Private foundations in the United States are required to file Form 990s with the IRS. Form 990s can provide a wealth of information about a funder's assets, key personnel, and giving history, among other things. Instrumentl automatically imports these forms and transforms the funder insights into easy-to-digest charts and graphs so you can:

Funder 990 forms can be found in two places on Instrumentl: via your Matches and via the Quick Find search bar.

While browsing your list of Matches within a project, look for the 990 Report tab toward the right of the screen. Select the tab to view the funder's 990 report and to download any 990 PDFs if desired. 

To open the full funder page, maximize the page by clicking the full-screen arrow icon to the right of the funder name.

If you'd like to quickly look up the form 990 for a specific funder, use Instrumentl's Quick Find search feature to search through all private foundations registered with the IRS.

Locate the Quick Find search bar at the top left of your screen, directly beneath the Instrumentl logo.

For an in-depth overview, learn more about Quick Find search functionality.

Once you've researched a funder and any respective funding opportunities, there's likely vital funder information you'd like to note in your Instrumentl Tracker.

After you've saved a funder, click into it from your Tracker, open the "Funder Profile" tab, and document any findings in the Funder Notes text box.

PS: If you ever find those funder notes getting cluttered and prefer to itemize note types, we recommend looking into our Custom Fields feature!

Researching a funder's Form 990 data is a great way to understand giving trends and make informed decisions about opportunities you pursue.

Reach out to our friendly support team if you have any questions about using this feature. Message us via the chat bubble when you're logged in, or email us at hello@instrumentl.com.