Describe the cause
Explain the issue you address and the change your program is trying to create.
Built with nonprofits. For nonprofits.
Find foundations that understand your cause.
Your cause is more than one keyword. Describe the people you serve, the change you create, and the community you reach so you can investigate funders with stronger alignment.
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The problem
A cause label rarely tells the whole story.
Two nonprofits can both work in “health” while serving different populations, addressing different conditions, operating in different regions, and seeking different kinds of support. A broad cause search can bury the funders that best understand your actual work.
Foundation research becomes more useful when you combine cause with population, geography, program, and intended outcome. CharityEZ helps start with that fuller description.
A clearer outcome
Search from the real work behind your mission.
Give funder research enough context to distinguish your organization from thousands of broadly related nonprofits.
Name who benefits
Include the population, community, age group, or lived experience at the center.
Add place and project
Clarify where the work happens and what kind of support you are exploring.
Research the evidence
Use giving history and foundation context to decide which leads merit attention.
How it works
Build a search that sounds like your nonprofit.
No taxonomy expertise is required. Begin with a clear sentence about the work.
- 1
Tell the whole mission
Combine cause, population, place, and program in plain language.
- 2
Review aligned foundations
Explore funders connected to related grants and nonprofit work.
- 3
Confirm the current fit
Investigate present priorities, eligibility, access, timing, and likely support.
A better description
Move from category to context.
Instead of searching only for “youth grants,” describe the outcome: after-school arts programs for middle-school students in rural communities. Instead of only “cancer funding,” explain whether you provide family support, transportation, research, screening, or patient care.
Specific language helps the research distinguish related causes that require very different funding partners.
- The challenge you address
- The people or communities served
- The service or intervention provided
- The location and intended outcome
Use history carefully
Past giving shows interest, not current availability.
A foundation’s reported grants can help you understand where it has invested and what kinds of organizations it has supported. That history can strengthen a research hypothesis.
It cannot tell you by itself whether the funder is accepting applications, whether your organization qualifies, or whether priorities have changed. Verify current information directly.
Useful here. Powerful inside.
Learn the approach here. See your matches in CharityEZ.
On this page
A plain-language framework for describing a cause and using foundation giving history responsibly.
Inside CharityEZ
Your cause-specific matches, foundation profiles, grant details, nonprofit comparisons, saved research, and relationship paths remain inside CharityEZ.
Questions nonprofits ask
Frequently asked questions
How do I find foundations that fund my cause?
Describe your cause together with the population, geography, program, and outcome. Then investigate foundations with related giving histories and confirm their current priorities and eligibility rules.
Should I search by cause or by project?
Use both when possible. Cause describes the issue; project describes the work you want supported. Combining them usually creates a more useful research question.
Does CharityEZ understand a mission statement?
CharityEZ is designed to begin with a plain-language description of your nonprofit or project and use that context to guide funder discovery.
Are all foundations open to applications?
No. Some accept applications, some use invitation-only processes, and others have limited or changing programs. Always verify current guidance with the foundation.
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