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 “watchdog”
Where the money went
Largest: $20,000 to RE SOURCES — protecting the salish sea: watchdogging pollution, game-changing policies, and community action
Largest: $65,000 to UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI-COLUMBIA - MISSOURI SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM — watchdog writers group william t. kemper foundation fellowship and scholarship
Largest: $150,000 to AMERICAN WATCHDOGS INC — public policy
Sustainable Markets FoundationNew York, NYCharity · may take applications
4 matching grants · $1.0M · through 2023Largest: $360,000 to CONSUMER WATCHDOG — climate change & envirn. conservtn
Ploughshares FundSan Francisco, CACharity · may take applications
3 matching grants · $210,000 · through 2024Largest: $70,000 to TRI-VALLEY COMMUNITIES AGAINST A RADIOACTIVE ENVIRONMENT — to support tri-valley cares nationally relevant watchdog activities at lawrence livermore national laboratory (llnl).
The Community FoundationAsheville, NCCharity · may take applications
4 matching grants · $84,000 · through 2024Largest: $30,250 to ASHEVILLE WATCHDOG — advancing the arts
Largest: $300,000 to CONSUMER WATCHDOG — encouraging a just transition away from fossil fuels
Largest: $15,000 to CHECK MY ADS INSTITUTE — watchdog for digital adtech industry
The Ayco Charitable FoundationCohoes, NYCharity · may take applications
3 matching grants · $70,000 · through 2024Largest: $25,000 to ASHEVILLE WATCHDOG — community & human services
The Streisand FoundationWoodland Hills, CA
3 matching grants · $66,000 · through 2024Largest: $25,000 to CONSUMER WATCHDOG — support for organization's operations
The Miami FoundationMiami, FLCharity · may take applications
3 matching grants · $56,292 · through 2024Largest: $24,000 to ASHEVILLE WATCHDOG — program support
Largest: $327,209 to WATCHDOG REAL ESTATE PROJECT MANAGEMENT — integrating playful learning into affordable housing
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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 →