990-PF vs 990: Which One Has the Grant List?

990-PF vs 990: which has the grant list? Each form can carry one, and the type of funder tells you which form to open (IRS, Private foundations, June 28, 2026; IRS, Form 990 series: which forms do exempt organizations file, June 28, 2026). A private foundation reports grants paid on Form 990-PF. A public charity reports grants it made on Schedule I, attached to its Form 990.

Form 990-PF is the annual return that private foundations file to figure tax on investment income and to report charitable distributions and activities (IRS, Instructions for Form 990-PF (2025)). Form 990 is the annual return a public charity files once its gross receipts reach $200,000 or its total assets reach $500,000 (IRS, Form 990 series: which forms do exempt organizations file, June 28, 2026). The grant list you want sits in a different place on each one, and the two lists answer different prospect questions.

Quick Answer: Which Form Holds the Grant List?

Form 990-PF and Form 990 can both list grants. A private foundation lists its grants in Part XIV on 2021 to 2025 forms (Part XV on 2019 and 2020). A public charity reports grants on Schedule I of Form 990, one row per domestic organization or government receiving more than $5,000 that year (IRS, Schedule I instructions, Rev. December 2024).

990-PF vs 990: Which Has the Grant List?

Form 990-PF has the grant list when your prospect is a private foundation, and Form 990 has the grant record, on Schedule I, when your prospect is a public charity that makes grants (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF; IRS, Instructions for Schedule I (Form 990), Rev. December 2024). "Every organization that qualifies for tax exemption as an organization described in section 501(c)(3) is a private foundation unless it falls into one of the categories specifically excluded from the definition of that term" (IRS, Private foundations, June 28, 2026). That default rule is why the filing question comes first.

All private foundations, including nonexempt trusts treated as private foundations, must annually file Form 990-PF, Return of Private Foundation (IRS, Private foundations, June 28, 2026). Private foundations "are differentiated from tax-exempt public charities by their narrow bases of control and financial support" (IRS SOI, Domestic private foundation and charitable trust statistics, February 26, 2026). A family foundation funded by one donor and a public charity funded by many small gifts therefore file different returns even when both give money away.

The split fits in one table, a filing key worth keeping beside the wider guidance on where nonprofits find grant money.

Source notes for the table: foundation filing duty (IRS, Private foundations, June 28, 2026); operating foundation status (IRS, Private operating foundations, March 5, 2026); community foundation filing (Grantmakers.io, The IRS 990 dataset, read September 2026); size thresholds for charity returns (IRS, Form 990 series: which forms do exempt organizations file, June 28, 2026); Schedule I threshold (IRS, Instructions for Schedule I (Form 990), Rev. December 2024); asset test and application block (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF).

A common error is to pull the wrong return and conclude that a funder gives nothing. A community foundation will not appear in a 990-PF-only database, because community foundations file Form 990 instead (Grantmakers.io, The IRS 990 dataset, read September 2026). Confirm the filer type before you judge the prospect.

Where Private Foundation Grants Appear on the 990-PF

Private foundation grants appear in the part of Form 990-PF headed "Part XIV Supplementary Information (continued) 3 Grants and Contributions Paid During the Year or Approved for Future Payment" on the 2025 form (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF). That heading names both cash grants paid during the year and commitments approved for future payment.

Part XIV line 3 is split into "a Paid during the year" and "b Approved for future payment," so forward commitments appear separately from cash grants (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF). A funder with large future approvals may have little room for new applicants even when the paid line looks active.

Each row of the Part XIV grant list carries five fields: "Recipient Name and address (home or business)," "If recipient is an individual, show any relationship to any foundation manager or substantial contributor," "Foundation status of recipient," "Purpose of grant or contribution," and "Amount" (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF).

Name the tax year every time you cite a part number, because the numbers moved. A write-up that calls the grant list "Part XV" is describing a 2020 or earlier form; on the 2021 through 2025 forms the list is Part XIV, and undistributed income moved from Part XIII to Part XII at the same time (IRS, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2025 Forms 990-PF compared).

The same supplementary part carries an application information block. Part XIV line 2 asks for the contact for applications, the form applications should take, any submission deadlines, and any limits by geography, field or institution type (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF). It opens with a box a foundation can check to state that it "only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds" (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF). A checked box means unsolicited requests are not accepted. Schedule I is built to report grants made, so a public charity's application rules live in its own guidelines.

Two limits shape what the list can prove. The grant list section is conditional on size: "Part XIV Supplementary Information (Complete this part only if the foundation had $5,000 or more in assets at any time during the year-see instructions.)" (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF). Recipient names also carry a matching problem: "There is no IRS requirement to use the actual legal name for the grantees, and no requirement to distinguish between national HQ recipients and their local/regional organizations" (Grantmakers.io, The IRS 990 dataset, read September 2026).

Where Public Charity Grants Appear on Form 990

Public charity grants appear on Schedule I, the grants schedule attached to Form 990 (IRS, Instructions for Schedule I (Form 990), Rev. December 2024). Schedule I (Form 990) "is used by an organization that files Form 990 to provide information on grants and other assistance made by the filing organization during the tax year to domestic organizations, domestic governments, and domestic individuals" (IRS, Instructions for Schedule I (Form 990), Rev. December 2024). It is the closest public charity equivalent to the Part XIV grant list.

Schedule I does not list every grant the charity made (IRS, Instructions for Schedule I (Form 990), Rev. December 2024). On Schedule I, an organization must "Enter information only for each recipient domestic organization or domestic government that received more than $5,000 aggregate of grants or assistance from the organization during the tax year" (IRS, Instructions for Schedule I (Form 990), Rev. December 2024). A charity that makes many small awards will show a shorter schedule than its real grant count.

Filing size controls whether a charity return shows grants at all. Schedule I is "used by an organization that files Form 990" (IRS, Instructions for Schedule I (Form 990), Rev. December 2024), and "Form 990-EZ can be filed by organizations with gross receipts of less than $200,000 and total assets of less than $500,000 at the end of their tax year" (IRS, Instructions for Form 990-EZ (2025), 2025 tax year), so a charity that files Form 990-EZ has no Schedule I to read. Small tax-exempt organizations generally are eligible to file Form 990-N if their annual gross receipts are normally $50,000 or less (IRS, Annual electronic filing requirement for small exempt organizations, read September 2026). A prospect that files Form 990-N gives you identity and contact facts but no grants schedule to read.

Who Files Which Form and Why It Matters for Prospects

The filer type decides the form, and the form decides where you look. A private foundation files Form 990-PF every year "regardless of financial status" (IRS, Form 990 series: which forms do exempt organizations file, June 28, 2026). A public charity files the return that matches its size for the year, from Form 990-N through Form 990-EZ to the full Form 990 (IRS, Form 990 series: which forms do exempt organizations file, June 28, 2026).

Operating foundations are the case that trips people up. In general, a private operating foundation "is a private foundation that devotes most of its resources to the active conduct of its exempt activities" (IRS, Private operating foundations, March 5, 2026). Because it is a private foundation, it files Form 990-PF like any other (IRS, Private foundations, June 28, 2026), but most of its money funds its own programs, so its grant list may be short.

Sort prospects by geography first, for example from a private foundation roster by state, then confirm each prospect's filer type and request the matching return.

Source notes for the table: foundation filing duty (IRS, Private foundations, June 28, 2026); operating foundation status (IRS, Private operating foundations, March 5, 2026); charity size thresholds (IRS, Form 990 series: which forms do exempt organizations file, June 28, 2026); community foundation filing (Grantmakers.io, The IRS 990 dataset, read September 2026); Schedule I scope and threshold (IRS, Instructions for Schedule I (Form 990), Rev. December 2024); Form 990-N contents (IRS, Annual electronic filing requirement for small exempt organizations, read September 2026); church filing exception (IRS, Annual exempt organization return: who must file, May 31, 2026).

Two edge cases deserve explicit notice. Churches, church associations and integrated auxiliaries are on the IRS list of organizations that need not file an annual information return at all (IRS, Annual exempt organization return: who must file, May 31, 2026). A name on the Auto-Revocation List does not by itself prove the exemption is gone today, since the IRS says presence on the list "doesn't necessarily reflect its current tax-exempt status" (IRS, Search for tax exempt organizations (TEOS FAQ), read September 2026).

Which Filing to Read First for Each Type of Funder

For a private foundation, open Part XIV line 3 and the line 2 application block together. The grant rows show who received money and in what amounts, while the application block shows whether unsolicited requests are accepted and under what limits (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF). Check the opt-out box first, then the geography and field limits, then the recipient rows.

For a public charity prospect, open Schedule I and read it with the $5,000 reporting line in mind (IRS, Instructions for Schedule I (Form 990), Rev. December 2024). The schedule covers grants and other assistance made during the tax year to domestic organizations, domestic governments, and domestic individuals (IRS, Instructions for Schedule I (Form 990), Rev. December 2024). Treat it as a record of the larger awards, not a full ledger.

Expect delay on either return. Both are due by the 15th day of the 5th month after the year ends, with an automatic 6-month extension on Form 8868 (IRS, Annual exempt organization return: due date, June 28, 2026). For 990-PF grants, Grantmakers.io warns that "'New' grants that appear in Grantee Search results were likely actually funded 9-18+ months before first appearing in results" (Grantmakers.io, The IRS 990 dataset, read September 2026). Errors also persist because the only way a foundation can adjust filing content is to file a full amendment to its return (Grantmakers.io, The IRS 990 dataset, read September 2026).

Open either filing free on Tax Exempt Organization Search or ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, then confirm filer type before reading (IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search, June 28, 2026; ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, August 20, 2026). Readers comparing paid research products may also want the free directory routes for foundation data before paying for data they can verify free.

The same filer split applies to GrantCue's directory. It is built from IRS 990-PF public filings, so its more than 10,000 profiles cover private foundations and not community foundations or other public charities that file Form 990 (grantcue.com, September 2026). Work the 990-PF side of your list from those private foundation profiles, and pull Schedule I from each charity's own return for the rest.

FAQ

Does Form 990-PF Have the Grant List or Does Form 990?

Form 990-PF has the grant list for private foundations, in Part XIV on the 2021 through 2025 forms, which covers grants paid during the year or approved for future payment (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF). Form 990 reports the grants a public charity made on Schedule I (IRS, Instructions for Schedule I (Form 990), Rev. December 2024). The prospect type decides which form holds the list you need.

What Part of the 990-PF Shows Grants Paid?

On the 2021 through 2025 forms it is Part XIV, headed Supplementary Information, with grants and contributions paid during the year or approved for future payment (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF). Line 3 splits paid during the year from approved for future payment (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF). On the 2019 and 2020 forms the same schedule was Part XV, so name the tax year whenever you cite a part number (IRS, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2025 Forms 990-PF compared).

Does Schedule I on Form 990 List Every Grant a Charity Made?

No. Schedule I requires a line only for each domestic organization or government that received "more than $5,000 aggregate of grants or assistance from the organization during the tax year" (IRS, Instructions for Schedule I (Form 990), Rev. December 2024). Smaller grants fall below that line and do not appear as separate rows. Read the schedule as a record of larger grants instead of a full ledger.

Do Community Foundations Appear in 990-PF Databases?

No. Community foundations file Form 990 instead of Form 990-PF, so they never appear in a database limited to 990-PF returns (Grantmakers.io, The IRS 990 dataset, read September 2026). Search their Form 990 filings and read Schedule I for those prospects. A 990-PF-only search will miss them by construction.

Which Form Does an Operating Foundation File?

Form 990-PF. In general, a private operating foundation "is a private foundation that devotes most of its resources to the active conduct of its exempt activities" (IRS, Private operating foundations, March 5, 2026), and "All private foundations, including nonexempt trusts treated as private foundations, must annually file Form 990-PF" (IRS, Private foundations, June 28, 2026). Read its Part XIV like any other foundation's, knowing that most of its money funds its own programs.

Start With the Right Form for Your Prospect List

Sort prospects by filer type, then open the matching return. Private foundations, operating foundations included, repay a close read of Part XIV line 3 plus the line 2 application block and its opt-out box. Public charities and community foundations repay a read of Schedule I with its $5,000 threshold in mind (IRS, Instructions for Schedule I (Form 990), Rev. December 2024). Teams that want live lists beside the filings can work from current open grant listings while keeping the return as the source of truth for each foundation prospect.