A domed State capitol building across a wide lawn
Foundation Lookup

Form 990-PFTax years 2023 to 2025Foundations 127,413

Foundations that accept applications

19.1% of private foundations say they accept applications. 72.1% give only to organizations they choose themselves.

See which foundations fund work like yours Matching by cause, place and grant size

Foundations with a return in the last two years, each by its latest return: 127,413 returns, tax years 2023 to 2025 (2024: 54,983; 2025: 71,689; earlier: 741), counted from the IRS e-file data on Nov 11, 2026. Returns reach the IRS 5 to 18 months after the year they describe.

By foundation size

Total assets at the end of the year

The share that accepts applications runs from 16.3% among foundations with under $1 million in assets to 46.3% among those with $1 billion or more.

How many foundations accept applications, by total assets at year end. The figure on the right is the share that accepts them.
  1. All foundations127,413 foundations Accept applications19.1%24,358 Preselected only72.1%91,805 Not stated8.8%11,250
  2. Under $1 million79,992 foundations Accept applications16.3%13,022 Preselected only69.7%55,744 Not stated14.0%11,226
  3. $1 million to $10 million35,365 foundations Accept applications21.9%7,733 Preselected only78.1%27,619 Not stated0.0%13
  4. $10 million to $50 million8,762 foundations Accept applications28.0%2,454 Preselected only71.9%6,303 Not stated0.1%5
  5. $50 million to $250 million2,589 foundations Accept applications33.5%867 Preselected only66.4%1,718 Not stated0.2%4
  6. $250 million to $1 billion556 foundations Accept applications38.3%213 Preselected only61.5%342 Not stated0.2%1
  7. $1 billion or more149 foundations Accept applications46.3%69 Preselected only53.0%79 Not stated0.7%1

By State

Highest share first

Foundations based in each State, by the address on their return. The bar is the share that accepts applications.

  1. West Virginia180 of 480 foundations · 52.3% preselected only 37.5%
  2. Kansas389 of 1,108 foundations · 57.1% preselected only 35.1%
  3. Alaska49 of 145 foundations · 59.3% preselected only 33.8%
  4. Iowa396 of 1,210 foundations · 60.7% preselected only 32.7%
  5. New Hampshire229 of 721 foundations · 64.9% preselected only 31.8%
  6. Montana161 of 521 foundations · 62.4% preselected only 30.9%
  7. North Dakota61 of 209 foundations · 62.7% preselected only 29.2%
  8. Wisconsin660 of 2,332 foundations · 67.0% preselected only 28.3%
  9. Nebraska212 of 762 foundations · 66.5% preselected only 27.8%
  10. Maine163 of 594 foundations · 66.5% preselected only 27.4%
  11. Vermont93 of 347 foundations · 66.6% preselected only 26.8%
  12. Rhode Island124 of 469 foundations · 66.7% preselected only 26.4%
  13. Indiana466 of 1,764 foundations · 64.3% preselected only 26.4%
  14. Wyoming115 of 454 foundations · 65.0% preselected only 25.3%
  15. Oklahoma308 of 1,231 foundations · 65.2% preselected only 25.0%
  16. Ohio1,191 of 4,794 foundations · 68.0% preselected only 24.8%
  17. Arkansas155 of 632 foundations · 60.1% preselected only 24.5%
  18. Hawaii155 of 651 foundations · 64.2% preselected only 23.8%
  19. South Dakota75 of 315 foundations · 65.4% preselected only 23.8%
  20. Oregon236 of 1,022 foundations · 65.4% preselected only 23.1%
  21. Alabama347 of 1,505 foundations · 66.8% preselected only 23.1%
  22. Massachusetts930 of 4,035 foundations · 71.9% preselected only 23.0%
  23. Tennessee347 of 1,560 foundations · 66.2% preselected only 22.2%
  24. Mississippi102 of 472 foundations · 65.5% preselected only 21.6%
  25. New Mexico96 of 451 foundations · 69.6% preselected only 21.3%
  26. Minnesota527 of 2,502 foundations · 73.7% preselected only 21.1%
  27. Michigan584 of 2,823 foundations · 70.4% preselected only 20.7%
  28. Virginia526 of 2,561 foundations · 66.0% preselected only 20.5%
  29. Idaho113 of 551 foundations · 67.0% preselected only 20.5%
  30. North Carolina473 of 2,310 foundations · 64.4% preselected only 20.5%
  31. Kentucky205 of 1,016 foundations · 70.2% preselected only 20.2%
  32. Texas2,162 of 10,963 foundations · 70.8% preselected only 19.7%
  33. Washington381 of 1,947 foundations · 70.7% preselected only 19.6%
  34. Missouri912 of 4,677 foundations · 77.1% preselected only 19.5%
  35. Illinois1,179 of 6,057 foundations · 75.1% preselected only 19.5%
  36. Louisiana180 of 939 foundations · 65.6% preselected only 19.2%
  37. Pennsylvania1,448 of 7,585 foundations · 76.5% preselected only 19.1%
  38. Connecticut341 of 1,853 foundations · 75.2% preselected only 18.4%
  39. South Carolina197 of 1,095 foundations · 66.7% preselected only 18.0%
  40. Georgia456 of 2,542 foundations · 66.8% preselected only 17.9%
  41. Colorado394 of 2,216 foundations · 72.4% preselected only 17.8%
  42. Maryland383 of 2,172 foundations · 67.7% preselected only 17.6%
  43. Utah223 of 1,298 foundations · 69.0% preselected only 17.2%
  44. New Jersey672 of 4,032 foundations · 74.2% preselected only 16.7%
  45. Arizona272 of 1,652 foundations · 69.6% preselected only 16.5%
  46. Nevada175 of 1,067 foundations · 69.8% preselected only 16.4%
  47. Florida1,457 of 9,488 foundations · 73.0% preselected only 15.4%
  48. New York1,817 of 11,963 foundations · 77.9% preselected only 15.2%
  49. District of Columbia89 of 591 foundations · 73.9% preselected only 15.1%
  50. California1,757 of 12,496 foundations · 75.1% preselected only 14.1%
  51. Delaware156 of 2,981 foundations · 91.8% preselected only 5.2%

By cause they fund

Highest share first

Foundations that gave to organizations of each cause in their latest return. A foundation that funds several causes counts under each.

  1. Jobs and employment1,283 of 3,294 foundations 38.9%
  2. Veterans and military519 of 1,486 foundations 34.9%
  3. Housing and shelter2,906 of 8,402 foundations 34.6%
  4. Mental health2,455 of 7,100 foundations 34.6%
  5. Community development2,739 of 8,183 foundations 33.5%
  6. Science and technology520 of 1,568 foundations 33.2%
  7. Youth development3,513 of 10,621 foundations 33.1%
  8. Crime and legal aid2,142 of 6,782 foundations 31.6%
  9. Sports and recreation3,062 of 9,875 foundations 31.0%
  10. Food and agriculture3,406 of 11,069 foundations 30.8%
  11. Public affairs1,317 of 4,303 foundations 30.6%
  12. Disaster relief and public safety974 of 3,273 foundations 29.8%
  13. Social science356 of 1,288 foundations 27.6%
  14. Arts and culture6,379 of 23,626 foundations 27.0%
  15. Environment3,291 of 12,279 foundations 26.8%
  16. Human services7,567 of 28,644 foundations 26.4%
  17. Civil rights1,673 of 6,380 foundations 26.2%
  18. Mutual benefit144 of 554 foundations 26.0%
  19. Animals3,054 of 11,779 foundations 25.9%
  20. Philanthropy and grantmaking4,816 of 18,970 foundations 25.4%
  21. Medical research1,097 of 4,422 foundations 24.8%
  22. Education8,762 of 35,429 foundations 24.7%
  23. Health5,838 of 23,666 foundations 24.7%
  24. Religion3,120 of 12,656 foundations 24.7%
  25. International aid2,995 of 14,098 foundations 21.2%

How we counted

Returns
Foundations whose latest Form 990-PF return ends within the last two years, each by that return: 127,413 foundations. Returns held back by our check on amounts larger than assets plus revenue (537) are left out.
Accepts applications
The return fills in the part on how to apply (who to write to, the form, deadlines or limits) and does not check the preselected-only box.
Preselected only
The return checks the box saying the foundation gives only to organizations it selects and does not accept unsolicited requests. 4,767 of these still fill in the part on how to apply; we count them as preselected only, as the box says.
Not stated
The return neither checks the box nor says how to apply.
Size and State
Total assets at the end of the year, at book value; the State in the foundation’s own address.
Cause
The categories of the organizations a foundation gave to, from our match of its grant recipients to the IRS list of exempt organizations.

Find foundations that take applications