As the year winds down, many of us will support nonprofits that make a difference in our communities. The Library is proud that we also support these community organizations by offering a range of free tools and resources to help nonprofits launch and grow.
“We are seeing more nonprofits use our services,” says Jay Lyman, who directs the Library’s services for entrepreneurs and nonprofits. “They work with us to find grants through the Foundation Directory Online; drop in for help at our weekly CoLab sessions at the Beacon Hill Branch; attend workshops; book free legal consults; and use other free research tools. And they are using those resources to do good in the world.”
The share of nonprofits requesting information appointments from the Library’s business and nonprofit program grew from 8% in 2024 to 14% of the total in 2025, Lyman says. (Small businesses still make up the vast majority of the total.)
Nonprofits using Library tools are varied: They are focused on everything from job training to education to food access to essential services, mental health, and small business support.
Community Carrot: A Case Study in Library Tools
Seattle-based Community Carrot offers a case study in how a nonprofit can use Library tools.
Originally founded in Washington D.C., Community Carrot moved to Seattle in 2018. Its mission is to help young adults ages 18 to 24 break the cycle of poverty by launching and growing successful businesses.
“The majority of our students come from disadvantaged economic backgrounds and are from BIPOC communities,” said Chris Rhodes, Executive Director of Community Carrot. “We focus on what we can do to get them going.”
Community Carrot works with cohorts of young adult entrepreneurs, providing 16 weeks of instruction, access to mentors, and startup capital. Students learn everything from how to file a business license to how to participate in a pitch competition at the end of the program.
“We’re proud of the fact that over 70 graduates have come through the program,” said Rhodes. “Students have started car wrap services, beauty salons, mobile detailing shops, and food services and catering businesses.”
Community Carrot has worked with The Seattle Public Library for several years. One of the most important tools, says Rhodes, is access to the Foundation Directory Online.
The Foundation Directory (FDO) is the nation’s premier resource for identifying potential funders and grant opportunities. Typically available as a paid subscription, the Library offers free access to this extensive database at any Library location. Unlike many library databases that can be used from home with a library card, FDO is accessed onsite. No library card is needed, you just connect to the library’s wi-fi. You can download results of your searches or email them to yourself directly from FDO Online.
The FDO database used to be available only at the Central Library. But in 2024, it became available at all 27 branches.
“We’re a small nonprofit and funding is very competitive,” said Rhodes. “It’s been very time-saving to use the Foundation Directory Online to look and see, ‘OK, you know, what supporters or stakeholders are interested in entrepreneurship or youth development? It really levels the playing field for us.”
Like many nonprofits that use FDO through the Library, Community Carrot also met with business librarians, who shared their expertise in FDO to help Community Carrot staff learn how to use it and filter results.
Using Library-assisted research resulted in a big win: Community Carrot was recently awarded a competitive capacity-building grant from the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust that funded Rhodes’ position. He is Community Carrot’s first full-time executive director.
Library support goes beyond access to research and experts, Rhodes says. “We see the Library as a partner in the truest sense of the word, and having opportunities to engage, share, and create.”
Thank you, Community Carrot, for sharing your story and for your partnership with the Library!
How the Library to Business program supports nonprofits
Share this with the nonprofit in your life!
- Nonprofit Grant Research: The Library offers access to the grants database Foundation Directory Online (FDO) to help identify potential funders and grant opportunities. Thanks to the 2019 levy, FDO is accessible at all 27 Library locations during open hours. You may use a Library computer or your own device.
- Workshops with Candid: Nonprofits can also sign up for free workshops with Candid, FDO’s parent company, on everything from grant writing, to board development to proposal writing. Anyone can attend these, and they record the sessions for viewing afterwards. The Seattle Public Library regularly serves as “hosts” of these workshops.
- Nonprofit Information Appointments: If you need grant research assistance or help with the FDO database, you can make a virtual appointment with our librarians.
- Free legal consults: If you have legal questions, we offer access to free legal consults with attorneys providing their services on a volunteer basis.
- Denkyem CoLab at Beacon Hill Branch: Every Thursday, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., experts from the Library and Denkyem, an organization focused on empowering Black entrepreneurs, can help you update your business or nonprofit plan with industry insights, access market research, and more.
- Planning and Proposal Research: The Library offers free access to valuable research and databases that provide information about competitors, market trends and more to help you write a compelling grant proposal.
- Workshops and Support: We partner with experts to offer free workshops on topics relating to business and nonprofits.
- Nonprofit Guides: Our librarians have created lists of resources on topics such as Starting a Nonprofit, Nonprofit Grantwriting, and Nonprofit Fundraising.