How do I find funders for a grassroots religion nonprofit?

Start with the funders most focused on grassroots religion organizations, currently Gordon Christian Trust, Meor Inc, Second Wind Programs 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 its NTEE classification in the IRS Business Master File.

How much grant money goes to grassroots religion organizations?

$1.1B reached 9,612 grassroots religion organizations from 7,928 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 · Religion · grassroots

Who funds grassroots religion organizations

The funders that back grassroots religion organizations are specialists, not generalists: Gordon Christian Trust gives them 177.1× the national rate, with 100% 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 religion nonprofit's time.

$1.1B

granted

9,612

organizations

7,928

funders

The short version

7,928 funders gave $1.1B to 9,612 grassroots religion organizations (grassroots (under $1M)) across recent IRS filings.
The most focused funder is Gordon Christian Trust, giving 177.1× the national rate to grassroots religion organizations.
The largest non-DAF funder is Lilly Endowment Inc, at $11M.
The grassroots religion organization drawing the most is E3 Elevating Education Everywhere Inc, at $8M.

Funders most focused on grassroots religion 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.

Gordon Christian Trust177.1×$6M · 100% of its giving Meor Inc168.1×$8M · 82% of its giving Second Wind Programs Inc135.4×$3M · 100% of its giving Cns International Ministries Inc109.6×$2M · 100% of its giving Mikvah USA Inc109.5×$2M · 81% of its giving Word Among US Inc102×$2M · 77% of its giving 3cr Ministries Foundation97.6×$2M · 99% of its giving Concordia Lutheran Ministries90.6×$2M · 90% of its giving

Largest funders by dollars

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

1Lilly Endowment Inc$11M 2Christian Community Foundation Inc$9M 3Tenacre Foundation$8M 4Meor Inc$8M 5Gordon Christian Trust$6M 6Catholic Community Foundation$5M 7Chattanooga Christian Community$5M 8Anabaptist Foundation$5M

Grassroots religion organizations that draw the most

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

9,602 other grassroots religion organizations$1.1B

Questions and answers

How do I find funders for a grassroots religion nonprofit?: Start with the funders most focused on grassroots religion organizations, currently Gordon Christian Trust, Meor Inc, Second Wind Programs 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 its NTEE classification in the IRS Business Master File.
How much grant money goes to grassroots religion organizations?: $1.1B reached 9,612 grassroots religion organizations from 7,928 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.