The checkbox that means do not bother
What does “contributes only to preselected charitable organizations” mean on a 990-PF?
It means the foundation does not accept applications. The phrase comes from a checkbox on Form 990-PF, and a foundation that ticks it is telling the IRS, and you, that it funds only organizations it has already chosen. It is not a soft preference or a discouragement, it is the answer to the only question that matters before you spend a week writing. Roughly seven in ten private foundations tick it. They are still listed in every funder database you can buy, usually with no indication that they have, which is why so many first proposals go to funders that were never going to read them.
Last reviewed 8 August 2026.
Why this is the most useful line in the return
Every other thing you can learn about a funder refines a decision. This one makes it. A foundation with a perfect mission match, giving in your city, at exactly your grant size, that has ticked this box, is worth zero hours.
It is also the cheapest fact in the whole document to check and the one most often skipped, because directories sell on how many funders they hold, not on how many of them are open. The bigger number is the easier one to advertise.
This site publishes only the ones that have not ticked it. 19,390 foundations, every one of which will read a proposal it did not invite. The other hundred thousand are real organizations doing real work, and writing to them is not how you reach them.
What it does and does not rule out
- It does not mean the money is spoken for
- Foundations that fund only preselected organizations still change their minds, add grantees and respond to introductions. What it rules out is the unsolicited proposal, which is a different thing from the funder.
- A board connection still works
- This is the honest reason relationships matter more in foundation funding than anywhere else. The route into a closed foundation is a person, not a document, and no software changes that.
- The box can change year to year
- It reflects what the foundation reported for that filing year. A foundation that opened a program recently may still be marked closed on the most recent return available, since filings run a year or more behind.
- Open does not mean easy
- The 19,390 that accept applications are open to reading you. Most of them make nine grants a year and give a typical grant of $5,000, so the shortlist is where the work is.
In Quillify it is on by default
The filter that hides the hundred thousand funders who will not read you is switched on the first time you search, rather than being an option you have to discover. A new account sees the 19,390 that accept applications and never sees the rest unless it asks.
That is the whole disqualification argument built into the default, which is where a default earns its keep.
How to check it yourself
Pull the foundation's most recent Form 990-PF, which is public and free on ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer, and read the checkbox. It sits with the other questions about how the foundation operates, and not in the grant list, which is part of why it gets skipped.
Doing that for one funder takes a couple of minutes. Doing it for the two hundred you might plausibly approach is the reason this site exists, and it is why every foundation page here states the answer at the top instead of making you find it.
Who asks this most
The answer above is the same whoever you are. What Quillify does about it is not.
Related
- Reading a foundation's tax returnWhat can I learn from a foundation's 990-PF?
- Most foundations will never read your proposalDo foundations accept unsolicited grant proposals?
- How much foundations actually giveHow much money does a typical foundation give, and how big is a typical grant?
All guides, or the glossary.
Stop researching and see what you are eligible for.
Browsing and keyword search are free, and there is no card required.