Preface

Foundation work is a calling with no preemployment training courses, no qualifying entrance exam, and few formal postemployment training programs. There is a literature that describes sound practices for certain aspects of grantmaking, but it is scattered and fugitive, appearing mostly in periodicals, a few specialized monographs, and ephemeral pieces such as annual reports. Only by a determined and persistent bibliographical search can foundation employees pull it all together, and even then, gaps would appear in areas where precious little has been written on the responsibilities and roles of the program officer.