Foundation Finder, a free look-up tool, is a prominent feature in the Find Funders directory of the Foundation Center's Web site. By using Foundation Finder you can immediately locate basic facts and contact information on the universe of private foundations, community foundations, grantmaking public charities, and corporate giving programs in the U.S. It is designed for those seeking quick access to core information about grantmakers. The Foundation Finder is updated monthly.
Foundation Finder has five search boxes, or fields, that you can use in any combination to locate a specific grantmaker, or grantmakers in a specific geography—Name, City, State, ZIP, and EIN (Employer Identification Number).
If you know the name of the grantmaker you want to find, begin your search by going to the Name field. If you only know part of the grantmaker's name, just type in the part you know. Foundation Finder is not case-sensitive, so your entry may include any combination of lowercase and uppercase letters. If the grantmaker’s name is a common one, you can limit your results by using one or more of the other search fields.
In some instances, grantmakers change their names or are commonly known by a name other than the one registered with the Internal Revenue Service. If you do not know a foundation's current or full name, you may enter its former, partial, or more commonly used name.
You can identify grantmakers geographically by using the City, State, and/or ZIP fields. To find grantmakers in a specific city, type that name into the City box. To add a state to your search criteria, click on the State box. A drop-down menu will appear. To select a state, scroll down the list and click on the name of the state you want. Use the ZIP box to find grantmakers in a specific ZIP code. To approximate a metropolitan area, try truncating the first two or three digits of a zip code using an asterisk, which is the wildcard symbol. For example, 60* will include most of the greater Chicago area.
EIN is the number assigned to each foundation and public charity by the Internal Revenue Service. If you know the Employer Identification Number of the grantmaker you want to look up, enter it in the EIN box. The EIN should be entered in the search field without a hyphen.
Once you have entered the information into the appropriate boxes, click on the "Find" button. The results of your search will appear as an alphabetical list of foundations and the states where they are located. For example, typing "Midland" in the Name field produces a list of 10 foundations with Midland as part of their names. To retrieve a record, just click on the foundation name.
A Foundation Finder record includes foundation name, address, telephone number, contact person, fiscal year, assets, total giving, EIN, and foundation type. The record may also include supplemental address information, additional telephone numbers, fax numbers, web address, and e-mail addresses. Click on the link to view the latest available IRS Form 990-PF for a private foundation or IRS Form 990 for a community foundations or a public charity. The IRS returns are the most recent available. Please note, corporate giving programs are not required to file Form 990-PF or Form 990.
For more information, see "Tips for Using Foundation Finder" at the Center's web site.
Can't find the answer you're looking for in our FAQs? Ask our Online Librarian.
