How to search a foundation grant database
How do I search a foundation grant database?
Start by ruling out foundations that do not accept applications. Then filter by where they give and what they fund, and check that their typical grant fits your budget. Look up who already funds organizations like yours. Read the 990 of each funder on your shortlist before you write to them.
Last reviewed October 8, 2026.
Five steps that turn a search into a shortlist
Rule out closed funders
Seven in ten private foundations only fund charities they pick themselves, and they say so on their tax return. Filter those out first. It removes most of the list and almost none of your real chances.
Filter by place and field
Most foundations give in a defined region and a few program areas. Search for the state or county you serve and the work you do.
Check grant size
A funder whose grants run a few thousand dollars will not cover a six-figure program. Their 990 lists every grant, so you can see what they usually give.
Find who funds your peers
Search for organizations like yours and see which foundations fund them. Funders that back your peers already care about your kind of work.
Read the 990
Before you write, read the filing itself: officers and trustees, recent grants, and any instructions for applicants.
Common search mistakes
Searching by keyword alone. Many foundations describe their interests in a sentence or two, and a keyword search misses the ones that use different words. Filtering by place, and by who they have funded, finds them.
Chasing the biggest names. Large national foundations get the most applications. A smaller local funder that gives to your peers every year is often the better first ask.
Doing it in one search
Quillify reads the tax filings of every foundation on file and marks the ones that accept applications. You can name a peer organization and see every foundation that funds it, or paste your board list and check it against foundation officers and trustees for warm introductions. Each funder's giving profile is one click away.
Search the grant database, browse the funder directory without an account, or read how to read a 990-PF.
Who asks this most
The answer above is the same whoever you are. What Quillify does about it is not.
Related
- Grant databases: what they cover and what they missWhat is a grant database and which one should I use?
- 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?
- Reading a foundation's tax returnWhat can I learn from a foundation's 990-PF?
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