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How to read a foundation's Form 990-PF
Every private foundation files a Form 990-PF with the IRS each year. It is the most reliable record of who a foundation actually funds, and most of it can be skipped. These are the parts a grant seeker needs, in the order worth reading them.
Published 2026-10-14 · form details checked against the 2025 Form 990-PF and its instructions on 2026-10-14
Getting a copy
The IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search shows returns filed since January 2018, free. A foundation also has to give you copies of its returns for the last three years if you ask. For anything older that isn't online, the IRS takes written requests on Form 4506-A. Our free grant data sources page lists the bulk downloads.
Check the year first
The IRS dropped a part from the form for tax year 2021, so every part after Part IV moved up one number. The part names stayed the same. If you are reading a return for 2020 or earlier, use the right-hand column.
| Section | 2021 and later | 2020 and earlier |
|---|---|---|
| Officers, directors, trustees and highest-paid staff | Part VII | Part VIII |
| Minimum investment return | Part IX | Part X |
| Distributable amount | Part X | Part XI |
| Undistributed income | Part XII | Part XIII |
| Supplementary Information (grants, how to apply) | Part XIV | Part XV |
1. The grants list (Part XIV, line 3)
Start near the end. Line 3a lists every grant the foundation paid during the year: the recipient's name and address, its foundation status, the purpose and the amount. Line 3b lists grants approved during the year but not yet paid, which is a hint about next year.
The foundation status column uses short codes. PC is a public charity, which is what most nonprofits are. PF is another private foundation, GOV is a government unit, and I is an individual. If most of the list is PF or SO (supporting organization), the foundation mainly funds other grantmakers and is unlikely to fund you directly.
Things to look for:
- Organizations like yours, by mission, size and place. If you find none in three years of returns, move on.
- The usual grant size. Ignore the largest few and look at the middle of the list.
- The same names year after year. A foundation that renews most of its grantees has little room for new ones.
- The purpose line. "General support" usually means money the grantee can spend as it sees fit. A named program tells you what the foundation likes to fund.
Renewals are the norm. Among foundations with at least ten grants in each of their two most recent years on file, the median one gave 65% of its latest grantees a grant the year before too, and sent 64% of its grant dollars to its five largest recipients. Expect most of next year's list to be the same organizations.
Purpose lines are often vague. About a third of the grants foundations reported for 2023 say something like "general support" or "charitable purposes," and many more say only "general" or "program support."
Figures queried 2026-10-14 from FundMesa's IRS 990-PF data: 23,248 foundations for renewals, 31,669 for the top-five share, 1.45 million grants for purposes.
2. How to apply (Part XIV, line 2)
Line 2 has a checkbox for a foundation that "only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds." If it is ticked, a cold application is unlikely to be read, and an introduction through someone the foundation knows is the way in.
If it isn't ticked, lines 2a to 2d should say who to contact, what form an application should take, any deadlines, and any limits on geography, field or type of organization. Many foundations leave these short or write "none." Check the foundation's website before relying on them.
In practice: of 89,202 foundations whose latest return lists grants to organizations, 70,087 (79%) tick the box. Of the 19,115 that don't, nearly all fill in the deadline line, but only about 4,500 name an actual date or cycle. The most common answer is "None."
Figures queried 2026-10-14 from each foundation's latest 990-PF in FundMesa's IRS data. Which deadlines count as a real date is our own text match, so treat that figure as approximate.
3. Size and payout (top of page 1, Part I, Parts IX to XII)
Item I at the top of the first page is the fair market value of all the foundation's assets at year end. In Part I, line 25 is "Contributions, gifts, grants paid." Column (a) is the total for the year; column (d) counts only what actually went out in cash, so the two can differ.
A private non-operating foundation has to pay out a minimum amount each year. It starts from 5% of the value of its investment assets (Part IX, the minimum investment return), adjusted in Part X to a distributable amount, which must be paid out by the end of the following year. Parts XI and XII show whether it was. If a foundation's grants look small next to its assets, the next year's return will show whether it caught up.
4. Who runs it (Part VII)
Part VII, line 1 lists the officers, directors, trustees and foundation managers, with each person's title, average hours a week and pay. This is the list to show your board. A shared connection is often the difference between a ticked "preselected" box and a meeting.
Hours tell you something too. Lines 2 and 3 list any employees or contractors paid more than $50,000. If those are empty, the trustees give an hour or two a week and nobody is paid, the foundation probably has no staff, and a short, clear letter will be read by a trustee.
What a 990-PF won't tell you
- What it is funding now. A return is due on the 15th day of the fifth month after the foundation's year ends, and a six-month extension is automatic. By the time you read it, it can be well over a year old.
- Why it said no. Declined requests don't appear anywhere.
- Changes in direction. A new board or a new strategy shows up on the website or in a newsletter long before it shows up in the grants list.
Frequently asked
Where do I find the list of grants on a 990-PF?
In Part XIV, Supplementary Information, line 3 (Part XV on returns for 2020 and earlier). Line 3a lists grants paid during the year, with each recipient’s name and address, its foundation status, the purpose and the amount. Line 3b lists grants approved during the year but not yet paid.
How do I know if a foundation accepts applications?
Look at Part XIV, line 2. If the foundation ticked the box saying it only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests, a cold application is unlikely to be read. If not, lines 2a to 2d give the contact, the form an application should take, deadlines and any restrictions.
Where can I get a foundation’s 990-PF for free?
The IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS) shows returns filed since January 2018. The foundation must also give you a copy of its last three years of returns on request. For an older return that isn’t on TEOS, the IRS takes written requests on Form 4506-A.
How old is the information on a 990-PF?
A 990-PF is due on the 15th day of the fifth month after the foundation’s tax year ends, and an automatic six-month extension is available. So a return can describe a year that ended almost a year before it was filed, and public data sets add more delay. Use it for patterns, and check the foundation’s website for current priorities.
Using this page
You're welcome to cite or link this page. If something here no longer matches the current form, tell us at hello@fundmesa.com.
FundMesa's Find funding add-on reads these returns for you: each funder profile shows its giving over time, typical grant size, largest recipients, where the foundation gives, how to apply as stated on its 990-PF, and the tax year each figure comes from. For where to start looking, see how to find foundation grants for a small nonprofit.