Reference · Glossary
US grantmaking glossary
Plain definitions of the terms behind the data on this site, from the kinds of grantmaker to the classifications and measures used throughout. Each links to where it shows up in the reports.
Donor-advised fund
A charitable account a donor funds upfront for the tax deduction, then recommends grants from over time.
Form 990
The annual information return most US tax-exempt organizations file with the IRS.
NTEE code
The IRS classification that sorts a nonprofit into a cause area such as education or health.
EIN (Employer Identification Number)
The nine-digit number that uniquely identifies a US organization to the IRS.
Private foundation
A grantmaking charity, usually endowed by a single source, that files Form 990-PF.
Community foundation
A public charity that pools donations to fund causes in a specific place.
Fiscal sponsor
An established charity that receives grants on behalf of a project without its own tax-exempt status.
Regranter (intermediary)
An organization that both receives and makes grants, sitting between funders and the charities doing the work.
Co-funder graph
The network linking funders that support the same organizations.
In-state share
The share of a state's grant dollars that stay within that state.
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