Blurb about why Forefront rocks, caption for photo

The Forefront Library provides you with the resources and services you need to meet your mission today and deepen your impact in the future.

Established as a special library in 1973, Forefront trailblazed educational offerings and unique supports through the original collection comprised of Chicago Community Trust’s Foundation Collection along with the Newberry Library and The Center for Research Libraries at the University of Chicago Regional Collections. Today, Forefront continues to lead knowledge services in the sector by being one of the only statewide associations in the sector to have professional librarians on staff.

Members, schedule a virtual appointment with one of Forefront’s Librarians to learn how the Library can support your organization or email Forefront members exclusive email at member411@myforefront.org.

Want to learn more before making an appointment? Read our FAQ or email us.

Virtual Research Requests and Appointments

To achieve our goal of higher accessibility statewide, all library services are only available virtually.

For Members

For the General Public

To access Members-only Library services along with other best-in-class benefits, join Forefront as a Member!

Library Webinars

The Forefront Library team regularly provides workshops on best practices in donor prospecting, fundraising research, database research, and more. Click on any of the links below to watch recent recordings of these workshops, and check our event page for information on upcoming trainings!

Research Guides

To help you get all the relevant information as fast as possible, our Library team has created Research Guides on a plethora of subjects. These guides include links to books and print journals in the Library, links to websites and publications that are freely available online, as well as what can be found in our databases. You don’t need to be a Forefront Member to use the guides, but some content may be for members only.

See a quick list of our most popular Research Guides below, or access the full list on the Library page here.

Other Resources from Forefront

Join Forefront as a Member to receive all the benefits the Forefront Library offers, as well as access to our Member Networks, best-in-class resources, and a community of social impact sector professionals across Illinois!

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