If you write grants then you know that it can be hard deciding how much to ask for.

Here’s a great way to solve that problem!

Check out Guidestar (www.guidestar.org).  They keep a database of nonprofits, including foundations, along with a ton of information about each one.  One of the most helpful things that they have is the organization’s tax return or 990.

In a foundation’s 990, they report their assets (interesting to know), their Board of Directors (also interesting to know), who they gave to during the reporting year (very interesting!) and how much they gave to each (VERY interesting!!). If you haven’t looked at many 990s you’ll have to get used to wading through a lot of numbers that you won’t care about.  Typically, there are additional pages at the back that list who the foundation gave grants to and how much they gave.  This will give you a good idea of how much to ask for.

I like seeing who else they gave to.  If I work for a food pantry and I see that the foundation supported two other food pantries, I am definitely going to ask them for money, because it looks like feeding the hungry is one of their focus areas.

It takes a little bit of time, but it’s time well spent if it helps you focus your grant request.