How to Find Grants for a Nonprofit (Free Methods That Work)

Where can nonprofits find grants for free?

Grant money comes from four places: private funders like foundations and companies, your state, your county or city, and the federal government. Each has a free place to look, summed up in the table below.

Most small nonprofits do best close to home. Local foundations and local governments know your community, and they often get fewer applications than national funders. Federal grants are worth knowing about, but they ask the most of you, both to apply and to manage.

How do I find state grants in my area?

Some states run one central portal. California is a good example: the California Grants Portal, run by the California State Library, lists grants and loans that state agencies offer on a competitive or first-come basis, and you can sign up for updates.

Other states spread grants across agency websites. Search for your state’s name plus “grants portal,” then check the agencies that match your work, such as health, human services, education, or the arts. Keep in mind that state money is often paid after you spend it, so you’ll need the cash to carry the work. State grants and contracts explains how that works.

How do I find county and city funding?

Local governments often fund nonprofits through contracts rather than grants. They post these as requests for proposals (RFPs) on a purchasing or procurement page. Some cities and counties also run small grant programs through a human services or community development office.

Register as a vendor with your county and city so RFP notices come to you. Then read the rules closely, because local procurement has hard deadlines and strict limits on who you can talk to during the process. Our guide to county and city RFPs goes through them.

What is a community foundation, and how do I find mine?

A community foundation pools gifts from many local donors and makes grants in a set area, such as a city or county. Many run open grant cycles with posted deadlines, which makes them one of the easier funders for a small nonprofit to approach.

The Council on Foundations’ Community Foundation Locator shows which ones serve your area. Read their websites for current programs, then call or email the program staff. Community foundations often manage donor-advised funds too, so the staff may know donors who care about your issue.

How do I research foundations using 990-PF tax filings?

This is the free method we lean on most. Private foundations file Form 990-PF with the IRS every year, and the return lists every grant the foundation paid. Anyone can read it, so you can see exactly who a foundation funds and for how much.

To find the filings, start with ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. It’s free, and you can search by foundation name or search the full text of filings. A full-text search for your city plus a word like “literacy” turns up foundations that have funded that kind of work there. The IRS also posts Form 990-series returns through its Tax Exempt Organization Search.

On the form itself, go to Part XIV, Supplementary Information. On returns for 2020 and earlier, it’s Part XV:

• Line 2 tells you how to apply. If the box is checked, the foundation gives only to groups it picks in advance and doesn’t accept unsolicited applications, so don’t send a cold proposal. If it isn’t checked, line 2 should name a contact, the application form, deadlines, and any limits on what it funds.
• Line 3a lists grants paid during the year. Each line shows the recipient’s name and address, its foundation status, the purpose of the grant, and the amount. “PC” in the status column means the recipient is a public charity.
• Line 3b lists grants approved for future payment, which are often multiyear commitments.

When you read the grants list, look at where the recipients are, whether they’re about your size, what a typical grant is, and whether the money is general support or tied to a program. The same names showing up year after year usually mean the foundation likes long relationships.

In this fictional example, the foundation funds youth literacy and arts groups, gives $7,500 to $15,000, and offers some general support. A small literacy nonprofit nearby looks like a good fit, and it should ask for something in that range rather than $100,000.

One caution: returns are filed after the foundation’s year ends, so the newest one online may cover a year that ended more than a year ago. Check the foundation’s website for current priorities before you apply.

Candid is worth a look too. It runs a network of partner libraries and nonprofit centers that offer free access to its tools. In July 2026, Candid said it offers free access through over 2,180 locations in the United States, plus free remote access for most nonprofits through a special promotion. Its location map shows the nearest one.

How do I find corporate grants?

Companies give in two main ways. Some set up a company foundation, which is usually a private foundation, so it files a 990-PF you can read like any other. Others give straight from the business through a community giving or sponsorship program, with the rules posted on the company website.

Start with businesses that have a real presence in your area, such as banks, utilities, hospitals, and large local employers. Ask about grants, sponsorships, and employee volunteer or matching gift programs. Sponsorships come with their own tax rules, which we cover in corporate giving and sponsorship.

How do I search Grants.gov for nonprofit grants?

Grants.gov lists federal grant opportunities from every agency, which means the unfiltered list is long. To cut it down:

1. Open Search Grants.
2. Under Eligibility, choose the eligibility option for nonprofits with 501(c)(3) status, other than institutions of higher education. Grants.gov treats each eligibility type as its own filter.
3. Under Opportunity Status, check both Forecasted and Posted. Forecasts give you a head start before the full notice comes out.
4. Add a category or agency, or type a few keywords about your work.

Once the search looks right, let the site do the watching. With a Grants.gov account, you can subscribe to email updates for all new opportunities, for saved searches, or for specific opportunities. A saved search is the one to set up. It emails you each night when something new matches your filters.

Finding a federal grant is the easy part. Applying takes active registrations and some systems in place, which our grant readiness checklist walks through.

How do I find out who funds similar nonprofits?

Pick three to five organizations like yours that are a little bigger, and find their funders.

The quickest way is their annual reports and websites. Most nonprofits thank their funders by name, and that list is a ready-made prospect list.

For more, search the filings for their names. A ProPublica full-text search for a peer organization’s exact name shows 990-PF returns that list it as a grant recipient. It can also show regular Form 990 returns from grantmaking charities, such as community foundations. Those charities report their grants on Schedule I, which lists each U.S. organization that received more than $5,000, with the amount and purpose.

Paid grant databases: when are they worth it?

Paid tools such as Candid’s Foundation Directory, Instrumentl, and GrantStation pull funder data into one place and add filters, saved searches, and deadline tracking. Prices and features change, so compare current plans and ask about free trials.

A paid database can earn its cost when you apply to many foundations each year, when you need to search giving history across thousands of funders, or when staff time costs more than the subscription. It’s usually not worth it yet if you mostly apply for federal grants (free to search on Grants.gov), if you focus on a small local area, or if you aren’t ready to apply. Try a Candid partner library first. It may be all you need.

Which grants can a new or small nonprofit realistically win?

In our experience, first grants usually come from close by: community foundations, local family foundations, and nearby businesses. Look for funders whose 990-PF grants list includes groups your size, with grants in the $5,000 to $25,000 range.

Federal grants are harder for a young organization. Beyond the application, you need financial systems that meet federal rules (2 CFR 200.302), and if you spend $1,000,000 or more in federal awards in a year, you also need a Single Audit. A gentler way in is to join a larger partner’s federal application as a subrecipient, which builds a track record with less risk.

Before you send anything, have the basics ready: your IRS determination letter, a board-approved budget, recent financial statements, and a clear description of your program and results. Then follow the funder’s instructions to the letter. Our post on writing to a foundation covers the letter of inquiry and the full proposal.

Frequently asked questions

This article is general information. It is not legal, tax, or accounting advice.