Many foundation websites describe what the funder hopes to do. They don't always show what it actually did. If you build a prospect list from mission statements alone, you end up with a long list of funders that sound right and a short list that will ever answer your email.
This article shows you where to look, how to read the grants list on a foundation's tax return, how to test fit and how to turn what you find into a short list of qualified prospects.
Where to look
Start with several sources and compare them:
- The foundation's own website and annual report. These tell you stated priorities, application process and deadlines. Read them for what the funder says it wants.
- Its tax return. A private foundation files Form 990-PF every year. This is the record of what it did.
- Databases. Candid's tools gather 990-PF data into searchable form, so you can look up a funder or search by topic and place. Candid's own guide to the forms is listed in Sources.
- Other grantees. A funded organization that does work like yours can tell you what the funder is like to work with, if you already know someone there.
The tax return is the one that corrects the others. A website can stay the same for years while a funder's giving shifts.
Why the 990-PF is public
A private foundation must make its annual returns available for public inspection. The IRS instructions for Form 990-PF say it can do that through office visitation, by providing copies and by internet posting. You are allowed to look, and you don't need an introduction first.
Candid's guide for grant seekers describes what the form contains: the foundation's assets, financial activities, trustees and officers and, most useful to you, a list of grants awarded for the fiscal year. That list shows who got money, where they're located and how much.
Read the grants list first
On the current form, the grants list sits in Part XIV, "Supplementary Information." Three parts matter most.
- Line 3a, grants paid during the year. The IRS instructions say this lists contributions and grants actually paid. Look at recipients, locations, amounts and the stated purpose. The instructions tell filers that entries such as "grant" or "contribution" in the purpose column are unacceptable, so a good return tells you what each grant was for.
- Line 3b, approved for future payment. This lists grants approved during the year but not yet paid. If you see the same recipient here and in 3a, the funder may be making multi-year commitments.
- Line 2, how to apply. The instructions say this information benefits grant seekers and covers restrictions on awards by geography, field and kind of recipient. If the foundation checks the box saying it only gives to preselected charitable organizations and doesn't accept unsolicited applications, you have your answer. Don't send a proposal. Look for a way into the relationship instead, or move on.
Pull the last two or three years of returns if you can. One year can mislead, and a trend is more reliable.
Test fit with four questions
Open a spreadsheet and list the funder's last 20 grants or so. Then ask:
- Mission. Do the purposes match the kind of work you do, not just the same broad field?
- Geography. Do recipients sit in your county, state or region? A funder that says "nationwide" but funds one metro area is local in practice.
- Grant size. Are the amounts close to what you would ask for?
- Who they've funded. Are recipients organizations of your size and type, and do you see the same names year after year?
Here's a hypothetical example. Say a rural food bank is planning to ask for $20,000. It tallies the last 20 grants from one foundation's 990-PF:
| Grant size | Number of grants |
|---|---|
| Under $10,000 | 4 |
| $10,000 to $25,000 | 9 |
| $25,001 to $50,000 | 5 |
| Over $50,000 | 2 |
| Total | 20 |
A $20,000 request lands in the band where nine of the twenty grants fall, which is a good sign. If the same tally showed 18 grants over $50,000, the food bank would reconsider the ask or the funder. Then it checks locations: 14 of the 20 recipients are in its own state and two are rural food programs. That is a funder worth contacting.
What the return can't tell you
A 990-PF is a record of the past, so use it with a few cautions.
- It lags. The return covers a completed fiscal year. A funder may have changed priorities since, so check the current website and any recent announcements before you decide.
- Individuals and organizations can be mixed. The instructions say that, if needed, filers attach a schedule for lines 3a and 3b that lists amounts given to individuals and to organizations separately. Make sure you're counting organizational grants when you tally.
- Small foundations may report little. The instructions say Part XIV applies only to foundations with $5,000 or more in assets at any time during the year, so a very small funder's return may have little to read.
- It shows people. The form lists trustees and officers. If you know one of them, or someone on your board does, that's a legitimate reason to start a conversation. It isn't a shortcut around the funder's process.
Treat the return as evidence for a decision, not as the decision itself. A good match on paper still needs a conversation or a read of the current guidelines.
Build a prospect list you can work
A hundred names you'll never contact isn't a prospect list. Aim for a few qualified prospects. For each one, record:
- The mission match and the grants that prove it.
- The typical grant size and your likely ask.
- Whether it accepts unsolicited applications, and the deadline or process.
- Any existing connection, such as a board member who knows a trustee.
- Your next action and a date for it.
Rank by fit, not by size. Then put the top few into your pipeline and work them one at a time. Finding grants that fit your mission covers the broader search, and what funders are really looking for helps you read a funder's priorities once you've found a match. When you're ready to reach out, see how to talk to a program officer.
Your next step
Choose one prospect foundation and pull its most recent Form 990-PF. List its last 20 grants in a spreadsheet with recipient, location, amount and purpose, then write one sentence on whether your organization looks like the kind of recipient the funder supports. If the answer is yes, that foundation just earned a place on your list.
SoliContraX works from foundation guidelines as well as federal notices. When a foundation invites a proposal, upload its guidelines and start from what the funder actually asked for. Get started with SoliContraX.