The data: IRS Form 990-PF e-file returns
Every private foundation in the United States files a Form 990-PF each year. It lists the foundation’s assets, every grant it paid with the recipient’s name, city, purpose and amount, its officers, and whether it accepts applications. The IRS publishes the e-filed returns as XML files; we read every 990-PF in them.
- 127,950private foundations with a return in the last two years
- 1,613,028grants listed on their latest returns
- 479,820recipients matched to an organization by EIN
- 24,444of them accept applications
The IRS adds new files about once a month, and we read each one. Recipients are matched to the IRS list of exempt organizations by name, city, State and ZIP; only exact and strong matches link a grant to an organization.
What each foundation page shows
- Grants
- Every grant on the latest return: recipient, place, purpose and amount, with the typical grant size and where the money goes by State and by cause.
- How to apply
- Whether the return says the foundation accepts applications, with the contact, deadlines and restrictions it gives, or that it gives only to organizations it chooses.
- Assets and giving
- Total assets and grants paid for each tax year we read.
- Officers
- As the return lists them, on that foundation’s page only.
- The source
- The tax year, the date we read the return, and a link to the return itself.
How matching works
- Your organization. You enter it by EIN or name. We take its cause from the IRS classification code and its city and State from the IRS list. For La Soupe Inc: food and agriculture, Cincinnati, OH.
- Your grant range. From the grants your organization received, when we hold three or more; otherwise from the yearly budget you choose. You can type your own. For La Soupe Inc: $500 to $50,000.
- The foundations. Every foundation whose returns list a grant to an organization of the same cause in your State. 963 for La Soupe Inc.
- The order. Those that accept applications first, then those that made grants in your range, then those that gave in your city, then by how many grants and how much money went to organizations like yours. No score.
- The proof. Each match lists the facts that put it there and the grants themselves, read from the returns.
The first match for La Soupe Inc
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- 60 grants to 18 food and agriculture organizations in Ohio, tax years 2018 to 2025
- 5 grants to 1 organization in Cincinnati
- All in your range, $500 to $50,000
- Accepts applications, per its 2025 return
- Latest grant to an organization like yours: tax year 2025
- Freestore-Foodbank IncCincinnati, OH · tax year 2023 Program support $5,000
- Freestore FoodbankCincinnati, OH · tax year 2022 Program support $2,500
Alerts
After each import we compare the new returns with what we held. You get one alert per new return that concerns you, in the app and by email, daily or weekly as you choose.
- A new return shows grants to organizations like yours, or to a peer you name.
- A foundation you saved has filed a new return.
- A foundation in your matches or lists now accepts applications, where its previous return said preselected only.
An alert reads like this, with a grant from the data
A new return shows Peoples Bank Foundation gave $5,000 to Freestore-Foodbank Inc, Cincinnati, OH, in tax year 2023.
Purpose on the return: Program support
Saved lists and exports
Save a foundation to a list from your matches or its page, give it a status (researching, contacted, applied, funded, declined) and a note. Export a list or your matches as a CSV file.
Foundations export
ein, name, city, state, latest_tax_year, giving_latest_year, grants_latest_year, assets_end_of_year, applications, website, page, and the match or list columns
Grants export
foundation_ein, foundation_name, tax_year, recipient, recipient_ein, recipient_city, recipient_state, amount, purpose
Questions
Where does the data come from?
From the Form 990-PF returns private foundations file with the IRS each year. The IRS publishes the e-filed returns as XML files; we read every 990-PF in them, and each page links the return itself.
How current is it?
A return reaches the IRS 5 to 18 months after the tax year it describes, so the newest grants on any site built on these returns are from the last tax year filed. Every page states the tax year and the date we read the return. The IRS adds new files about once a month, and we read each one.
Does Foundation Lookup list open grant opportunities with deadlines?
No. It shows what each foundation actually gave, to whom and for what, and whether its latest return says it accepts applications and how. Seven in ten private foundations give only to organizations they choose themselves; we show which ones do take applications.
How does matching choose foundations?
A foundation matches when one of its returns lists a grant to an organization of the same cause in your State. Foundations that accept applications come first, then those that made grants in your range, then those that gave in your city. There is no score: each match shows the grants behind it.
Are people named?
People who received grants are never named; those lines read “Individual”. Officers appear on their foundation’s page as the return lists them. Anyone can ask us to remove something from a page.
What counts as an export row?
One line of data in a CSV file: a foundation in a foundations export, or a grant in a grants export. The count starts again on the first of each month.
How do I cancel?
Cancel any time from your account. The plan stays on until the end of the period you paid for and does not renew.