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Fund for Democratic Communities (F4DC) Records

 Collection
Identifier: MSS 0507

Abstract

The Fund for Democratic Communities (F4DC) was a Greensboro, North Carolina, based limited-life foundation supporting community-based initiatives that fostered authentic democracy and made communities better places to live. Founded in 2007, F4DC made over $11 million in grants and provided over 100,000 hours in technical assistance to support grassroots democratic efforts, primarily focused in the Southeastern U.S., North Carolina, and Greensboro. As a result of our response to COVID-19, F4DC’s sunset came several months sooner than originally planned. F4DC closed its public-facing operations on June 30, 2020.

The collections contains materials related to F4DC projects, grants, conferences, and other initiatives.

Dates

  • 2002 - 2020

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Copyright is retained by the creators of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information. Please see our Sensitive Materials Statement.

Biographical / Historical

The Fund for Democratic Communities (F4DC) was a Greensboro, North Carolina, based limited-life foundation supporting community-based initiatives that fostered authentic democracy and made communities better places to live. Founded in 2007, F4DC made over $11 million in grants and provided over 100,000 hours in technical assistance to support grassroots democratic efforts, primarily focused in the Southeastern U.S., North Carolina, and Greensboro.

In 2010, F4DC made the decision to move all its resources to support community controlled projects by the end of 2020. F4DC's decision to sunset its operations, rather than exist in perpetuity like most foundations, allowed them to bring more financial resources to bear faster.

As a result of our response to COVID-19, F4DC’s sunset came several months sooner than originally planned. F4DC closed its public-facing operations on June 30, 2020

Extent

39.61 Linear Feet (95 document storage boxes.)

Language of Materials

English

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Bulk of materials donated by Marnie Thompson in July 2020. Additional materials donated by Marnie Thompson in December 2023.

Offensive Language Statement

The UNC Greensboro University Libraries collects, preserves, and makes accessible unique and historical materials for learning and research. The nature of historical materials is such that some material may represent positions, norms, and values that are offensive and objectionable. These materials represent the opinions and actions of their creators. By providing access to these records in our reading room and through our digital collections, we recognize that archives and rare books can play a vital role in holding those creators accountable and in helping us learn from the past.

Our finding aids and other collection descriptions may occasionally re-use language provided by creators or former holders of the materials, but we strive to place outdated or offensive terminology in context. That said, we recognize that we may not always make the right decision and welcome feedback from all sources so we can learn and adjust our practices. Please contact us at scua@uncg.edu if you encounter problematic language in our finding aids or other collection description. We will review the language and, as appropriate, update it in a way that balances preservation of the original context with our ongoing commitment to describing materials with respectful and inclusive language.

Processing Information

Processing by Lisa Withers and Patrick Dollar.

Title
Fund for Democratic Communities Records
Status
Completed
Author
Patrick Dollar and Nils Skudra
Date
January 2024
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin

Repository Details

Part of the Martha Blakeney Hodges Special Collections and University Archives Repository

Contact:
P.O. Box 26170
320 College Ave.
Greensboro NC 27402-6170 US
336-334-5246