Funder Intelligence (Prospecting)

Funder Intelligence is a powerful tool within Grant Frog that helps you find and research foundations and grants to identify new funding opportunities for your organization. This feature provides access to foundation grant data, allowing you to filter and search foundations using multiple criteria.

Where We Get Our Data

We source our data directly from the IRS. This includes 990 data from private, corporate, and community foundations. We then add additional Grant Insights to the Funder profiles to help you make the best grant request decisions, such as average and median grant size, geographical giving areas, and a grant distribution amount range based on how the funder gives.

📽️ How to Find Foundations and Grants with Funder Intelligence in Grant Frog

Getting Started

Navigate to Funder Intelligence in your Grant Frog dashboard to begin your search.

Search and Filter Options

Funder Intelligence offers several ways to narrow down your search. You can combine any filters to narrow your search.

Funder Filters

• Name: the Funder's name. Sometimes you may need to shorten or change the name as sometimes their legal name is different from the name you typically know them as
• City
• State: The specific state where the funder is located
• Zip code
• Application Policy: By Invitation Only OR Applications Accepted - (note: just because it's invitation-only doesn't mean you should exclude them as a potential funder. If they're a fit, reach out and connect with them to see if you might fit their focus areas)
• EIN (Employer Identification Number) - their official IRS identification number

(hint: you can also add the EIN to a Funder in your Funder list and we'll match it to the one in Funder Intelligence. You'll then be able to quickly access the profile from your Funder list)

Funder Giving Interests

• Focus Area: Search by foundation's funding priorities
• Keyword Research: Search your own custom keywords that aren't in Focus Areas (see the Keyword Research tutorial) - this will search a grant program title and an organization's name

Financial Filters

• Assets: Filter by foundation's total assets
• Grant Amounts: Search by grant size ranges
• Donor-Advised Fund - You can include or exclude foundations who have donor-advised funds - Learn What is a DAF?

A donor advised fund allows individual donors to donate charitable contributions to organizations through a fund maintained and operated by a 501(c)(3) organization, a 'sponsoring organization'.

Grant Recipients Filter - (Nonprofit Reverse Grant Search)

Use this filter to look up grant recipients similar to your organization and see where funders are awarding grants. Type in the nonprofit or organization's name to see who gave them grants.

Recipient Name: the name of the organization who received a grant(s) - because legal names are sometimes different than known names, you may need to shorten a name or combine it with a recipient city or state filter
City: Recipients city
State: Recipients state
Zip code: Recipients

Step 1: Select Your Initial Filter

1. Navigate to the Funder tab
2. Choose your primary filter (we'll use State as an example)
3. Select "Texas" from the dropdown menu
4. Review the complete list of foundations in Texas
5. Choose a Foundation to view contact and grant details

Step 2: Refine Your Search

Add additional filters to narrow your results:

1. Select a Focus Area that matches your organization's mission:
2. • Animals
   • Children and Youth
   • Cancer
   • Education
   • And many other options
2. This will show you foundations that have historically funded projects in your area of interest

Step 3: Research Individual Foundations

Click on any foundation from your filtered list to view detailed information:

📽️ How to search using Keywords and other Filters in Grant Frog

You can search with your own custom keywords that aren't necessarily in the Focus Areas.

Common Searches You Can Use

Keyword Searches

Example 1

Example 1: Nonprofit providing Meals for Seniors in California

Goal: Find Funders in California who have provided a 'meals' grant

1. In Funder Giving Interestz section, add keyword: "meals"

2. In Funder section, choose Funder State of California

Result: Targeted list of California foundations funding meal programs

Example 2

Example 2: Nonprofit providing Meals for Seniors in California but looking for Funders from anywhere in the U.S.

Goal: Find Funders who have given to California organizations

1. In Funder Giving Priorities, add keyword "meals"
2. In Grant Recipients, choose State of California

Result: Organizations located in California who have received a 'meals' grant from any funder in the U.S.

Nonprofit Organizations Who are Doing Similar Work to Yours or Are Located in An Area You Want to Search

You can search to see who's providing grants to other organizations.

• Click Grant Recipients
• Enter the Name of the Organization - because legal names are sometimes different than known names, you may need to shorten a name or combine it with a recipient city or state filter
• View the list of foundations who have given to the organization

📽️ Funders Who Give in Your State but Aren't Located in Your State

Foundation Profile Information

When you select a foundation, you'll see:

Basic Information

• Total Assets: Current foundation assets
• Recent Filings: When they last filed their 990 with the IRS
• NTEE Code: National Taxonomy classification
• Contact Information: Address and website (when available)

Funding Focus Areas

• Based on their actual grant history, showing what causes they support

Application Guidelines

Currently listed on private foundations only - direct from IRS 990 filing

• Grant application deadlines
• Contact information for submissions
• Application submission process
• Whether they accept unsolicited requests

Grants Data

• Total Grants Awarded By Year: Historical giving amount by year
• Average Grant Size by Year: See the average grant given each year

Geographic Giving:

See where grants are given geographically in the U.S. and how many in each state

Grant History: Detailed list of past grants including:

• Recipient organization names
• Grant amounts
• Purpose of each grant
• Recipient addresses

Donor-Advised Funds

A Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) allows individual donors to donate charitable contributions to organizations through a fund maintained and operated by a 501(c)(3) organization, a 'sponsoring organization'.

With DAFs, an individual can contribute a specific amount, receive an immediate tax deduction, then grant out funds over time to their favorite causes.

Some of the larger DAF organizations, include Fidelity Charitable and Vanguard Charitable, and public national charities, such as the National Philanthropic Trust. Community Foundations are also DAF sponsoring organizations.

Donor-Advised Fund holder names are NOT publicly listed, only the grants given to an organization.

While you're unable to apply to grants through DAF funds, you can:

• research organizations who have received DAF grants
• tell potential donors that you accept DAF contributions
• review your donors who have given through DAF organizations

How to Search Donor-Advised Funds

• Click Funder Intelligence in the menu
• Choose the Financials tab
• On Donor-Advised Fund, choose Yes

• You can then combine this filter with other filters

Direct Foundation Search

If you know a specific foundation name:

1. Type the foundation name in the search box
2. Select the foundation from results
3. Access their complete profile and grant history

This method is useful for:

• Researching foundations that have previously supported your organization
• Following up on specific recommendations
• Analyzing competitors' funding sources

Advanced Grant Analysis

Filtering Grant Data

Within each foundation's profile, you can filter their grant history by:

• Recipient Name: Search for specific organizations
• Grant Amount Range: Set minimum and maximum amounts
• Purpose: Search grant descriptions
• Geographic Location: Filter by city, state, or zip code
• Year: View grants by specific time periods

Understanding Grant Patterns

Use this data to:

• Identify typical grant sizes
• Understand funding priorities
• See geographic preferences
• Analyze giving trends over time

Grant Recipient Search - See Other Nonprofit Grants

1. Navigate to the Grant Recipients tab
2. Filter by:
3. • City
   • State
   • Zip code
3. View foundations that have funded organizations in specific locations
4. Reset filters as needed to broaden or narrow results

Making the Most of Your Research

Best Practices

1. Start Broad: Begin with general filters and narrow down gradually
2. Analyze Patterns: Look for consistent funding areas and grant sizes
3. Geographic Alignment: Pay attention to foundations that fund in your area
4. Historical Trends: Review multiple years of giving to understand patterns
5. Application Requirements: Note specific application processes and deadlines

How to Save a Funder to Your Account

Once you've identified promising foundations during your research, you can save them directly to your Grant Frog account for easy access and future reference.

Steps to Save a Funder

1. Open the Funder Record: Navigate to the foundation profile you want to save
2. Click "Save to Funders": Look for this button within the foundation's profile page
3. Automatic Data Transfer: The system will automatically add the following information to your account:
4. • Funder name
   • Complete contact details
   • Address
   • Phone number
   • Website (when available)

Benefits of Saving Funders

• Quick Access: Easily find saved foundations without repeating searches
• Contact Management: Keep all funder contact information organized in one place
• Relationship and Grant Tracking: Build a comprehensive database of potential funding sources
• Application Planning: Create a pipeline of foundations to approach for funding

Updated on: 09/09/2026