Finding the right funders is one of the hardest parts of nonprofit fundraising. Most organizations spend thousands of dollars on grant databases like Foundation Directory Online or Instrumentl — only to get a long list of foundations with no context on which ones are actually likely to fund them.
There's a better approach. And it starts with a public dataset that almost nobody talks about.
IRS 990 Data: The Best Free Funder Research Tool You're Not Using
Every foundation that gives grants in the United States is required to file a Form 990 with the IRS. These forms are public record. They include:
- Every grant made, down to the dollar amount
- The name and EIN of each recipient organization
- The stated purpose of each grant
- The foundation's total assets and giving history
The IRS makes all of these available as downloadable XML files. GrantScout has ingested millions of these records so you can search them instantly.
How to Use 990 Data to Find Your Best-Fit Funders
The key insight is this: the best predictor of whether a foundation will fund you is whether they've funded organizations like you before.
That means searching for:
- Foundations that gave to organizations in your state — most foundations have geographic preferences
- Foundations that gave to organizations in your NTEE sector — the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) classifies nonprofits by mission area
- Foundations that gave grants in your size range — a foundation that typically writes $5K grants isn't a great fit if you need $500K
When you search using all three criteria together, the list of candidates shrinks dramatically — and the match quality goes up.
The Cold Email Problem
Even after you find the right funders, most organizations struggle with cold outreach. Grant officers receive hundreds of unsolicited letters and emails. The ones that get a response are specific, relevant, and demonstrate genuine research.
A good cold email should:
- Reference specific grants the foundation has made to similar organizations
- Explain why your organization is a natural fit for their giving priorities
- Be short — 150-200 words maximum
That's exactly what GrantScout generates. Enter your EIN, and it will surface your best-fit funders and draft a cold email that references their actual giving history.
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