Choosing a Grant Database Based on Your Needs and Budget
January 28, 2021
Do you need to subscribe to a grant database to discover grant opportunities? If so, how do you know which database will best meet the needs of your organization? To answer these questions, below we discuss several types of grant databases and provide an overview of three specific databases—GrantStation, Foundation Directory Online (FDO), and Instrumentl—to give you a sense of what grant databases can offer.
We recommend using at least one grant database on a regular basis if you are serious about finding grant opportunities. The key issues are: What kind of information do you want your database to contain, and what can you afford?
WHAT IS A GRANT DATABASE?
A grant database (sometimes referred to as a funder or grantmaker database) is a database that contains information about grant funding sources. The funding sources can be private foundations, corporate giving programs, or government programs. While some databases focus exclusively on a subset of funders, such as private foundations, many databases include entries for all types of funders and award mechanisms, from traditional grants to prizes for innovative ideas to in-kind donations. Some databases focus on specific countries or regions of the world or particular topics, such as the Terra Viva Grant Directory, which focuses on conservation, biodiversity, and other environmental issues.
In addition to the kinds of funding sources they include, grant databases can also vary in terms of the type of information they provide about a given funding source. Many of the grant databases on the market are focused on grantmakers as opposed to funding opportunity announcements. Databases that focus on grantmakers consist of funder profiles. The profiles list things such as the grantmaker's name, contact information (for the institution and occasionally for individual program officers), the grantmaker’s programmatic priorities, and sometimes a list of past grantees and even application deadlines, although the grant opportunities will not be described in detail. To search the databases for relevant funders, you enter keywords associated with your programmatic focus and then apply filters, such as geographic location or the desired grant amount. After the database produces a list of results based on your search parameters, you need to go through each of the grantmakers listed to see if they are a good match for your organization.
The first step in vetting a potential funder involves reading the database’s description of the grantmaker. If you see a funder that looks like a potential fit, you would visit the grantmaker’s website to learn more about their funding priorities and any active funding opportunities. GrantStation and FDO, described below, are two databases that fall into this category. Both databases focus on grantmakers and have limited grant opportunity postings. However, you can access government opportunities (US and Canadian) through GrantStation, and FDO has added RFP listings to some of the foundation profiles.
The second type of database focuses on funding opportunity listings and is what we would call an “opportunity first” database. When you type keywords and filters into an opportunity-first database, the results generated will be a list of active funding opportunities, with the funder’s name usually appearing as part of the name of the listed opportunity. When you click on an opportunity listing on your search results page, the next screen will present detailed information about the opportunity and perhaps only limited information about the grantmaker (in some cases, just the funder’s name and website URL). Grant Gopher, an affordable database that costs $9/month and does not require an annual contract, is an example of a database that focuses on grant opportunities. Instrumentl, profiled below, is another.
The third type of database is a hybrid model. It offers a description of funders and also lists open funding opportunities. Like the other databases, to use this type of database, you would again enter keywords and filters to pull up relevant search results. The difference is, now you have the option to initiate your search either by generating a list of potentially relevant funders or by searching for grant opportunities. If you perform a keyword search for grantmakers, a list of funder names will appear in the results section. When you click on each funder, you’ll see a brief profile (i.e., more than just contact information) plus a list of any open grant opportunities associated with the funder. An example of this kind of database would be GrantForward, a database geared toward academic institutions.
From the top menu on its landing page, shown below, you can see GrantForward allows you to filter your search by grant opportunities, awards (i.e., current or past grantees), or by sponsor/grantmaker.
BENEFITS OF USING A GRANT DATABASE
Benefits of using a grant database include:
Generating Lots of Potential Leads: One of the pros (and cons) of using a grant database is that if you search for potential funders and funding opportunities using a database, you will likely be inundated with leads. Although the number of hits you get from a database depends on your search terms, in general, funder databases generate a sizable list of funders or grant opportunities for you to evaluate. If you are just starting to look for grant funding for a project, subscribing to a grant database can be very helpful. When you use a database for your research, you should quickly get a sense of how many funders offer grants for the type of work you do, in the region of the world you do it. Over time, the benefits of searching in a database that consists only of funders (i.e., the database does not list open funding opportunities) can diminish; this is because, for any given programmatic area, there is a finite number of relevant funders. As you become familiar with the major funders that support work in your field, you may find it more useful to track the funders you’ve identified directly through their websites than continuing to run searches in the grantmaker database. The benefits of using a database that includes funding opportunities can be more lasting in that—even though you may already know the most active funders in your field—the databases can make it easier to monitor and track open opportunities. Additionally, some databases that list active funding opportunity announcements also include features to track your grant proposal’s development, submission, and even post-award activity.
Tracking Research Results: A second benefit of using a grant database is that many databases give you the opportunity to save your search results within your account or export them; the benefit of the latter option is that you can access your research results without having to log back into the database. If you do not use a database and rely on Google to uncover funding opportunity leads, you need to manually populate a spreadsheet or other tool with the information you want to track about each funder. A database eliminates this time-consuming step of documenting your search results. Grant databases will save and export all your search results or a subset of the results, depending on your preferences, so all you need to decide is how you will sort and classify the funders as you evaluate them (e.g., using checkmarks or color-coding to indicate which funders to pursue further).
Identifying Smaller Foundations: A third benefit of using a database is that grant databases often include sources of funding that are very difficult or impossible to find through a Google search. While the major foundations always have websites, many small family foundations don’t maintain a website, and even those that do often fail to post clear instructions on how to apply for a grant. A comprehensive grant database bypasses these issues by including foundations that have websites as well as those that don’t, at a minimum listing the foundations’ contact information and often providing instructions on how to apply for a grant.
FINDING A DATABASE THAT MEETS YOUR NEEDS
To find a database that meets your needs, it helps to know the kinds of grantmakers you intend to target.
If you are only interested in foundations and have no plans to apply for government-sponsored grants, you can prioritize databases that focus either solely or predominantly on foundations, although with any database you should be able to apply a filter to limit your search results to foundations. One advantage of choosing a focused database is that databases that focus on a particular type of funder are often less expensive than ones containing a broader range of funding sources.
If you are interested in every possible avenue of funding—US-based foundations, government funding (the United States only, or global), and corporate funding—you have many databases to choose from, but you need to be prepared to pay a premium, as the larger the database, the higher the cost. A second thing to be aware of is that, particularly in the premium category, the databases tend to be designed for different audiences. Some of the most comprehensive—and most expensive—databases cater to academia and focus on research opportunities, while many of the smaller and more affordable databases target US-based nonprofit organizations.
Lastly, you also need to be clear on what kinds of information you want. Do you want information about open funding opportunities? If so, this is an important variable because of the issue highlighted earlier, that some databases contain descriptions of grantmakers but do not list open opportunities. Related to the preference of being able to access funding opportunities, another factor you need to consider is whether you want the database to be more than just a searchable directory of funders and funding opportunities. If you want the software to also include functions such as the ability to store proposal drafts and submissions and track post-award activities, these preferences will point you toward a select number of databases that offer these features.
To give you a sense of what grant databases can offer at different price points, below we highlight features of three grant databases: GrantStation, the Foundation Directory Online (FDO), and Instrumentl. All three databases could be an asset to nonprofit organizations, educational institutions, and faith-based organizations seeking grant funding.
OVERVIEWS OF GRANTSTATION, FOUNDATION DIRECTORY ONLINE, AND INSTRUMENTL
Grant Station (www.grantstation.com)
GrantStation has been around since 1999. GrantStation’s database includes private foundations, community foundations, and corporate giving programs, as well as programs from the US and Canadian governments. GrantStation includes grantmakers from around the world and offers the option of searching for international funding by geographic region or country.
For subscribers based in Canada, GrantStation’s benefits include a page for each province that lists agencies with grant programs.
GrantStation provides grantmaker profiles only for foundations, not detailed descriptions of open funding opportunities. Each profile includes a link to the grantmaker’s website, contact information, a description of the funder’s current programmatic priorities, its geographic scope, grant guidelines, and application deadlines. All funder profiles are updated at least annually, with a corresponding date-stamp. Grantmaker profiles are also revised periodically throughout the year to reflect any changes in application procedures and funding priorities. As a free service, GrantStation also publishes two newsletters that highlight open funding opportunities, a weekly newsletter that focuses on opportunities for US-based nonprofits and a monthly newsletter that focuses on international funding opportunities.
Cost: GrantStation’s listed annual subscription price is currently $699/year. GrantStation frequently offers deep discounts on its annual membership. The most recent promotion offered was $169/year. Additionally, Peak Proposals has partnered with GrantStation to be able to offer our readers a major discount on GrantStation annual subscriptions (the lowest price we’ve seen). As part of our agreement with GrantStation, we promised to keep the information in a protected area of our website, so you’ll need to register for a free member account on our website and visit the discount section to learn more and access the GrantStation offer. Note that you can also access GrantStation for free through memberships and subscriptions to other services, including the Chronicle of Philanthropy.
Pros: GrantStation is one of the more affordable grant databases we’ve seen. A second plus for GrantStation is that its user interface is straightforward, so no extensive training is necessary to learn your way around the database. Another significant advantage of GrantStation is that it includes grantmakers outside of the US, making it a good pick if you seek funding for global projects.
Cons: GrantStation focuses on grantmaker profiles. If you are seeking in-depth information about grant opportunities released by foundations—that is, programs actively accepting grant applications—GrantStation is not as strong as some other databases, although they are increasing the number of opportunity postings in the database. Additionally, compared to some of the other databases we’ve used, a search using GrantStation tends to deliver fewer results. While this isn’t necessarily a bad thing as it makes the process of evaluating grantmakers more manageable, if you seek the most comprehensive list of potential funders, you may want to consult other databases in addition to GrantStation.
Foundation Directory Online (https://fconline.foundationcenter.org/)
Foundation Directory Online (FDO) by Candid is one of the most well-known databases among US-based nonprofits. It is also one of the largest. FDO advertises that it contains profiles of 235,000+ US-based foundations and other grantmakers such as federal agencies. In addition to being able to search by grantmaker, through its professional plan, FDO also allows you to search by grant recipient and see the names of foundation staff and board members. Other features include a range of data visualization options, such as the ability to view the awarded grants in a map or chart view. All pricing plans also offer the ability to view foundations’ IRS filings (990-PFs). FDO includes grantmakers that fund projects internationally. You are able to search for grantmakers based on the geographic location of the planned project or the implementing organization.
Cost: FDO has more than one pricing tier. To access the full database of 235,000+ foundation profiles, you will need to subscribe to the FDO Professional plan. If you opt for the less expensive tier, FDO Essential, you will have access to a smaller number of grantmaker profiles (110,000+) and fewer features. As of January 2021, the FDO Professional plan is $124.92/month if you make a one-time annual payment. There is also a one-time biennial price ($118.67/month) and a month-by-month option ($199.99/month). The FDO Essential plan, which limits the type and amount of data you can access, costs $33.25/month if you make a one-time annual payment, $31.58/month if you subscribe for two years, or $49.99/month if you want to go month-to-month.
Pros: One of the main benefits of FDO is its comprehensiveness. If you want to unearth every possible source of grant funding—from small and obscure foundations to the largest and best known, and from corporate funding mechanisms to professional associations with grantmaking programs—you can find it in the FDO if you have a premium account. Another valuable feature that distinguishes FDO from some other databases is the ability to conduct your search from multiple angles (grantmakers, grant recipients, awarded grants, grant size, geographic location, programmatic area), and export your results as a PDF or CSV file.
Cons: For cons, three aspects of FDO might make you hesitate to subscribe. The first is the price. At USD$1,499, an annual subscription to FDO’s professional plan is on the expensive side and may be out of reach for many small nonprofits. The second issue is complexity. FDO is a powerful database—you can sort the data in various ways through several filters—but all that data can be overwhelming. Among the development and grant professionals we work with at larger institutions, most see FDO as a must-have resource for their prospect research. However, many of these individuals also find FDO difficult to use, particularly if they only use it occasionally. If a subscription to FDO fits within your organization’s budget, we recommend giving it a try, but you need to be aware that it will take time to master its features. The third con with FDO is that, like GrantStation, it provides grantmaker profiles only. It is not a database of funding opportunities. You can find a limited number of opportunity postings for free through Philanthropy News Digest, an affiliated philanthropy news website managed by Candid, but active opportunity listings cannot be accessed directly through FDO.
You can find sample grantmaker profiles, grant recipients, and search results on the FDO website.
Instrumentl (https://www.instrumentl.com/about)
Founded in 2014, Instrumentl is a more recent addition to the grant database scene. Instrumentl includes opportunities from corporate funders, the US federal government, state governments, private foundations, community foundations, clubs, and societies.
What makes Instrumentl different than the databases profiled above is that Instrumentl focuses on active funding opportunities. The software also provides features that allow you to save your favorite grants and track them over time. Instrumentl pulls eligibility criteria information from a funder’s website and 990s and consolidates the information on a single easy-to-scan page. Instrumentl also monitors funder websites 24/7 and will notify you when there are changes to a posted opportunity, such as a shift in proposal deadlines or a grantmaker’s giving priorities. Each grant listing will also include the dates the information was last reviewed and updated. In addition to being a searchable database of grant opportunity announcements, Instrumentl also offers proposal management features. You can set up tasks through Instrumentl, receive task and deadline reminders, and store notes and documents.
Cost: Instrumentl costs $162/month. Annual plans typically save one month’s subscription, which brings the cost down to $149/month. Instrumentl also offers a free 14-day trial. If you decide to purchase an annual subscription and use the code PEAK2MOANNUAL, you will receive a savings of two months, or $324 off the annual plan, which brings the annual cost to $1620, or $135/month when annualized for the full year. (Our thanks to Instrumentl for offering this special discount to our readers.) For larger organizations, custom pricing can be negotiated based on your organization’s needs.
Pros: The pros of Instrumentl include its user-friendly, attractive interface, continuous updates to the database content, and the ability to store proposal-related documents. Instrumentl also works well for teams, serving as a hub for grant research and documentation. Using Instrumentl, you can share notes and research results with others, facilitating collaboration and avoiding duplication of effort. Instrumentl also allows you to generate and share reports on your organization’s grant history. Instrumentl is more than just a grant database. With Instrumentl, you are getting a multifunctional tool, which sets it apart from many other grant databases on the market.
Cons: For those who seek funding for international projects, a con is that Instrumentl is focused on US-based funding options, making it less ideal for projects based outside of the United States.
SUMMARY
Do you absolutely need a subscription to a grant database to uncover grant opportunities? No. There are ways to research grant opportunities without subscribing to a grant database. You can regularly read philanthropy-related news to learn about recent grant awards, which may lead you to a suitable funder. You can research organizations similar to yours to see who funds them and explore whether these same funders might be good for your organization as well. If you are interested in funding from a government body or multilateral organization such as the World Health Organization, you can find their grant opportunities listed for free on the official website. (For additional ideas, see our list of free resources for finding grant opportunities.) On the other hand, if grant funding is or will be a core pillar of your organization’s funding strategy, and you want an efficient method for finding potential funders, you should use a grant database.
Which type of grant database will best meet your needs depends on what you are looking for, your patience, and your budget.
If your focus is on identifying grantmakers and you have a limited budget, a database that only includes funder descriptions, such as GrantStation, may meet your needs. If you want to be able to search for open funding opportunities, you should confirm that any database you are considering not only includes funding opportunity announcements but also tracks the opportunities for you, notifying you of any substantive changes to deadlines and eligibility. Several databases, including Instrumentl, will do this for you.
A second factor you will want to weigh is the ease of use. Grant databases vary considerably in how user friendly they are. If you want a database that is intuitive to use and has an attractive interface, these are important preferences to note. Some of the most comprehensive databases, which offer not only an extensive listing of funders but also numerous ways to search and view the data, can be overwhelming, making it difficult to find the information most relevant to your search.
To identify a database you find easy to navigate, you should take advantage of the free trial periods and demos that many of the database companies offer. Regardless of the database you ultimately choose, you will want to block off time to learn how to use the database and take full advantage of its features. If you don’t have the time or patience to learn how to use a database, you may want to subscribe to a database that offers fewer features but requires minimal training to use.
A third variable, and sometimes the one organizations must scrutinize the most, is cost. Grant databases can cost anywhere from a few dollars a year (Terra Viva Grants Directory) to a few hundred dollars (GrantStation) to a thousand dollars plus for an annual subscription (FDO and Instrumentl). Because each database offers a different configuration of features, if you’re shopping for a grant database, we suggest you use your budget to identify a shortlist of databases you can afford. Next, look at what each database offers and choose the database that provides the features you are most likely to use and value rather than simply making your decision based on price alone.
Finding the right database—the content you want, the features you need, and the interface you like—can take time. However, your efforts will pay off. Once you find the database that meets all your specifications, you shouldn’t have to revisit your decision for many years.
Want More Database Options?
In addition to the databases profiled here, you can find a list of other grant databases on our General Resources page.
