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Causes · Recreation and sports · grassroots

Who funds grassroots recreation and sports organizations

The funders that back grassroots recreation and sports organizations are specialists, not generalists: 661 Foundation gives them 255.1× the national rate, with 95% 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 recreation and sports nonprofit's time.

$2.9B
granted
25,891
organizations
20,082
funders

The short version

Funders most focused on grassroots recreation and sports 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.

Largest funders by dollars

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

Grassroots recreation and sports organizations that draw the most

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

25,881 other grassroots recreation and sports organizations$2.8B

Questions and answers

How do I find funders for a grassroots recreation and sports nonprofit?
Start with the funders most focused on grassroots recreation and sports organizations, currently 661 Foundation, Cotton Bowl Athletic Association, Sherwood Forest Camp Inc. 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 recreation and sports organizations?
$2.9B reached 25,891 grassroots recreation and sports organizations from 20,082 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

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.