How do I find funders for a mid-size religion nonprofit?

Start with the funders most focused on mid-size religion organizations, currently Christian Relief Services, Dart-L Foundation, Orville D & Ruth a Merillat 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 mid-size organization here?

Size is the organization's median total revenue across its filings: mid-size ($1M to $10M). Cause is its NTEE classification in the IRS Business Master File.

How much grant money goes to mid-size religion organizations?

$2.2B reached 1,906 mid-size religion organizations from 7,007 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 · mid-size

Who funds mid-size religion organizations

The funders that back mid-size religion organizations are specialists, not generalists: Christian Relief Services gives them 125.6× the national rate, with 100% of its grants going here.

$2.2B

granted

1,906

organizations

7,007

funders

The short version

7,007 funders gave $2.2B to 1,906 mid-size religion organizations (mid-size ($1M to $10M)) across recent IRS filings.
The most focused funder is Christian Relief Services, giving 125.6× the national rate to mid-size religion organizations.
The largest non-DAF funder is Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service, at $33M.
The mid-size religion organization drawing the most is Lutheran Services in America, at $41M.

Funders most focused on mid-size 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.

Christian Relief Services125.6×$29M · 100% of its giving Dart-L Foundation120.6×$20M · 100% of its giving Orville D & Ruth a Merillat Foundation114.1×$18M · 95% of its giving Anselm House112.9×$13M · 100% of its giving Crf Affordable Housing Inc106.7×$10M · 99% of its giving American Bible Society102.9×$15M · 87% of its giving Vapor Ministries Inc102.7×$9M · 100% of its giving Family Christian Resource Centers Inc90.8×$6M · 100% of its giving

Largest funders by dollars

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

1Lutheran Immigration & Refugee Service$33M 2Lilly Endowment Inc$31M 3Christian Relief Services$29M 4Knights of Columbus Charitable Fund Inc$22M 5Dart-L Foundation$20M 6Orville D & Ruth a Merillat Foundation$18M 7American Bible Society$15M 8Christian Community Foundation Inc$15M

Mid-size religion organizations that draw the most

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

1,896 other mid-size religion organizations$2.0B

Questions and answers

How do I find funders for a mid-size religion nonprofit?: Start with the funders most focused on mid-size religion organizations, currently Christian Relief Services, Dart-L Foundation, Orville D & Ruth a Merillat 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 mid-size organization here?: Size is the organization's median total revenue across its filings: mid-size ($1M to $10M). Cause is its NTEE classification in the IRS Business Master File.
How much grant money goes to mid-size religion organizations?: $2.2B reached 1,906 mid-size religion organizations from 7,007 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.