Funding search
Find who already funds work like yours.
Private foundations don’t post open calls, so nobody can search them. We read IRS filings instead — 9.6 million grants from 174,053 foundations and grantmaking charities, searchable by what the money was actually for.
12 funders with a record of paying for “prison”
Where the money went
Ascendium Education SolutionsMadison, WICharity · may take applications
89 matching grants · $46.7M · through 2024Largest: $2.0M to ITHAKA HARBORS INC — grant, building data collection and evaluation capacity for higher education in prisons grant, enhancing and expanding the transfer explorer tool grant, strategies to support holis…
Largest: $2.4M to URBAN INSTITUTE — to launch a prison research and innovation initiative to infuse transparency, accountability, and innovation into the prison sector.
Serving USACamas, WACharity · may take applications
74 matching grants · $3.3M · through 2024Largest: $480,000 to PRISON FELLOWSHIP (TUMI) — to support prison programs
Largest: $3.7M to BARD COLLEGE — to support an expansion of college-in-prison programs for men and women, planning for a master's degree program, and an endowed chair dedicated to the bard prison initiative
Largest: $70,000 to GEORGIA ST UNIVERSITY PRISON EDU — gsu prison education program
Largest: $150,000 to CHINESE FOR AFFIRMATIVE ACTION — asian prisoner support committee - creating safe and just communities: to support efforts to end the prison-to-deportation pipeline impacting california's asian and pacific islande…
Largest: $118,750 to PORTLAND STATE PRISON EDUCATION — prison education
East Bay Community FoundationOakland, CACharity · may take applications
19 matching grants · $1.4M · through 2024Largest: $90,008 to LEGAL SERVICES FOR PRISONERS WITH CHILDREN — bike drive for the holidays, general support, general support - east bay programs, general support - the organization's criminal justice advocacy, leadership and organizing work as…
Largest: $32,500 to PRISONERS LEGAL SERVICES — support for the prison brutality legal advocacy program.
John D and Catherine T MacArthur Foundation (Consolidated)Chicago, IL
24 matching grants · $2.4M · through 2024Largest: $112,500 to Prison Policy Initiative Inc — to support policy research and advocacy highlighting the need for local criminal justice reform.
Servant FoundationOverland Park, KSCharity · may take applications
24 matching grants · $7.2M · through 2024Largest: $2.3M to PRISON FELLOWSHIP MINISTRIES — religious ministry
Largest: $26,154 to From Prison Cells to PhD Inc — support prison cells to phd summer program
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Source: IRS Form 990-PF Part XV and Form 990 Schedule I, tax years 2019–2025. These are grants already paid, a record of what an organization funds rather than an open call. Private foundations rarely accept unsolicited applications and the route in is usually a program officer; grantmaking charities and associations more often run real application cycles, so check their website. How this data is built, and its limits →