Instrumentl's Peer Prospecting features empower nonprofits to discover, track, and analyze peer organizations with 501(c)(3) status. These tools streamline the process of identifying funders of similar nonprofits, saving you time and boosting your research efficiency.

Peer Prospecting allows you to create a comprehensive, long-term grants strategy on an even deeper level than Recipient Profiles ("reverse search")!

You may be wondering, "How do I benefit from Peer Prospecting insights if I already have access to Recipient Profiles on the Discover Plan?"

Here are some areas of added value unique to Peer Prospecting:

Understanding a funder's ROI from a vast array of 990 information and websites is hard! Often, they don't show you the full picture, nor do they truly highlight the funder's real interests and motivations. By identifying funders who have given to your peers, you are identifying funders with real evidence of funding similar work to your own nonprofit.

Keeping an eye on peers helps you understand how you are "performing" as a nonprofit. If very similar peer organizations are pulling in significantly more money, it's worth understanding how and from where. This can influence your overall funding strategy.

Combing through 990s and synthesizing funding data for peers requires an initial time investment, but the insights you gain are highly valuable. Knowing the full story between a peer and a funder can be extremely helpful going forward. Has this funder been giving to them for many years? Is the funding for that peer increasing or decreasing? If they are a mutual funder, are they giving more or less to my peers?

Peer Prospecting provides the answers, putting you a step ahead on the path to success.

To get started with peer prospecting, add your Organization EIN by going to Account > Organization Profile.

Access the Peers page in two ways:

2. Click the Create Peer List (or Edit Peer List) link found in the Filter dropdown menu under both your Opportunity and Funder Matches.
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In the Peer page, you can add or remove peers on the left-hand side, while the right-hand side displays the 990 data for the selected peer.

1. Select the + Add Peer button.

2. Search for the peer organization.

3. Click the purple '+' button next to the selected nonprofit to save it to your peers.

To remove a nonprofit from your peers list, select the "trashcan" icon and confirm.

With Peer Prospecting, you have access to two new "insights" in the Recipient Profiles of 990 Reports — Organization Comparison and Funding History.

Quickly see how you stack up against other organizations with our comparison table. Key metrics are highlighted, and differences are highlighted to help you identify potential peers by size, revenue, and grant history.

Get a detailed view of peers' past awards with two viewing options:

By default, the Funding History section will include 'All Time Funders' sorted by 'Total Awards'. You can sort by any of the following data (as well as by funder name). Alternatively, you may search for a funder.

Alternatively, you can open the dropdown menu and select a specific year of funding history for the recipient/peer.

Use your peer list to filter your Opportunity Matches for grants from funders that have supported your peers!

You can also narrow down Funder Matches to those who have awarded your peer organizations. The encircled number next to 'Edit Peer List' indicates the total number of organizations you've saved to your Peer List.

If you're interested in all the ways Instrumentl uses 990 data to strengthen your grants strategy with actionable insights, dive into a full rundown of our 990 search tools to research funders.

We're continually improving and expanding our platform's features and functionality. With features like Peer Prospecting, Instrumentl helps you unlock your potential.

Curious about Peer Prospecting or other 990 search features? Message our friendly Support team when logged in, or email us at hello@instrumentl.com.