FundFinchIf you run a small nonprofit, you have probably typed "grants for nonprofits" into a search engine and found pages of lists, ads and databases that want a credit card. The good news: most of the information that matters is public and free. The harder part is having a method, so you spend your limited hours on the few grants you can actually win.
This is the method we use at FundFinch, written so you can do it yourself in a few hours, then keep it going in about 30 minutes a week.
Step 1: Decide what you're raising money for
Before you search, write down three things: the program or need you want funded, roughly how much it costs, and where the people you serve live. "General support for our food pantry in Crook County, about $15,000" or "a $3,000 laptop and software upgrade for our volunteer tutoring program" are both good starting points.
This matters because funders sort themselves by geography, cause and type of money (program, general operating, capital, equipment, capacity building). A clear one-line need lets you rule funders in or out in seconds.
While you're at it, check that your basic documents are in order: your IRS determination letter, a board-approved budget, a board list and last year's numbers. Our free grant-readiness checklist lists everything funders commonly ask for.
Step 2: Start local, with your community foundation
For most small organizations, the most realistic first funders are close to home. Community foundations pool money from local donors and give it back to local nonprofits, and many run open grant programs with short applications. The Council on Foundations keeps a Community Foundation Locator you can search by state.
When you find yours, read three pages: its grants or "apply" page, its list of past grantees, and any eligibility FAQ. Then call or email the program officer and ask two questions: "Is our project a fit for any of your programs?" and "Who else locally funds work like ours?" Program officers know the local funding landscape better than any database.
Don't stop at the community foundation. Make a short list of other local sources: your United Way, service clubs like Rotary, and businesses with local branches, such as banks, credit unions, utilities and grocery chains. Many companies run giving programs focused on the communities they serve. You can see real examples on our corporate giving grants list.
Step 3: Find out who already funds organizations like yours
This is the step most people skip, and it's the most valuable. Private foundations must file a public tax return, Form 990-PF, every year, and it lists the grants they paid. That tells you who a foundation really funds, how much it typically gives and where, which is often more useful than its website.
The free way to read those filings is ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer, which lets you search organizations, people and the full text of filings. Two ways to use it:
- Look up a foundation you've heard of. Open its latest 990-PF and go to Part XIV, line 3, "Grants and Contributions Paid During the Year." Each row shows the recipient, purpose and amount. Line 2 includes a box the foundation checks if it only gives to preselected charities and doesn't accept unsolicited requests, a quick way to cross a funder off your list. (The IRS instructions for Form 990-PF explain both lines.)
- Search for your peers. Use the full-text search for the name of a similar nonprofit in your area, or your town plus your cause. Foundations that list that peer in their grants are worth a closer look.
Public charities that make grants, including community foundations, report grants of more than $5,000 to any one organization on Schedule I of their Form 990 (see the Schedule I instructions). We walk through all of this, screen by screen, in How to read a foundation's 990 to see who they fund.
Step 4: Check the funder's own website for an open door
A 990 tells you what a foundation did, often a year or more ago. Its website tells you what it's doing now. For every promising name, look for current guidelines, deadlines, eligibility rules and whether it takes applications or letters of inquiry. If a funder has no website, the "application information" section of its 990-PF (Part XIV, line 2) may list a contact, the form to use, deadlines and restrictions.
This is also where you confirm the details that sink applications: the geographic area, budget caps (some programs only fund organizations under $1 million), matching requirements, and exclusions such as "no salaries" or "no religious programs."
Step 5: Search federal grants on Grants.gov, with realistic expectations
Grants.gov lists federal funding opportunities and is free to search. Filter by eligibility (for example, "Nonprofits having a 501(c)(3) status with the IRS") and by category, and save the search so you can re-run it weekly.
Before you can apply, your organization has to register in SAM.gov and get a Unique Entity ID. Registration is free. Grants.gov's registration page says to allow up to 10 business days for SAM.gov registration to become active (longer if information can't be verified) and that it must be renewed every year. If federal money is in your plans at all, register well before you need it.
Be honest with yourself about capacity. Federal applications are long, and awards come with reporting and financial-management rules. For many small organizations, foundation, corporate and local government grants are a better first target.
Step 6: Use paid databases for free
Candid's foundation database is a paid subscription, but Candid partners with libraries and other locations that offer free access. Find the nearest one at candid.org/find-us. One focused afternoon there can add a dozen qualified names to your list.
Step 7: Screen every prospect before you write
Most declined applications were never a good fit. Before anyone starts writing, run each opportunity through a quick screen:
- Are we an eligible type of applicant?
- Do we serve their geography?
- Does our project match a priority they name?
- Do they fund the kind of money we need?
- Is our request inside their typical grant size?
- Have they funded organizations like ours recently?
- Do they accept unsolicited requests?
- Is there enough time to do this well?
Our free guide has a printable 5-minute fit check with ten questions and a simple scoring rule. If you score low, move the funder to a watch list instead of forcing an application.
Step 8: Put every deadline on one calendar
Funders work in cycles: some are quarterly, some annual, some rolling. Once you have a shortlist, record each funder's deadline, the date you'll start writing, and any registration you need first. Then review the calendar monthly. We explain how in Grant deadline calendar: how to plan a year of applications.
Shortcuts: open grants we've already checked
If you want to see what a verified, current list looks like, browse our free deadline pages. Every listing links to the funder's official page:
- All open grants, sorted by deadline
- National grants small nonprofits can apply for now
- Grants of $10,000 or less, often the best first grants
- State lists: Oregon, Washington, Idaho, California and South Dakota
Whatever list you use, ours included, confirm the details on the funder's site before you apply. Deadlines and rules change.
Keep it going: 30 minutes a week
Grant research works best as a small, steady habit. Each week, re-run your saved Grants.gov search, check your community foundation's page, look up one new funder's 990, and screen any new leads. In a few months you'll have a pipeline instead of a scramble.
FundFinch is a grant research service for small nonprofits. We check every fact in our articles against the linked sources; funders change their rules, so always confirm on the funder's own site. Spotted something out of date? Email hello@fundfinch.com.