A grant researcher's hours can run an estimated $499 a month or more for a small nonprofit, the figure our own grant research with AI curriculum uses for what this process replaces. The underlying data that makes this replaceable is public: every private foundation's Form 990-PF lists its actual grants, and both Grants.gov and most state grant portals are free to search.
The technique below, turning a free public records source into a clean, ranked outreach list with AI, is the same one our lead list from free public data session teaches for sales prospecting. Grant research is that same method aimed at foundation tax filings instead of business registries.
ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer (projects.propublica.org/nonprofits) makes 990-PF filings searchable, showing which foundations actually funded which causes, in which places, for how much. Grants.gov is the free federal grant search, and most states run their own free portal, usually findable by searching your state's name plus "nonprofit grant portal." None of this requires a paid subscription. What a paid grant database mostly buys you is a faster interface on top of the same underlying public filings.
Before searching anything, get a tight, outcome-focused description of the program you want funded. Funders respond to specific language, and it is easy to be vague about work you know well. A useful prompt:
"I run a nonprofit that [your mission in one sentence]. I want to apply for grants to fund a program that [describe what it does, who it serves, and what it aims to accomplish]. Write one tight paragraph I can use in grant research and early outreach. Focus on outcomes, not activities."
This paragraph becomes your filter for everything that follows.
On ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer, search keywords from your program paragraph: your cause area, population served, or geography. Look at each result's grants section for foundations, not public charities, that gave grants matching your program area. A foundation that repeatedly funds organizations in your city is a stronger match than one that funds your cause nationally with no local history.
To speed up review, paste a foundation's grants list into an AI chat with this prompt:
"Here is a list of grants this foundation made last year. Does any of them match a program that [paste your program paragraph]? List the closest matches and the grant amounts."
Repeat for your five to ten most promising foundations.
On Grants.gov, filter by the category that fits your work and set status to Open or Forecasted, and read each listing's eligibility section closely; many federal grants restrict eligibility to specific organizational types. For state opportunities, search your state's name plus "nonprofit grant portal" or check your state's Department of Health, Housing Authority, or Community Development office directly. Add anything with a deadline in the next 90 days to your list.
Create a Google Sheet with columns for Funder Name, Grant Type, Cause Fit (1 to 5), Typical Grant Range, Next Deadline, Application Link, Notes, and Status. Paste in every funder you found, then use AI to help rank them:
"Based on this funder list and my program description below, score each funder from 1 to 5 for fit and explain briefly why in one sentence per funder. [Paste list, then paste your program paragraph.]"
This is the step that separates a real prospect list from a stale one. Before writing a single word of an application, visit each funder's actual website and confirm they are currently accepting applications, the real deadline and grant cycle for this year, the exact grant range they state, and any geographic or eligibility restrictions. Data from aggregators like ProPublica can run one to two years behind a foundation's actual current priorities. Remove any funder whose site contradicts your research notes.
Your prospect sheet has at least five funders with confirmed open grant cycles, a verified range that fits your program budget, and a confirmed deadline, each with a direct link to the funder's own guidelines. That sheet is a starting point for writing, not a substitute for it.
If your organization runs outreach to businesses too, not just foundations, the same free-public-data-to-ranked-list method, with the exact spreadsheet structure and AI prompts, is in lead list from free public data in the library.
Yes. Every private foundation files a Form 990-PF listing every grant it made, including the recipient, purpose, and amount, and that filing is a public record. ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer makes those filings searchable for free, which is the core data source this whole approach depends on.
No, and treating it that way is the mistake this approach avoids. AI is useful for organizing and ranking what you find in ProPublica, Grants.gov, and your state's portal. It does not verify whether a funder is still accepting applications or whether the amounts are current. That check happens on the funder's own website, every time.
Aggregated 990 data can run one to two years behind, since it depends on when a foundation filed its return. A foundation that funded your cause area last year in the data may have shifted priorities or paused applications since. That is exactly why the verification step against the funder's own current site is not optional.
The free first session in the library walks through the whole setup on screen. Or see what All-Access unlocks on the pricing page.