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

Start with the funders most focused on mid-size social science organizations, currently Community Foundation of Bloomington, American Arbitration Association Inc, The Nita 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 social science organizations?

$352M reached 146 mid-size social science organizations from 996 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 · Social science · mid-size

Who funds mid-size social science organizations

The funders that back mid-size social science organizations are specialists, not generalists: Community Foundation of Bloomington gives them 378.6× the national rate, with 59% of its grants going here.

$352M

granted

146

organizations

996

funders

The short version

996 funders gave $352M to 146 mid-size social science organizations (mid-size ($1M to $10M)) across recent IRS filings.
The most focused funder is Community Foundation of Bloomington, giving 378.6× the national rate to mid-size social science organizations.
The largest non-DAF funder is Gates Foundation, at $18M.
The mid-size social science organization drawing the most is Imagine North Carolina First, at $17M.

Funders most focused on mid-size social science 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.

Community Foundation of Bloomington378.6×$5M · 59% of its giving American Arbitration Association Inc318.7×$2M · 73% of its giving The Nita Foundation268.2×$1M · 100% of its giving Thomas R Brown Family Foundation265×$3M · 44% of its giving Turning Point USA Inc257.9×$6M · 35% of its giving Richard Seth Staley Educational241.3×$1M · 85% of its giving Hirsch Family Foundation121.5×$2M · 19% of its giving JP Humphreys Foundation110.1×$584k · 36% of its giving

Largest funders by dollars

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

1Gates Foundation$18M 2The William & Flora Hewlett Foundation$13M 3Donors Trust Inc$7M 4Greater Washington Community Foundation$6M 5Turning Point USA Inc$6M 6Community Foundation of Bloomington$5M 7The Ford Foundation$5M 8WK Kellogg Foundation$4M

Mid-size social science organizations that draw the most

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

136 other mid-size social science organizations$233M

Imagine North Carolina First$17M Mk Level Playing Field Institute$15M

Questions and answers

How do I find funders for a mid-size social science nonprofit?: Start with the funders most focused on mid-size social science organizations, currently Community Foundation of Bloomington, American Arbitration Association Inc, The Nita 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 social science organizations?: $352M reached 146 mid-size social science organizations from 996 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.