Foundation Research
Foundation Research: From IRS Filings to Funder Fit
Foundation research is the connective tissue between a fundraising strategy and a credible prospect list. CIFIS makes foundation research faster and more defensible by combining IRS-verified records, structured giving history, geographic alignment, and explainable matching into a single research workspace built for grant writers, development staff, consultants, and philanthropic researchers.
What foundation research should look like in 2026
Foundation research has historically meant juggling 990 PDFs, paid directories, and home-grown spreadsheets. That workflow is broken: it is slow, it does not scale, and it leaves teams unable to defend why a particular funder ended up on the prospect list. Modern foundation research has to start with structured data and end with a clear, documented match, and the path between them has to be visible.
- Structured IRS BMF and 990 data, not PDFs
- Normalized NTEE and program classifications
- Geographic alignment with your service area
- Strategic Partner Score with documented inputs
- Saved research and exportable shortlists
How CIFIS structures foundation research
Open any foundation profile and you see a structured record: identity (EIN, ruling date, headquarters), program (NTEE classification, curated tags), money (asset class, recent giving), history (recent grants where 990 data permits), and partnership signals (operating model, community foundation status, MDI flags). Each section cites its source. Researchers can compare profiles side by side, save them to a research collection, and export a shortlist for a board or program team.
Designed for grant writers and prospect researchers
Prospect researchers and grant writers have specific needs that generic tools miss: the ability to qualify a funder in under five minutes, to defend the qualification to a development director, and to maintain notes across hundreds of prospects. CIFIS treats those needs as first-class, every profile is fast to read, every claim is sourced, and every research action is recorded so it can be picked up later or handed off without context loss.
Ask CIFIS for foundation-specific questions
Ask CIFIS is a read-only research assistant grounded in the foundation catalog. Ask why a foundation surfaced for your work, what their recent giving has looked like, how their geographic focus compares to yours, or what is missing in your readiness profile that might hold the recommendation back. Every answer cites the records it pulled from. CIFIS does not invent foundations, does not generate proposals, and does not speculate beyond what the data supports.
Frequently asked questions
Where does CIFIS foundation data come from?
Primarily the IRS Exempt Organization Business Master File and 990 filings, enriched with curated CIFIS classifications and partnership signals.
How current is the foundation research data?
Records are reconciled continuously against IRS sources, and every profile carries a verification timestamp so users know how fresh the data is.
Can I see a foundation's grant history?
Yes, where 990 filings expose grant detail. CIFIS structures that history so it is comparable across foundations.
Does foundation research include community foundations?
Yes. Community foundations are tagged as a distinct foundation type and are also reachable through a dedicated browse path.
Can I save and export research?
Yes. Save prospects into collections, add notes, and export shortlists for internal review.
Is there a research assistant?
Yes. Ask CIFIS answers research questions grounded in the foundation catalog and cites the records it used.
See CIFIS for your organization
CIFIS is the funding intelligence platform connecting nonprofits, community foundations, CDFIs, and consultants to grants, funders, and verified opportunities, with explainable matching and readiness scoring.