How to Read a Foundation's 990-PF (And What to Look For)

Every private foundation in America files a Form 990-PF with the IRS every year. It's public record. And it tells you almost everything you need to know about whether they'll fund you.

Most grant seekers skip the 990-PF because it looks intimidating—50+ pages of tax jargon. But once you know where to look, you can extract gold in under 5 minutes.

Here's exactly what to look for.

Part XV: Grants and Contributions Paid

This is the most important section. Skip straight here first.

Part XV lists every single grant the foundation made that year—recipient name, amount, and purpose. This tells you:

• What they actually fund (ignore mission statements—this is what they do)
• Typical grant size (are they giving $5K or $500K?)
• Geographic focus (local, regional, or national?)
• Whether they fund new orgs (same 10 grantees every year = bad sign)

Part I: Financial Summary

Look at three numbers:

• Total assets (Line 16) — How big is this foundation?
• Contributions received (Line 1) — Are they getting new money or spending down?
• Qualifying distributions (Line 25) — How much did they actually give away?

Foundations are required to distribute about 5% of assets annually. If their assets are $10M, expect roughly $500K in annual grants. This helps you gauge if your ask is reasonable.

Part VIII: Officers and Directors

This lists every board member and key employee, including their compensation. Why does this matter?

• Board connections — Do you know anyone on the board? That's your way in.
• Professional backgrounds — A board of healthcare executives probably won't fund arts programs.
• Family foundations — If it's all one family, decisions are personal, not bureaucratic.

Where to Find 990-PFs

Or save yourself hours and use a tool that's already parsed all the data for you.