How do I find funders for a grassroots international nonprofit?

Start with the funders most focused on grassroots international organizations, currently Commonwealth Impact Foundation Inc, The Dell Loy Hansen Foundation, Global Ties US. Donor-advised funds and mega-funds are excluded, so these are funders that genuinely back organizations your size, not pass-through accounts.

What counts as a grassroots organization here?

Size is the organization's median total revenue across its filings: grassroots (under $1M). Cause is where each grant is placed by its stated purpose and the recipient's mission, falling back to the recipient's IRS activity category where that is unclear.

How much grant money goes to grassroots international organizations?

$3.8B reached 13,381 grassroots international organizations from 15,741 funders. Money parked in the regranting layer is netted out.

How recent is this data?

It is read from IRS Form 990 and 990-PF e-file filings across recent fiscal years. US charity filings lag 12 to 24 months.

Causes · International · grassroots

Who funds grassroots international organizations

The funders that back grassroots international organizations are specialists, not generalists: Commonwealth Impact Foundation Inc gives them 207.6× the national rate, with 98% of its grants going here. These are the small organizations the big-institution funders usually miss, so the funders that show up here are the ones worth a small international nonprofit's time.

$3.8B

granted

13,381

organizations

15,741

funders

The short version

15,741 funders gave $3.8B to 13,381 grassroots international organizations (grassroots (under $1M)) across recent IRS filings.
The most focused funder is Commonwealth Impact Foundation Inc, giving 207.6× the national rate to grassroots international organizations.
The largest non-DAF funder is The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International, at $58M.
The grassroots international organization drawing the most is Nova Ukraine, at $77M.

Funders most focused on grassroots international organizations

Not the biggest checks, the most committed: each gives this size and cause an outsized share of its budget against the national rate, shrunk toward that rate so a small specialist needs real volume to rank.

Commonwealth Impact Foundation Inc207.6×$17M · 98% of its giving The Dell Loy Hansen Foundation190.8×$39M · 81% of its giving Global Ties US180.5×$46M · 76% of its giving The Happy Davis Foundation Inc176.3×$10M · 90% of its giving Haiti Benefit Auction163.2×$12M · 78% of its giving Children International162.8×$6M · 100% of its giving Overseas Schools Assistance Corporation150.8×$5M · 100% of its giving Bobby Sherman Volunteer EMT Foundation139×$4M · 94% of its giving

Largest funders by dollars

Real grantmakers giving the most to grassroots international organizations (donor-advised and mega-funds excluded).

1The Rotary Foundation of Rotary International$58M 2Global Ties US$46M 3The Dell Loy Hansen Foundation$39M 4Gates Foundation$36M 5Globalgiving Foundation Inc$34M 6Pure Inc$23M 7Wellspring Philanthropic Fund Inc$20M 8Commonwealth Impact Foundation Inc$17M

Grassroots international organizations that draw the most

Sized by grant dollars received. Pick one to see exactly who funds it.

13,371 other grassroots international organizations$3.5B

Questions and answers

How do I find funders for a grassroots international nonprofit?: Start with the funders most focused on grassroots international organizations, currently Commonwealth Impact Foundation Inc, The Dell Loy Hansen Foundation, Global Ties US. Donor-advised funds and mega-funds are excluded, so these are funders that genuinely back organizations your size, not pass-through accounts.
What counts as a grassroots organization here?: Size is the organization's median total revenue across its filings: grassroots (under $1M). Cause is where each grant is placed by its stated purpose and the recipient's mission, falling back to the recipient's IRS activity category where that is unclear.
How much grant money goes to grassroots international organizations?: $3.8B reached 13,381 grassroots international organizations from 15,741 funders. Money parked in the regranting layer is netted out.
How recent is this data?: It is read from IRS Form 990 and 990-PF e-file filings across recent fiscal years. US charity filings lag 12 to 24 months.

More from the funding graph

The unnamed billions

grants reported with no recipient in the public record

The regranting layer

51% of grant dollars land in the regranting layer

The DAF merry-go-round

$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds

The camps

funders cluster by geography, not ideology

By state

where grant money is based, and what stays home

State money flows

the interactive map of money crossing state lines

Size is median total revenue; each grant is placed by its stated purpose and the recipient's mission, falling back to the recipient's IRS activity category where that is unclear. Read from IRS Form 990 and 990-PF e-file XML across recent fiscal years, among (c)(3) funders and recipients resolved by EIN, with the regranting layer netted out. Source: IRS Form 990 downloads.