Karma data
Foundation Funding Data from IRS 990 Filings
An index of IRS Form 990 and 990-PF filings for U.S. private foundations and public charities: over 2 million filings covering $1.2T in tracked grantmaking dollars and seven years of giving history, kept current as new filings are published.
Figures last reviewed on .
The numbers, defined
- filings indexed
- 2M+
A filing is one annual information return, a Form 990 or Form 990-PF, submitted by one organization for one tax year and released by the IRS as e-file data. Over 2 million such returns are indexed. The count grows as the IRS releases new filings; it is not a count of organizations, since one organization contributes one filing per year.
- grantmaking dollars tracked
- $1.2T
The total dollar value of grants reported across the indexed filings, as filed. Form 990-PF filings itemize each grant a private foundation paid; Form 990 filings report grants made through their schedules. Amounts are what organizations reported to the IRS, not independently audited figures.
- of giving history
- seven years
The span of tax years the indexed filings cover. Because organizations file up to a year or more after their tax year ends, the most recent complete year in the corpus typically trails the calendar by one to two years.
Methodology
Source
The corpus is built from the IRS Form 990 and Form 990-PF e-file releases: the annual information returns U.S. tax-exempt organizations and private foundations file with the IRS. As works of the U.S. government, the underlying filings are in the public domain. Karma ingests the released e-file data and indexes it for search; the index itself and the research layer on top of it are Karma's work.
What counts as a filing
One filing is one return (Form 990 or Form 990-PF) submitted by one organization for one tax year. Amended returns supersede the original for that year. The filings count is therefore a count of organization-years, not of organizations.
Coverage and vintages
Coverage spans seven years of giving history across organizations whose returns the IRS has released as e-file data. Organizations file up to a year or more after their tax year ends, so the most recent complete year in the corpus typically trails the calendar by one to two years. Small organizations that file the 990-N postcard, paper-only filers absent from the e-file releases, and non-U.S. funders are outside the corpus.
Refresh cadence
The index is kept current as the IRS releases new e-filed returns; newly released filings are ingested on an ongoing basis rather than on a fixed calendar. The headline figures on this page are corpus-level totals verified against the index on the review date shown above, not live counters.
Limitations
All amounts are as reported by the filing organization to the IRS and are not independently audited. Dollar totals reflect grants as itemized or scheduled in the filings, so reporting differences between filers carry through to the totals.
What this data cannot tell you
What a funder will do next. Filings record grants already paid, not future priorities or open funding opportunities.
What happened in the last year or two. The filing lag means the newest grants are often not yet on record.
Anything about funders outside the corpus: 990-N postcard filers, paper-only filers, non-U.S. foundations, and giving that never passes through a reporting entity, such as direct personal gifts.
Whether a nonprofit is effective. The filings describe money flows and governance disclosures, not program quality or impact.
Common questions
- Where does this data come from?
- From the IRS Form 990 and Form 990-PF e-file corpus, the annual information returns U.S. tax-exempt organizations and private foundations file with the IRS. As works of the U.S. government, the underlying filings are in the public domain. Karma ingests the released e-file data and indexes it for search.
- How current is the data?
- The index is kept current as the IRS releases new e-filed returns. Filings themselves lag reality: an organization files months to more than a year after its tax year closes, so the most recent complete year in the corpus typically trails the calendar by one to two years. Recent grants may not appear until the funder's next return is released.
- Which organizations are covered?
- U.S. private foundations that file Form 990-PF and public charities that file Form 990, where the IRS has released the return as e-file data. Organizations below the filing threshold (990-N postcard filers), paper-only filers whose returns are not in the e-file releases, and non-U.S. funders are not covered.
- How can I search this data?
- Through Karma Find Funders, a research agent that answers funder questions from the indexed filings and cites the source filing for each answer. Asking questions is free for nonprofits, on the site or through the MCP connector for AI assistants.
Use the data
Karma Find Funders searches this corpus conversationally and cites the source filing behind every answer. For how advisors verify organizations before recommending a grant, see nonprofit due diligence.