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How foundations say to apply
We read the latest Form 990-PF return of each of 104,068 private foundations that listed at least one grant on it, for tax years 2019 to 2025. 77.0% (80,082 of 104,068) checked the box saying they give only to organizations they choose themselves. Of the 23,986 that did not, 97.1% filed something on line 2 (who to contact, the form, deadlines or restrictions), and 49.5% of those wrote that they have no deadline, rolling deadlines or deadlines at any time.
How many foundations say they give only to organizations they choose
Line 2 of the Supplementary Information section of Form 990-PF opens with a checkbox. The form's own wording: “Check here if the foundation only makes contributions to preselected charitable organizations and does not accept unsolicited requests for funds.” On their latest returns, 77.0% (80,082 of 104,068) of the foundations here checked it.
An unchecked box is not a statement that a foundation welcomes requests. The box can be checked only by a foundation that gives exclusively to preselected organizations; every other foundation leaves it blank, whatever it does with requests. The 23,986 foundations that did not check it are a list of returns worth reading, not a list of open doors.
Our methodology page quotes a different share for this box. It was counted earlier, over a different set of returns. The share on this page is counted over the foundations defined in the first paragraph, each time the page is built.
By size of foundation
| Assets at end of year | Foundations | Checked the box | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Reported zero or less | 11,408 | 8,762 | 76.8% |
| Under $1 million | 43,150 | 33,935 | 78.6% |
| $1 million to under $10 million | 35,489 | 27,581 | 77.7% |
| $10 million to under $100 million | 12,031 | 8,560 | 71.1% |
| $100 million or more | 1,990 | 1,244 | 62.5% |
The share was 62.5% for foundations reporting $100 million or more and 78.6% for those under $1 million.
Of those that did not check it, how many filed something on line 2
A foundation that leaves the box blank is asked to complete the rest of line 2: the person to whom applications should be addressed and how to reach them, the form applications should take, any submission deadlines, and any restrictions on awards. We read line 2 on every one of the 23,986 returns that left the box blank, as e-filed: an answer filed only in an attached statement is not part of this data.
- 97.1% (23,298 of 23,986) filed at least one set of line 2 entries.
- 2.9% (688 of 23,986) filed none: we found no line 2 entries on their latest return as e-filed.
Filing something on line 2 is not the same as filing instructions. Of the 23,298 foundations that filed line 2 entries, 2.2% (502 of 23,298) wrote only N/A, NA or not applicable, or nothing, in the form, deadline and restriction answers of every set they filed. 0.5% (121 of 23,298) wrote by invitation, invitation only or invite only in one of those answers, or put unsolicited in the same sentence as no, not, nor or never, as in we do not consider unsolicited proposals. That is a phrase match, not a reading: a return can say one program is by invitation and describe another that is not, and a turn of phrase we do not list is missed.
| Tax year | Foundations | Filed line 2 entries | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 or earlier | 1,831 | 1,627 | 88.9% |
| 2024 | 10,113 | 9,914 | 98.0% |
| 2025 | 12,042 | 11,757 | 97.6% |
Deadlines, as filed
Of the 23,298 foundations that filed line 2 entries:
- 25.8% (6,001 of 23,298) named a month or a date.
- 49.5% (11,540 of 23,298) wrote none, rolling or any time, and named no month or date.
- 24.7% (5,757 of 23,298) wrote something else.
Each foundation is counted once, from all the deadline text on its return (a return can carry more than one set of line 2 entries). A return that named a month and also said none, rolling or any time is counted as naming a month: 1.8% (110 of 6,001) of those that named a month or a date did both.
None, rolling or any time is a literal match: the word none; no followed within three words by deadline or deadlines, as in no submission deadlines; rolling; or any time or anytime. Wording that may mean the same thing in other words, such as ongoing or open, is counted as something else.
Three deadlines that named a month or a date, as filed. Each is one whole answer, quoted exactly: the answers of this kind that the most foundations filed in the same words. We left out any answer that holds a name, an email or web address, or a long number, or that points to one company.
APRIL 1
MAY 1
DECEMBER 31
Three deadlines that said none, rolling or any time, as filed. Each is one whole answer, quoted exactly: the most often filed answer using none, the most often filed using no and deadline, and the most often filed using rolling or any time. We left out any answer that holds a name, an email or web address, or a long number, or that points to one company.
NONE
NO DEADLINES
APPLICATIONS ARE ACCEPTED AT ANY TIME.
What the something-else answers were
| What the text said | Foundations | Share |
|---|---|---|
| N/A, NA or not applicable | 1,910 | 8.2% |
| A bare No. The form's prompt is “Any submission deadlines”; we did not count a bare No as saying there are none | 269 | 1.2% |
| A pointer elsewhere: the text uses see, refer, attached, attachment, footnote, statement, website, www, http, contact or request. Footnotes, attachments and websites are not part of this data | 1,546 | 6.6% |
| Left blank | 25 | 0.1% |
| Other wording (ongoing, various, quarterly, before the board meets, and so on) | 2,007 | 8.6% |
Three deadlines that said something else, as filed. Each is one whole answer, quoted exactly: the most often filed answer of three of the kinds in the table, N/A, a pointer elsewhere and other wording. We left out any answer that holds a name, an email or web address, or a long number, or that points to one company.
N/A
SEE FOOTNOTES
ONGOING
Which months are named
| Month | Foundations | Share |
|---|---|---|
| January | 372 | 6.2% |
| February | 477 | 7.9% |
| March | 1,035 | 17.2% |
| April | 1,307 | 21.8% |
| May | 894 | 14.9% |
| June | 641 | 10.7% |
| July | 351 | 5.8% |
| August | 379 | 6.3% |
| September | 637 | 10.6% |
| October | 508 | 8.5% |
| November | 435 | 7.2% |
| December | 612 | 10.2% |
A date written only in numbers whose month is not certain, such as 4/1, and no other month | 40 | 0.7% |
The month named most often was April.
How the month count works, and what it cannot see
- A month counts when its full name appears: January to December, except May.
- May is also an ordinary word (applications may be submitted at any time), so it counts only when a day number, a year, or the word first or of comes next (
May 1,May 1st, May of each year); or when one of in, by, of, before, until, through, thru, during, early, mid, late or end comes just before it and the next word is not one such as be or not (by May,mid-May); or when May is the whole answer. - Abbreviations (Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Sept, Oct, Nov, Dec) count only next to a day number (
Sept. 30,15 Oct). - A date written in numbers counts only when its month is certain:
3/15is March,31/12is December,5/5is May. A date such as4/1could beApril 1or1 April, so it makes the deadline dated but names no month; 40 foundations wrote only dates like that. - A named month is not always a submission deadline: some answers name the month a board meets or a scholarship is awarded.
- What the count misses: dates written as
12 31or1231; dates written with a dash, such as12-31or4-15-25, because a dash also writes a range such as2-3 months; May followed by any other word, as in May meeting or May, yearly; seasons such as spring; and frequencies such as quarterly. None of these counts as a month. - A filed deadline is the one the foundation reported for that tax year. 92.4% (96,146 of 104,068) of the latest returns counted on this page are for tax year 2024 or 2025. Deadlines move; a filed one tells you the deadline the foundation reported for a past tax year, not the next one.
Restrictions, as filed
These are keyword matches on the filed restriction text, not a reading of it. Of the 23,298 foundations that filed line 2 entries:
- 11.2% (2,614 of 23,298) mention individuals or scholarships: the words individual, individuals, scholarship or scholarships. A mention cuts both ways: 24.9% (650 of 2,614) of those put no, not, nor or never before the keyword in the same sentence (a sentence ends at a full stop, semicolon, question or exclamation mark), as in no grants to individuals. That rule also catches no restrictions, individuals and organizations may apply, so it is a rough count of rules against, not an exact one.
- 18.4% (4,292 of 23,298) name a place: county, counties, parish, parishes, city, cities, town, towns, township, townships, village or villages, the phrases state of or the state, or the full name of a US state, the District of Columbia or Puerto Rico.
What the keywords miss and what they catch by mistake: a place written only as a town name or a postal abbreviation (Rockport, MA) is missed, and so are local, area and region; a name that only contains a place (a university named after a state, or Washington meaning the city) is caught. A mention of individuals can be a rule against giving to them, and the singular individual also matches phrases such as on an individual basis. No count here says which way a restriction points.
Three restrictions that mention individuals or scholarships, as filed. Each is one whole answer, quoted exactly: the two most often filed answers phrased as a rule against, and the most often filed answer that matches only through the singular individual, which shows the false match described above. We left out any answer that holds a name, an email or web address, or a long number, or that points to one company. No scholarship restriction and no answer about giving to individuals that is not phrased as a rule against was filed in the same words by two foundations and passed those rules, so neither is shown.
NO GRANTS TO INDIVIDUALS
NO GRANTS ARE MADE TO INDIVIDUALS.
THERE ARE NO LIMITATIONS ON AWARDS OR GRANTS. EACH INDIVIDUAL SITUATION WILL BE REVIEWED AS WARRANTED.
Three restrictions that name a place, as filed. Each is one whole answer, quoted exactly: the answers of this kind that the most foundations filed in the same words. We left out any answer that holds a name, an email or web address, or a long number, or that points to one company.
RESTRICTED TO CHARITABLE PURPOSES IN KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI
AWARDS ARE RESTRICTED TO SANTA BARBARA COUNTY
PREFERENCE WILL BE GIVEN TO NEW JERSEY CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS.
What the grant lists on the same returns show
Each return also lists the grants the foundation paid that year. The form has a separate field for a recipient who is an individual, and we count a foundation as listing a grant to an individual when at least one grant on its return was filed in that field. Of the foundations whose restriction text contains individual, individuals, scholarship or scholarships, 41.9% (1,096 of 2,614) listed a grant in that field. Of those whose restriction text contains none of the four words, 28.3% (5,856 of 20,684) did. A restriction that does not mention individuals is not a statement about them, and a grant to an individual says nothing about how a foundation treats a request from an organization.
The field is not always used for people. Of the 6,952 foundations with a grant filed in it, 13.4% (930 of 6,952) filed no name there that passes as a person's: every name in the field is blank, N/A, a pointer such as see attached, or contains one of these organization words: foundation, foundations, trust, trusts, bank, committee, board, inc, incorporated, company, corporation, corp, llc, fund, association, society, church, school, schools, university, college, academy, institute, hospital, center, club, council, department, office or ministries. This is a word match. A payment to a college for a named student contains college and counts as an organization name here; a person whose surname is one of those words does too.
For place, we took each foundation's grants to organizations that carry a US state on the return and worked out the share whose state matches the state in the address on the foundation's own return, which for a foundation whose trustee is a bank can be the bank's office. Across the 3,185 foundations whose restrictions name a place, the median share was 92.9%; across the 14,550 whose restrictions name none, it was 69.9%. The median is the middle foundation when they are lined up by that share. Foundations filing from outside the US, or whose return lists no grant to an organization with a US state, are left out of both.
Who to contact, as filed
Line 2 asks for the name, address and telephone number or email address of the person to whom applications should be addressed. Of the 23,298 foundations that filed line 2 entries:
- 99.2% (23,108 of 23,298) filled in a name (not blank, not N/A or none, not a pointer such as see attached). The name is not always a person: on 26.1% (6,031 of 23,108) of those returns, every name filled in contains one of the organization words listed under the grant lists above, such as foundation, trust, bank, committee or board. That is a word match, so a bank followed by the person to write to counts too. On 6.3% (1,445 of 23,108) of them, a name contains the word bank.
- 22.6% (5,256 of 23,298) listed an email address, counted only when the filed address contains @.
- 76.6% (17,852 of 23,298) listed a phone number and no email address. A phone number is a ten-digit number that is not one digit repeated.
- 0.8% (190 of 23,298) listed neither.
Another 952 put something in the email field without an @ (N/A, a website, or an address filed with the @ missing); they are not counted as listing an email address.
What this means if you are applying
- Start with the checkbox. 77.0% of foundations that listed a grant checked it, and the form does not ask them how to apply.
- If the box is blank, read line 2 of the latest return before anything else: 97.1% of those foundations filed something on line 2. Read what it says, not only that it is there: 2.2% of them wrote only N/A or nothing, and 0.5% used one of the invitation or unsolicited phrases above.
- Most named no date. 49.5% of them wrote none, rolling or any time, and 25.8% named a month or a date. Where a month is named, treat it as the month the foundation reported for a past tax year, not a promise for this one. A blank deadline is not an opening: some of the entries without a date also say requests come only by invitation, so read the whole entry.
- Some instructions are not here at all. 6.6% of the foundations that filed line 2 entries pointed to an attachment, footnote, website or contact for deadlines; this data does not include those, so for them the answer is somewhere we did not read.
- Read the restrictions before writing anything: 18.4% name a place and 11.2% mention individuals or scholarships, by keyword.
- Expect to phone or write. 99.2% of returns with line 2 entries filled in a name, though not always a person's, and only 22.6% listed an email address.
How we counted
Counted on 28 October 2026.
- Source: IRS Form 990-PF returns filed electronically and published by the IRS in bulk, submission years 2022 to 2026, as held in the Funderscope archive.
- Which returns: one per foundation (EIN), its latest: the highest tax year among its returns once amended and duplicate filings are set aside. Only foundations whose latest return lists at least one grant paid during the year are counted: 104,068 foundations, tax years 2019 to 2025.
- Line 2: the application section of the Supplementary Information part of the form (who to contact, the form, deadlines, restrictions), read as e-filed from every latest return that left the preselected box blank; statements attached to a return are not read. A return can carry several sets; a foundation counts once, using all of them.
- Assets: fair market value at the end of the year, as filed on the same return.
- Grants: those listed as paid during the year on the same return; grants approved for future payment are not counted. Grants filed in the individual-recipient field are counted, never named.
- Text: every class above is a pattern match on the filed words, and every rule is printed beside its number. No foundation is named on this page, and the only text quoted is deadline and restriction answers that more than one foundation filed in the same words.
- The general method, its accuracy and its limits: how this works and what it can't tell you.