1. Sorting the Grant Maker Universe

As noted in the section on Understanding Grant Makers (see Getting Started), grantmaking organizations are marked, to a great extent, more by their differences than by their similarities.  At the same time, there are some basic ways in which the universe of grant makers can be sorted, and through which matches can be made with the mission and goals of your organization.  Some of the key ways of distinguishing grant makers in the AGM Grant Makers Directory and other sources include:

Program Interest.  Program Interest refers to the kinds of nonprofit services a grant maker is interested in funding and, fundamentally, the kinds of issues for which the funder is interested in finding solutions.  These can be broad categories such as "Education," "Arts & Culture," or "Social Services," or more narrowly defined interests such as "Adult Education/ESL," "Independent Living for Disabled/Elderly," or "Hospice/Home Care." Note that different sources may categorize Program Interests (also called Fields of Interest or Subjects) to greater or lesser degrees of specificity and that different terms can be used in different sources for the same interests.

Population Focus. Population Focus refers to the types of people served by programs and organizations that a grant maker prefers to fund.  Populations can be categorized by age (Elderly, Children, Youth, etc.), Ethnic Group (African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Native Americans, etc.). and other distinguishing characteristics (i.e. Women & Girls, Low-Income, Disabled, Veterans, Offenders & Ex-Offenders, etc.).

Geographic Focus.  Although some grant makers are national or even international in the geographic scope of  their funding, most focus more narrowly on a particular area.  As with Program Interest, geographic focus can be relatively broad (i.e. New England or Massachusetts or Rhode Island) or more narrow (i.e. Greater Boston or Hampshire County or Lawrence and Lowell). Some corporate foundations and corporate giving programs make grants only in those communities in which they have facilities or do business.

Types of Support. Nonprofits can apply to grant makers for funds to support different aspects of their operations.  But not all funders provide every type of support.  Types of Support can be divided into several categories, such as General Operating Support, Special Projects, Seed Money/Startup, Equipment/Computers, Building/Renovation, Capacity Building, etc.

NOTE: The grant maker records in the AGM Grant Makers Directory are based on information provided by the grant makers themselves.  In some cases, funders include other terms for Program Interests, Types of Support, etc. in addition to the standard ones by which the Directory is indexed.  More specific information may also be included in the Grantmaking Philosophy/Program Interest section of their entry.  It is best not to go by the index alone. Looking at the full record may eliminate a funder who appears, at first, to be a good match; on the other hand, it may also indicate that the match is even stronger than it first appeared.

2. Print and Electronic Directories

The AGM Grant Maker Directory in print is a key tool for identifying grant makers that are a good match for nonprofit organizations in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire.  

Grant maker directories from other organizations and publishers can provide information about funders not covered in the AGM directory, as well as some overlap with the AGM listings.

The following list includes key print and electronic directories and types of directories available at the Janet C. Taylor Library of  the AGM Resource Center for Philanthropy.  Resource Center staff can help you identify other directories that might be appropriate to your search.

AGM Grant Maker Database.  This is the electronic version of the AGM Grant Maker Directory, with more frequent updates and more powerful search functions including the ability to combine different search criteria into one search. The AGM Grant Maker Database is available at AGM and at affilliated grants research centers.  The database is also available via the Internet for AGM grant maker members (see Membership Information) and nonprofit organizations that join the AGM Partners Program at the Associate or Fellow level.

FCSearch.  The Foundation Center’s FC Search on CD-ROM is a comprehensive database that covers more than 60,000 U.S. foundations and corporate giving programs, describes nearly 200,000 associated grants, and lists over 183,000 officers, trustees and donors. Search criteria on FC Search include geographic focus, field of interest, type of support, and various funder designations as well as a full text search capability.

Location-Based Directories. The Resource Center has several directories covering funders making grants outside the geographic scope of the AGM Grant Makers Directory.  Examples include The Directory of  Maine Grantmakers, The Directory of Illinois Foundations, and World Guide to Foundations.

Program Interest-Based Directories.  The Foundation Center publishes annual directories of grant makers providing funding in different program interest areas.  These directories, subsets of the information in FCSearch, include such titles as National Guide to Funding for Children, Youth and Families, National Guide to Funding in Aging, National Guide to Funding for Community Development, etc. Program interest-based directories from other publishers include such titles as Grantmakers Directory: A Resource for Social Change Funders & Grantseekers, Religious Funding Resource Guide, Environmental Grantmaking Foundations, and Funders of Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Progams: A Directory for Grantseekers.

Corporate Giving Directories. Corporate giving programs, unlike corporate foundations and other foundations, are not required to file reports with the Internal Revenue Service, making it more difficult to uncover information about them.  Nevertheless, there are several good directories of corporate giving programs.  Among those available in the Resource Center are Corporate Giving Directory, National Directory of Corporate Public Affairs, and  Giving By Industry.