How do I find funders for a grassroots public benefit nonprofit?

Start with the funders most focused on grassroots public benefit organizations, currently Air Force Academy Foundation, The Chris and Carrie Shumway Foundation, The Owens Family Foundation. 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 its NTEE classification in the IRS Business Master File.

How much grant money goes to grassroots public benefit organizations?

$466M reached 2,651 grassroots public benefit organizations from 4,605 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 · Public benefit · grassroots

Who funds grassroots public benefit organizations

The funders that back grassroots public benefit organizations are specialists, not generalists: Air Force Academy Foundation gives them 442.6× the national rate, with 80% 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 public benefit nonprofit's time.

$466M

granted

2,651

organizations

4,605

funders

The short version

4,605 funders gave $466M to 2,651 grassroots public benefit organizations (grassroots (under $1M)) across recent IRS filings.
The most focused funder is Air Force Academy Foundation, giving 442.6× the national rate to grassroots public benefit organizations.
The largest non-DAF funder is The Karsh Family Foundation, at $15M.
The grassroots public benefit organization drawing the most is The University of Virginia, at $62M.

Funders most focused on grassroots public benefit 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.

Air Force Academy Foundation442.6×$13M · 80% of its giving The Chris and Carrie Shumway Foundation430.9×$7M · 90% of its giving The Owens Family Foundation307.7×$3M · 92% of its giving John L Nau III Foundation291.1×$2M · 100% of its giving American Water Works Association214.4×$2M · 61% of its giving Manning Family Foundation211.7×$2M · 55% of its giving American Legion Department Of187.3×$1M · 80% of its giving The Karsh Family Foundation177.2×$15M · 29% of its giving

Largest funders by dollars

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

1The Karsh Family Foundation$15M 2Air Force Academy Foundation$13M 3The Chris and Carrie Shumway Foundation$7M 4The Susan Thompson Buffett Foundation$6M 5Donors Trust Inc$4M 6The Andrew W Mellon Foundation$3M 7Bradley Impact Fund Inc$3M 8Clark Charitable Foundation Inc$3M

Grassroots public benefit organizations that draw the most

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

2,641 other grassroots public benefit organizations$364M

The University of Virginia$62M

Questions and answers

How do I find funders for a grassroots public benefit nonprofit?: Start with the funders most focused on grassroots public benefit organizations, currently Air Force Academy Foundation, The Chris and Carrie Shumway Foundation, The Owens Family Foundation. 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 its NTEE classification in the IRS Business Master File.
How much grant money goes to grassroots public benefit organizations?: $466M reached 2,651 grassroots public benefit organizations from 4,605 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 regranting layer

51% of grant dollars pass through an intermediary

The DAF merry-go-round

$9.7B circulates between donor-advised funds

Strange bedfellows

the named clusters of US funding

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; cause is the recipient's NTEE classification in the IRS Business Master File. 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.