Foundation giving, state by state
Which states have the most private foundations?
Texas, with 1,739 foundations that accept applications, then New York at 1,405, California at 1,334, Pennsylvania at 1,189 and Florida at 1,171. At the other end, Alaska has 37, Puerto Rico has 9 and the US Virgin Islands has 2. Across all 53 states and territories we publish 19,390 foundations open to applications, giving $33 billion between them. The number that matters more than any of those is this: 40% of them sent every grant in their most recent filing to a single state, so where a funder sits is a harder constraint than most people assume.
Last reviewed 10 August 2026.
Why geography binds harder than subject
Two in five of these foundations gave entirely within one state. Not mostly, entirely. For those funders, being outside their state is not a weak fit that a strong proposal can overcome, it is a disqualification, and it is usually undeclared: the giving pattern shows it and the guidelines do not mention it.
That inverts the usual research order. Most people start from subject, find funders who care about education or housing, and then discover the geographic problem after they have written. Starting from geography and narrowing by subject produces a shorter list of funders who can actually fund you.
It also means the density figures above matter less than they look. A Montana organization is not competing against the 1,739 Texas foundations for attention; it is working a much smaller pool with far fewer applicants in it.
From the most recent Form 990-PF of each foundation published on this site, indexed 7 August 2026. All 19,390 accept applications.
How to read your own state's number
- A big number is not automatically good news
- Texas has the most foundations and also the most organizations competing for them. Density cuts both ways, and the applicant-to-funder ratio is the figure nobody publishes.
- A small number is not bad news either
- Alaska has 37 foundations accepting applications, and an Alaskan nonprofit is a far larger share of the applicant pool for each of them. Fewer funders with less competition is frequently a better position than more funders with more.
- Community foundations sit outside this pattern
- Many operate at county or metro level with explicit service areas, which makes them the most reliable local money and the most obvious first stop.
- Check the giving, not the address
- A foundation headquartered in Delaware for corporate reasons may give entirely in Ohio. The states a funder actually granted into are the useful field, and they are on the filing.
Where Quillify comes in
Every state has its own page here, free and without an account, listing every foundation in it that accepts applications with what they fund and how much they give. Each subject within a state has its own page too.
What the free pages cannot do is tell you which of them would fund YOU, because that depends on who is asking. That is what the funder search does.
Who asks this most
The answer above is the same whoever you are. What Quillify does about it is not.
Related
- How much foundations actually giveHow much money does a typical foundation give, and how big is a typical grant?
- Most foundations will never read your proposalDo foundations accept unsolicited grant proposals?
- Start from the funder, not the opportunityHow do I find funders who would actually fund my organization?
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