Foundation Discovery

Foundation Discovery is a powerful tool in Grant Frog that helps you find and research foundations and grants to identify new funding opportunities for your organization.

Foundation Discovery is a powerful tool within Grant Frog that helps you find and research foundations and grants to identify new funding opportunities for your organization. This feature provides access to foundation grant data, allowing you to filter and search foundations using multiple criteria.

Getting Started

Navigate to Foundation Discovery in your Grant Frog dashboard to begin your search.

Search and Filter Options

Foundation Discovery offers several ways to narrow down your search:

Basic Filters

• State: Filter foundations by specific state

• Focus Area: Search by foundation's funding priorities

• Keyword Research: Search your own custom keywords that aren't in Focus Areas (see the Keyword Research tutorial)

• Geographic Filters:

  • Zip code

  • City

  • State

• Foundation Identifiers:

  • EIN (Employer Identification Number)

  • Foundation name

Financial Filters

• Assets: Filter by foundation's total assets

• Grant Amounts: Search by grant size ranges

Grant Recipients Filter

Search for nonprofits that have previously received funding from foundations

Step-by-Step Search Process

Step 1: Select Your Initial Filter

1. Navigate to the Foundation tab

2. Choose your primary filter (we'll use State as an example)

3. Select "Texas" from the dropdown menu

4. Review the complete list of foundations in Texas

5. Choose a Foundation to view contact and grant details

Step 2: Refine Your Search

Add additional filters to narrow your results:

1. Select a Focus Area that matches your organization's mission:

   • Animals

   • Children and Youth

   • Cancer

   • Education

   • And many other options

2. This will show you foundations that have historically funded projects in your area of interest

Step 3: Research Individual Foundations

Click on any foundation from your filtered list to view detailed information:

Grant Keyword Research

You can search with your own custom keywords that aren't necessarily in the Focus Areas.

REAL EXAMPLES:

Example 1: Meals for Seniors Program

Searched keyword: "meals"

Filtered by: California

Result: Targeted list of CA foundations funding meal programs

Discovered: Specific grant amounts and recipient organizations

Example 2: Conservation Funding

Searched keyword: "conservation"

Filtered by: Colorado

Result: Colorado foundations supporting conservation work

Found: Rocky Mountain Conservancy and similar grantees

Foundation Profile Information

When you select a foundation, you'll see:

Basic Information

• Total Assets: Current foundation assets

• Recent Filings: When they last filed their 990 with the IRS

• NTEE Code: National Taxonomy classification

• Contact Information: Address and website (when available)

Funding Focus Areas

• Based on their actual grant history, showing what causes they support

Application Guidelines

• Grant application deadlines

• Contact information for submissions

• Application submission process

• Whether they accept unsolicited requests

Financial Data

• Grant Contributions by Year: Historical giving amounts

Grant History: Detailed list of past grants including:

• Recipient organization names

• Grant amounts

• Purpose of each grant

• Recipient addresses

Donor-Advised Funds

A Donor-Advised Fund (DAF) allows individual donors to donate charitable contributions to organizations through a fund maintained and operated by a 501(c)(3) organization, a 'sponsoring organization'.

With DAFs, an individual can contribute a specific amount, receive an immediate tax deduction, then grant out funds over time to their favorite causes.

Some of the larger DAF organizations, include Fidelity Charitable and Vanguard Charitable, and public national charities, such as the National Philanthropic Trust. Community Foundations are also DAF sponsoring organizations.

Donor-Advised Fund holder names are NOT publicly listed, only the grants given to an organization.

While you're unable to apply to grants through DAF funds, you can:

• research organizations who have received DAF grants

• tell potential donors that you accept DAF contributions

• review your donors who have given through DAF organizations

How to Search Donor-Advised Funds

• Click Foundation Discovery in the menu

• Choose the Financials tab

• On Donor-Advised Fund, choose Yes

• You can then combine this filter with other filters

Direct Foundation Search

If you know a specific foundation name:

1. Type the foundation name in the search box

2. Select the foundation from results

3. Access their complete profile and grant history

This method is useful for:

• Researching foundations that have previously supported your organization

• Following up on specific recommendations

• Analyzing competitors' funding sources

Advanced Grant Analysis

Filtering Grant Data

Within each foundation's profile, you can filter their grant history by:

• Recipient Name: Search for specific organizations

• Grant Amount Range: Set minimum and maximum amounts

• Purpose: Search grant descriptions

• Geographic Location: Filter by city, state, or zip code

• Year: View grants by specific time periods

Understanding Grant Patterns

Use this data to:

• Identify typical grant sizes

• Understand funding priorities

• See geographic preferences

• Analyze giving trends over time

Grant Recipient Search - See Other Nonprofit Grants

1. Navigate to the Grant Recipients tab

2. Filter by:

   • City

   • State

   • Zip code

3. View foundations that have funded organizations in specific locations

4. Reset filters as needed to broaden or narrow results

Making the Most of Your Research

Best Practices

1. Start Broad: Begin with general filters and narrow down gradually

2. Analyze Patterns: Look for consistent funding areas and grant sizes

3. Geographic Alignment: Pay attention to foundations that fund in your area

4. Historical Trends: Review multiple years of giving to understand patterns

5. Application Requirements: Note specific application processes and deadlines

How to Save a Funder to Your Account

Once you've identified promising foundations during your research, you can save them directly to your Grant Frog account for easy access and future reference.

Steps to Save a Funder

1. Open the Funder Record: Navigate to the foundation profile you want to save

2. Click "Save to Funders": Look for this button within the foundation's profile page

3. Automatic Data Transfer: The system will automatically add the following information to your account:

   • Funder name

   • Complete contact details

   • Address

   • Phone number

   • Website (when available)

Benefits of Saving Funders

• Quick Access: Easily find saved foundations without repeating searches

• Contact Management: Keep all funder contact information organized in one place

• Relationship and Grant Tracking: Build a comprehensive database of potential funding sources

• Application Planning: Create a pipeline of foundations to approach for funding