tracked grants and a kanban pipeline (grantcue.com, September 2026; GrantCue pricing page, October 2026). Reading each foundation's GrantCue profile at home can narrow the list before a long drive to the nearest host site.

One action still belongs to you. Ask your library to join the partner program, using Candid's invitation to libraries and nonprofit resource centers (Candid, read September 2026).

FAQ

Which Libraries Have Foundation Directory Access?

Public libraries, university libraries and nonprofit resource centers can hold access through Candid's partner program. Candid's "Free access to Candid near you" page is the starting point (Candid, read September 2026), and Candid counted over 2,180 locations across the United States in July 2026 (Candid blog, July 15, 2026). A site may describe itself as a Funding Information Network partner instead of naming Foundation Directory (Oak Park Public Library, May 1, 2026).

How Do I Find a Funding Information Network Location Near Me?

Start from Candid's "Free access to Candid near you" page, then the library's own online resources page, then call the reference desk. Branch rules differ: Brooklyn Public Library states "This resource can only be accessed at Central Library." (Brooklyn Public Library, read September 2026). Some sites list the tool under "Funding Information Network" while others use "Candid" (Oak Park Public Library, May 1, 2026). Ask which machines carry the tool, which branch the license covers, and whether access is limited to the building before you travel.

Is Foundation Directory Access at Libraries Free?

Yes, at partner sites. Candid states that "Partner locations throughout the U.S. and internationally offer access to Candid and nonprofit fundraising resources for free." (Candid, read September 2026). The session costs a visit during opening hours, and at some sites the tool runs only on the library's own computers (Hedberg Public Library, read October 2026). Some sites limit the tool to specific branches (Brooklyn Public Library, read September 2026).

Can I Access Foundation Directory From Home With a Library Card?

Usually not. Candid describes the free partner access as "available on site" (Candid blog, July 15, 2026), and host libraries write the same rule: Hedberg Public Library states "Access is limited to library computers only" (Hedberg Public Library, read October 2026). From home you still get nonprofit profiles and IRS Forms 990 without registration or subscription (Candid blog, January 20, 2026).

What Can You Do at a Funding Information Network Location?

Search funder profiles, read grants given and received, and open grant guidelines, with "the same depth and breadth of data that you would find in an individual subscription" at Funding Information Network locations and most libraries (Candid help center, read September 2026). Some subscription features are "not available in public access versions" (Candid help center, read September 2026), so ask whether you can save, export or print before you plan on taking files home.

Is a Partner Library the Only Free Way Into Candid Search?

No. Four free routes work as of September 2026. Partner libraries give free on-site access to Candid search, which reached them on April 21, 2026 (Candid Learning, read October 2026). A registered free account opens one full profile view a month (Candid pricing page, read September 2026). Nonprofit profiles and IRS Forms 990 remain open "without registration or subscription" (Candid blog, January 20, 2026). Small nonprofits with annual revenue or expenses under $1 million can earn a free year of Candid Premium with a Gold Seal of Transparency, an offer that must be claimed by December 31, 2026 (Candid Learning, read September 2026).

Are Libraries Dropping Foundation Directory Access?

Candid's own count grew, from 1,250 community locations in February 2024 to over 2,180 locations across the United States in July 2026 (Candid blog, February 20, 2024; Candid blog, July 15, 2026). Individual sites still come and go: one commenter on Reddit said "a lot of places have been dropping Candid over the past year or two" (Reddit thread 1p511oo, read September 2026).

Before Your Next Visit to a Partner Library

A library session pays off when the target list exists before you sit down. Do the thinking at home and spend the time on site on profiles and giving histories.

Sources: Candid help center and Candid, read September 2026.

A ranked list is the deliverable, not the spreadsheet. The cycle repeats each time a new grant cycle opens, so the preparation list stays the same even as the funder targets change. Use our method for finding nonprofit grants to set the search criteria you take to the library.