Grant Research

Maine Philanthropy Center's Directory of Maine Grantmakers is a unique resource containing up-to-date profiles of over 400 funders that have a history of supporting Maine nonprofits. The Directory is available online (MPC members) or in person through our Grant Research Support Appointments (available for all). Learn more about the Directory of Maine Grantmakers.

MPC hosts free virtual grant research tutorials every month. We give an overview of grant research best practices and give a demo of how to use MPC's Directory of Maine Grantmakers and Candid's Foundation Directory.

Find the next dates on our Program calendar. Reach out to us at mpc@mainephilanthropy.org for a recording if you aren't able to attend live.

Maine Philanthropy Center offers grant research support appointments at our new home, the Equality Community Center at 15 Casco Street in downtown Portland. Appointments are free and open to the public. 

We now offer walk-in access to Candid’s Foundation Directory Online (FDO). If you only need to use FDO, please see details below.

Learn more and make an appointment

Anyone can receive free access to Candid’s Foundation Directory Online by coming to MPC’s new home, the Equality Community Center at 15 Casco Street in downtown Portland.

To use this free service:

• Sign in at the front desk and let them know you are doing grant research through MPC
• Find a seat in the Great Hall or Library on the first floor of the ECC
• Log in to the ECC Public Wi-Fi
• Head to this link and start using FDO for free: https://fconline.foundationcenter.org/ipl.php

You can bring your own laptop or reach out in advance to reserve a laptop at the ECC.

Questions about how to use FDO for your research? Attend our monthly Grant Research Tutorial or email us for a recording for a guided demo.

Need more hands-on support? Not a member of MPC but need access to MPC’s Directory of Maine Grantmakers? Check out our in-person grant research appointments.

You can find details about parking and building accessibility here.

MPC is delighted to leverage our information and staff resources to further our member's critical work.

Starting now, MPC members can use our new Philanthropy Data Request Form to request data from databases such as our Directory of Maine Grantmakers and Candid's Foundation Directory Online. 

Send requests such as: 

• List of foundations supporting one or more subject areas;
• List of nonprofits receiving grants in one or more subject areas in Maine;
• Grants received from peer organizations;
• Salary information from peer funders
• And more!

Requests for philanthropy data are intended as a supplement to information that can be easily gathered using public resources on philanthropy, such as data about an individual foundation that can be found on their website.

Philanthropy Data Request Form

This is a member-only service. Make sure you are logged in to fill out the form. Reach out to us if you have questions about your MPC membership status.

MPC has put together a guide on grant research, including an overview of the grant research process, a glossary of commonly used terms, how to read the 990 or 990-PF tax form, a sample grant research tracking form, and a sample prospect worksheet.

View Grant Research Guide

Candid offers research tools such as Foundation Directory and Guidestar, as well as learning opportunities and newsletters. 

Anyone can use Candid's Foundation Directory Online (FDO) Professional for free through MPC by visiting the Equality Community Center. More details above under "Candid’s Foundation Directory Online (FDO): Free walk-in access."

Some nonprofits can also receive free access to Foundation Directory Online Essentials through Candid's Go for the Gold promotion.

Candid Learning offers many free and on-demand courses on grantwriting, grant research, and more. 

Impala is a social impact startup, creating a unified platform for the nonprofit sector. 

• For everyone: explore the profiles of any nonprofit and foundation in the U.S. and analyze any nonprofit ecosystem, anywhere in the country - explore who’s involved, how the grantmakers and grantseekers compare, key funding and financial trends, and more.
• For funders: conduct essential due diligence on potential grantees, evaluate the financial health of grantees in your portfolio, and reveal insights to create a data-driven grantmaking strategy.
• For nonprofits: build smarter prospect lists pinpointing who gives in a similar pattern as your existing funders (ex. causes), as well as who’s giving to nonprofits like you.

Through a partnership with MPC, Impala is available for all Maine nonprofits. Reach out to support@impala.digital with any questions about how to use their platform to support your work, or attend one of MPC's regular Impala sessions to learn more about their work.

A sister organization to MPC, the Maine Association of Nonprofits (MANP) is the state’s largest network of organizations dedicated to the common good with more than 1,000 nonprofit members and 150 partners in government, business and philanthropy, representing every county in Maine and the full range of nonprofit missions and sizes. 

Check out MANP's many resources and learning opportunities supporting nonprofits in our state, including grant seeking programs.

Philanthropy Massachusetts is MPC's peer organization for Massachusetts. They host engaging and helpful programs for grantseekers regularly, in addition to their other resources for nonprofits.

• Demystifying the 990PF (Candid): Understanding the information return U.S. private foundations file with the Internal Revenue Service.
• Guidestar: Look up all nonprofits through Candid's database. Free account required to view profiles.
• ProPublica: Look up tax forms for all nonprofits and foundations
• IRS website: Look up tax forms for all nonprofits and foundations

University of Maine Raymond H. Fogler Library: Resources for finding funding opportunities to support research, grants-related projects, and nonprofit programs and services.

Maine State Library: List of funding and grant sources for libraries

Candid Learning offers free and low-cost webinars on many topics, sample documents, and other useful information for grantseekers including:

• Introduction to Proposal Writing
• Creating a Sound Proposal Budget
• How to Raise Money from Individuals

• Grants.gov: All federal grants are listed on this website
• Mainearts.maine.gov: Maine arts funding
• Maine.gov: Type in “grants” into search engine for Maine State grant opportunities

Philanthropy News Digest (via Candid): Get the latest nonprofit news, funding opportunities, job openings, and more delivered to your inbox