The Structural Mismatch
The federal government has terminated approximately $49 billion in grants and contracts through DOGE-driven cuts since early 2025. Foundations, meanwhile, sit on $1.75 trillion in assets as of September 2025, a record high. US foundation grantmaking exceeded $100 billion for the third consecutive year in 2024. The money exists. The problem is that it is not organized to replace what the federal government funded, and there is no Grants.gov equivalent for the private sector. Candid put a number on the gap: philanthropy would need $140 billion more annually, a 282% increase over current grantmaking levels, to offset federal funding cuts at scale. That is not going to happen. Total US charitable giving reached $592.5 billion in 2024, a record, up 6.3% from the prior year. But foundation grantmaking grew only 2.4%, which is a decline in real terms after inflation. The sector is not mobilizing at anything close to the pace the moment requires. This matters for grant seekers because the premise of "foundations will fill the gap" is wrong as a planning assumption. What is true is that specific foundations are making specific emergency commitments, and total assets are large enough that well-targeted applications to the right funders can absolutely succeed. The key word is targeted. Search foundation opportunities on Funding Landscape to see what is currently open.
Who Is Responding to Federal Cuts
Several large foundations have made explicit emergency commitments in response to federal funding contractions. These are real dollars going to real organizations, though they represent a fraction of the overall gap. MacKenzie Scott gave $7.16 billion in 2025, the largest single-year philanthropic gift on record from an individual. Since 2019 she has distributed $26.3 billion total, with an average gift of $38 million. Sixty-five percent of her grantees are repeat recipients. Her 2025 giving included $783 million to historically Black colleges and universities and tribal colleges. She does not accept applications. Her team identifies organizations. A coalition of six major foundations, including Ford, Knight, MacArthur, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, Schmidt Futures, and Melinda French Gates's Pivotal Ventures, committed $37 million to public media after Congress rescinded $1.1 billion in Corporation for Public Broadcasting funding. Targeted, one sector. The Mellon Foundation created a $15 million emergency fund distributed as $200,000 unrestricted grants to all 56 state humanities councils after federal humanities funding was cut. Unrestricted emergency funding of that type is rare and reflects genuine urgency. The Skoll Foundation committed $25 million in direct relief to its existing awardees affected by federal cuts. That money went to organizations already in Skoll's portfolio, not new applicants. A private coalition raised more than $125 million to replace certain USAID-funded programs after the agency was effectively dismantled. Separately, a $1 billion economic mobility coalition was announced, involving Ballmer Group, Gates Foundation, Stand Together, and Valhalla Foundation. The pattern across all of these responses: emergency commitments are real but targeted. They go primarily to existing grantees, existing sectors, and organizations already in the funders' networks. If your organization is not already connected to these funders, these announcements do not directly open new doors for you. They do signal that program officers at major foundations have new discretion and urgency to act.
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Where the Money Actually Is
There are approximately 150,762 private foundations in the United States. The distribution is extremely top-heavy. The Gates Foundation is targeting $9 billion in distributions for 2026. Bill Gates has announced a plan to give away $200 billion over 20 years before the foundation closes in 2045. At that scale, Gates is effectively its own sector. Grants average in the tens of millions and go to organizations with significant institutional capacity. Ford Foundation ended its landmark $2 billion BUILD program in 2025, which had provided multi-year general operating support to large nonprofits. Ford is pivoting its strategy, though specifics are still emerging. For organizations that relied on BUILD or comparable Ford support, this is a significant change in the funding environment. Mellon Foundation, beyond its emergency humanities response, continues its Higher Learning grants focused on equity in higher education. Grant sizes run from $500,000 to several million over multi-year periods. The most overlooked opportunity for most organizations is mid-size foundations: those giving between $1 million and $50 million annually. They receive far fewer applications than the Gates-scale funders, they often have clearer geographic or issue focus that makes targeting easier, and success rates for well-matched applicants can reach 30 to 50 percent. A foundation giving $10 million a year and making 15 grants is making 15 decisions, and a strong application from a mission-aligned organization has a real chance. Donor-advised funds are an underused source. Fidelity Charitable distributed a record $14.9 billion in DAF grants in 2024, up 25% from the prior year. Schwab Charitable distributed $8.9 billion, up 34%. Total DAF accounts in the US reached 3.56 million, also a record. Individual donors fund these accounts and recommend grants, often to organizations they have existing relationships with or have researched independently. Fidelity Charitable also received $786 million in cryptocurrency donations in 2024, a 14-fold increase, much of which is now being granted out. Community foundations are another often-overlooked category. Their median giving increase was 8.7% in 2024, faster than the broader foundation sector. They are geographically focused, which means less competition from national organizations. Search community foundation grants to find opportunities in your region. Foundation giving is projected at $118 billion to $122 billion for 2026, based on current asset levels and historical payout rates.
How to Find Foundation Grants: The Two-Step Process
There is no central database for foundation grants. This is the most important structural fact about this funding category. Federal grants have Grants.gov. Foundation grants do not have an equivalent. What exists instead is a combination of 990 tax filings, foundation websites, and a handful of aggregation services. Step one is research. Every private foundation files a Form 990-PF with the IRS, which is public record. These filings list every grant the foundation made, to whom, how much, and often for what purpose. Candid aggregates this data and is accessible free through many public library systems. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer also makes 990 data searchable for free. The goal of step one is to identify which foundations have funded organizations like yours, in your geography, at roughly your budget scale. Plan to research 20 to 30 foundations to find 5 to 10 that are accepting applications in a given cycle. Most foundations do not accept unsolicited proposals. They invite applications from organizations they have identified, or they post limited open RFP cycles. This ratio is not a sign that the system is broken; it is how private grantmaking works. Step two is checking foundation websites for current open solicitations. After identifying foundations from 990 data, visit each foundation's website to confirm they accept applications, find current guidelines, and check deadlines. Guidelines change. A foundation that funded your issue area two years ago may have shifted strategy. Philanthropy News Digest, operated by Candid, maintains the best free RFP database for foundation grants. It aggregates open solicitations from foundations across the country and is updated regularly. Checking it weekly is one of the most efficient things a grant seeker can do. Currently open: Bank of America has an active RFP with a deadline of March 2, 2026. Clif Family Foundation is accepting applications from grassroots organizations. Search for currently open foundation RFPs to see what is accepting applications right now. Two practical notes. First, program officer relationships matter more in foundation fundraising than in federal grant programs. A 15-minute phone call with a program officer before writing a letter of inquiry can save weeks of wasted effort and significantly improve your odds. Most foundations list program officer names and contact information. Second, library cards are worth getting. Full Candid database access costs thousands per year as a subscription. Most large public library systems provide free access to patrons.
How Foundation Applications Differ from Federal Grants
Foundation grant applications are shorter, faster, and more relationship-dependent than federal grants. The differences are significant enough that federal grant experience does not fully transfer. Length: Foundation applications typically run 3 to 10 pages. Federal grant applications regularly run 50 pages or more with extensive attachments. Some foundations use a letter of inquiry process, where a 2 to 3 page letter precedes a full application invitation. Federal grants almost never work this way. Timeline: Many foundations operate on rolling deadlines or quarterly review cycles rather than the rigid annual cycles of federal programs. A foundation may review letters of inquiry monthly and invite full proposals within 60 days. Federal grants typically run on 12-month cycles with firm statutory deadlines. Compliance requirements: Federal grants come with significant compliance strings, audit requirements, and reporting obligations under 2 CFR 200 (the Uniform Guidance). Most foundation grants have lighter compliance requirements. Some, particularly general operating support grants, have minimal reporting beyond an annual narrative and financial update. Success rates: Federal grant success rates for competitive programs typically run 5 to 25%. Foundation success rates vary enormously. Large foundations receiving thousands of applications unsolicited may fund less than 1%. Mid-size foundations with focused missions and accessible application processes may fund 30 to 50% of complete applications from qualified organizations. Mission alignment is the single most important factor in foundation fundraising and it works differently than federal eligibility. Federal grants have statutory eligibility criteria. Foundation grants turn on whether your work fits the foundation's theory of change. Two organizations identically eligible for a federal grant may have very different results with a foundation depending on how well their mission framing matches the funder's language and priorities. Reading a foundation's recent grants, its annual report, and any published strategy documents before writing is not optional; it is the work. For organizations new to foundation fundraising, the nonprofit grants guide covers the full grant-seeking process including how to build organizational readiness.
What to Do This Week
If you are starting or restarting your foundation grant-seeking in 2026, here is a practical sequence. Build your target list using 990 data. Use ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer (free, no account required) or Candid through your public library. Search for foundations that have funded organizations in your issue area or geography in the last three years. Note the grant amounts and whether the funder lists contact information for program staff. Aim for 20 to 30 names before narrowing. Check Philanthropy News Digest for open RFPs. Their foundation RFP database is free and updated regularly. Filter by issue area. This step finds the foundations actively seeking applications right now, which is more actionable than a long list of foundations that may not be accepting unsolicited proposals. Contact program officers before writing. This applies to foundations where you can identify a contact. A brief email introducing your organization and asking whether your work fits their current priorities takes 10 minutes to write and can save weeks. Program officers will tell you directly if you are not a fit. If they express interest, your subsequent application has a warmer reception. Look at your regional community foundation. Every major metro area and many smaller regions have a community foundation that accepts applications from local nonprofits. Given the 8.7% median increase in community foundation giving in 2024, this is a strong current opportunity for geographically-based work. If your work connects to DAF donors, consider how you are presenting your organization to individual donors as well as institutional funders. DAF-funded giving totaled more than $23 billion in 2024 from Fidelity and Schwab alone, and much of that flows to organizations individuals already know and trust. For organizations whose work intersects with biomedical research or science funding, see the healthcare and biomedical funding guide. For small businesses exploring grant options, see the small business grants guide.