Free 990 Search for Grant Research: Every Tool Compared

A free 990 search for grant research lets you read the returns private foundations filed and shortlist prospects by past giving. You see who a funder paid, for what stated purpose, and in what amount. That record replaces guesswork about fit before you draft a word.

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). Each free tool reads those filings in a different way. A companion walkthrough on nonprofit grant prospecting places filing work inside the wider prospecting sequence.

Quick Answer: What Is Free 990 Search for Grant Research?

Four free sources cover 990 research for grant seekers. IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search gives official copies and exempt status, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer adds full-text search and rebuilt filings, Grantmakers.io searches 990-PF grants only, and the IRS XML downloads serve bulk pulls. Use them to see whom a foundation funded, for what purpose, and how much.

What Free 990 Search for Grant Research Gives You

A free 990 search gives you each foundation's own report of whom it paid, for what stated purpose, and how much. That report is Form 990-PF, which private foundations file to figure the tax on investment income and to report charitable distributions (IRS, Instructions for Form 990-PF (2025)). When you need one organization's return rather than a search across many, the guide to where to find a Form 990 for an organization shows the quickest free routes.

On the 2025 form the grant list sits in the part headed "Part XIV Supplementary Information (continued) 3 Grants and Contributions Paid During the Year or Approved for Future Payment" (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF). The grant list was Part XV on the 2019 and 2020 forms but Part XIV on the 2021 through 2025 forms, and undistributed income moved from Part XIII to Part XII at the same time (IRS, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2025 Forms 990-PF compared).

Each row of the grant list carries five fields on the 2025 form: recipient name and address, any relationship to a foundation manager or substantial contributor where the recipient is an individual, foundation status of the recipient, purpose of the grant, and amount (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF).

Two reporting rules cap what any free search can show. A foundation completes the grant list only if it "had $5,000 or more in assets at any time during the year" (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF), so a small funder can file correctly and list nothing. When the funder is a public charity rather than a private foundation, its Schedule I carries a line only for each recipient "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), so its small awards are invisible.

Every free tool also inherits the same filing calendar. A return is due by the 15th day of the 5th month after the end of the accounting period, an automatic 6-month extension is available on Form 8868, and the IRS then has to publish the return (IRS, Annual exempt organization return: due date, June 28, 2026).

IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search for Grant Research

IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search is the official free source for the authoritative copy of a return. It lets you check eligibility for deductible contributions and search Form 990 series returns alongside related data sets (IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search, June 28, 2026).

The tool searches five separate data sets in one place: Pub. 78 data, Automatic revocation of exemption list, Determination letters, Form 990 series returns, and Form 990-N e-Postcard filings (IRS, Search for tax exempt organizations TEOS FAQ, read September 2026). Pub. 78 Data is the IRS list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions (IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search bulk data downloads, read September 2026).

Lookup accepts an EIN or a name. An EIN is an Employer Identification Number, also known as a Taxpayer Identification Number, and it is the field the IRS and every 990 database key on (IRS, Annual electronic filing requirement for small exempt organizations, read September 2026). Name search uses legal names only, since organizations are listed under the legal name or doing-business-as name on file and common or popular names are not on file (IRS, Search for tax exempt organizations TEOS FAQ, read September 2026).

A name on the Auto-Revocation List is not proof of current status, since presence on the list does not necessarily reflect current tax-exempt status (IRS, Search for tax exempt organizations TEOS FAQ, read September 2026).

The IRS bulk data files are updated monthly (IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search bulk data downloads, read September 2026). On the page read October 2026, the IRS listed Pub. 78 data as "Last updated: September 10, 2026," Form 990-N data as "Latest data posting: September 7, 2026" and Form 990 series XML as "Latest data posting XML: August 20, 2026" (IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search bulk data downloads, read October 2026). The IRS also publishes raw filings on a downloads page where readers may download all the most recent 990 series filings on record in XML formats (IRS, Form 990 series downloads, read September 2026).

ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer for Grant Research

ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer is the free full-text layer over IRS filings. It lets you browse millions of annual returns filed by tax-exempt organizations and search for an organization or a person, or search the full text of filings (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, read October 2026).

Coverage includes private foundations, since ProPublica includes taxable trusts and private foundations required to file Form 990-PF (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, read October 2026). One commenter on Reddit described it simply as the site that "has every 990 for free" (Reddit thread 1wiivcd, read September 2026), and ProPublica was mentioned positively in four separate threads read that month.

The Full Filing view is a rebuild from raw data rather than a scan of paper. Tax returns filed by nonprofit organizations are public records, and the IRS releases them in two formats, page images and raw data in XML, with raw data more useful to researchers because it can be extracted and analyzed more easily (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, Full Filing view, read September 2026). XML files are only available for electronically filed documents (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, read October 2026).

The summary data contains financial information from returns processed by the IRS since the 2012 calendar year, as well as data extracted from digital filings (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, read October 2026). Small organizations that file only a Form 990-N e-Postcard bring no financial data with them, because the e-Postcard carries no financial details (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, read October 2026). Its free API offers a search endpoint of GET /search.json with filters by state, by NTEE major group and by 501(c) subsection (ProPublica, Nonprofit Explorer API v2, read September 2026).

Grantmakers.io for Grant Research

Grantmakers.io is the free foundation-only search layer for grant-level questions. It describes itself as a way to research any US foundation in seconds, built from public 990s and forever free (Grantmakers.io, read September 2026).

The tool covers one form only, since Grantmakers.io focuses exclusively on Form 990-PF, the tax filing used by private foundations (Grantmakers.io, The IRS 990 dataset, read September 2026). Community foundations file Form 990 instead, so they will not appear on Grantmakers.io (Grantmakers.io, The IRS 990 dataset, read September 2026); look for them in ProPublica, which covers Form 990 filers too (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, read October 2026). For a geographic seed list of private foundations to run through it, start from private foundations grouped by state.

The IRS publishes updates on a roughly monthly cadence, and updates are typically live on Grantmakers.io within a week of being published by the IRS (Grantmakers.io, The IRS 990 dataset, read September 2026). 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).

The site requires no account, stated as no hoops, no forms to fill out, no accounts to create, no affinity groups to join (Grantmakers.io, About, read September 2026). Its search page can return "Hourly search limit reached," described as a free community service limit that preserves access for the maximum number of people (Grantmakers.io, Search Foundation Profiles, read September 2026). A grant professional on Reddit called Grantmakers.io "a good tool for playing around" but "not a replacement for the subscription databases" (Reddit thread 1sewng0, read September 2026).

Recording Free 990 Search Results in One Shared List

A shared research list turns free 990 search hits into decisions about who to approach first. Every row traces back to a filing that can be reopened.

Start each row with identifiers that survive name variation. Recipient names in a filing are whatever the funder typed, with no IRS requirement to use the actual legal name (Grantmakers.io, The IRS 990 dataset, read September 2026). Record the funder's legal name, its EIN, and the filing year, because the EIN does not drift the way names do.

Add giving facts next: grant purpose as stated, amount, and whether the entry was a payment during the year or an approval 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).

Add contact and fit signals from inside the same return. The application information block on the 2025 form lists the name, address and telephone number or email address for applications, the form for submissions, deadlines, and restrictions by geography, field, institution type or other factors (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF). The same block carries an opt-out box where a foundation states that it only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF).

The return lists all officers, directors, trustees and foundation managers and their compensation in its governance part (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF). It also asks for a website address and for the states to which the foundation reports or with which it is registered (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF). A list of no-cost foundation directories helps teams that want a maintained starting list next to raw filings.

Moving Filing Hits Into a Pipeline

A filing hit is only useful once it sits in the tracker your team works from, whether that is a spreadsheet or grant software. Move each funder with its source filing and year, the quoted grant purpose, the amount, and a next action with a date.

Keep the source attached for a practical reason: filing content can be wrong in small ways that persist, because the only way a foundation can adjust a filing is to file a full amendment to its return (Grantmakers.io, The IRS 990 dataset, read September 2026). A row that names its return can be rechecked when a newer filing posts; a row without one cannot.

Free search and the tracker can sit side by side. GrantCue builds its filing-based foundation profiles from the same public 990-PF returns, keyed by name and EIN, and its Free plan includes the pipeline board for up to 10 tracked grants at once (GrantCue pricing page, October 2026). Keep the filing year in your own notes when a shortlisted funder moves into that pipeline.

FAQ

Which Free 990 Search Tool Shows a Foundation's Grants?

Grantmakers.io is built for it: the site "focuses exclusively on Form 990-PF" (Grantmakers.io, The IRS 990 dataset, read September 2026) and runs a grants search on Algolia's free tier (Grantmakers.io, About, read September 2026). ProPublica's Full Filing view shows the whole grant list for e-filed returns (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, read October 2026), and IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search holds the filed copy itself (IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search, June 28, 2026).

Is a Free 990 Search Enough for Grant Research?

Free 990 search covers what private foundations report paying, which is the core of foundation prospecting. It misses community foundations on 990-PF-only tools, shows grants 9-18+ months after funding, and prints recipient names as the funder typed them (Grantmakers.io, The IRS 990 dataset, read September 2026). Pair each filing with the funder's current guidelines before you apply.

How Often Is IRS 990 Data Updated?

The IRS says its bulk data files "are updated monthly," but check the posting dates: on the page read October 2026, the latest Form 990 series XML posting read "August 20, 2026" (IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search bulk data downloads, read October 2026). Grantmakers.io updates are typically live within a week of each IRS release (Grantmakers.io, The IRS 990 dataset, read September 2026).

Why Can't I Find a Foundation in a Free 990 Search?

Check the name first. IRS search matches only the legal name or a doing-business-as name on file, not common or popular names, and it advises avoiding words such as "the" or foundation (IRS, Search for tax exempt organizations TEOS FAQ, read September 2026). Search by EIN when you have it. Then check the form: community foundations file Form 990, not 990-PF, so a 990-PF-only tool will not list them (Grantmakers.io, The IRS 990 dataset, read September 2026).

Can I Download 990 Data in Bulk for Free?

Yes. The IRS Form 990 series downloads page lets you download all the most recent 990 series filings on record in XML formats, organized by year and month with an "Index file" CSV for each year (IRS, Form 990 series downloads, read September 2026). ProPublica's free JSON API has a search endpoint, "GET /search.json" (ProPublica, Nonprofit Explorer API v2, read September 2026). XML exists only for electronically filed returns (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, read October 2026).

Build Your Free 990 Search Routine

A free 990 search routine that holds up runs in the same order every time: find, read, confirm, record. Start in Grantmakers.io with a grants search on work like yours, open each foundation's latest return in ProPublica's Full Filing view, and read the application block before anything else. Confirm the foundation's status in IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search, then write one row per funder with the EIN, the filing year, the stated purpose and the amount. Re-run the list on the IRS's roughly monthly update cycle (Grantmakers.io, The IRS 990 dataset, read September 2026) and date every row.

A grant professional on Reddit said export mattered more than drafting help: "I don't need their AI to write an LOI for me, I need to be able to download an excel of past relevant grants" (Reddit thread 1vb5ctu, read September 2026). Build the routine so every search ends in a row you can export, not a tab you have to reopen.