Development Director

Development Director

FoundationSearch Reviews & Testimonials (All Categories)

Since 1995, Metasoft has helped more than 16,100 non-profit and charitable organizations throughout North America raise over $25.3 billion in funding. We listen closely and take pride in our commitment to clients. Here is what they have to say.

The following reviews and testimonials were written by FoundationSearch Members pursuing grants for projects in all giving categories.

Education

Education WOODSTOCK CHRISTIAN SCHOOL
RESEARCHER & GRANT WRITER
Woodstock, Ontario
"As a non-profit organization with a specific vision and values, navigating the intricate landscape of foundations and securing funding that aligns with our mission had been a significant challenge.





However, Foundation Search has helped us in our search.
We were able to search for a tailored list of foundations that resonated with our vision. The extensive database and powerful search functionalities ensured that we could pinpoint foundations that were not only willing to contribute but also shared our values and goals.
The customer service team was prompt, knowledgeable, and helpful throughout our journey. They provided valuable insights into crafting compelling proposals, navigating application processes, and maximizing our chances of success. Their dedication to client success is evident in the fact that we successfully secured approximately $50,000 in funds, thanks to their guidance and the comprehensive resources provided by the platform.
The accuracy and up-to-date information in Foundation Search's database were crucial factors in our success. We were able to trust that the foundations we reached out to were actively funding projects similar to ours,





streamlining our efforts and increasing our chances of securing the necessary support.
Foundation Search is a valuable tool for organizations seeking targeted and relevant foundation matches. Overall, we recommend Foundation Search for its effectiveness in simplifying the foundation discovery process."

Social & Human Services

Social & Human Services L’Arche Cape Breton
Development Officer
Orangedale, Nova Scotia
"As the only rural L'Arche community in Canada, and existing in an economically depressed region of the country, L'Arche Cape Breton has some unique challenges when it comes to fundraising. In the face of these challenges, having access to the information and resources found on BIG Online has been very helpful.





With BIG Online I have been able to quickly identify foundations and organizations from across Canada whose scope closely matches our mandate. The staff at BIG Online is very supportive and helpful."

Health

Health Hanover & District Hospital Foundation
Foundation Co-ordinator
Hanover, Ontario
"I started working for the Hanover and District Hospital Foundation in 2002. The hospital is located in the Town of Hanover which has a population of 7,000 and services a catchment area of 40,000. Our hospital has a total of 80 inpatient beds; however 31 of those beds are not staffed. The hospital services a catchment population of 17,000. I am working on obtaining my fundraising designation and am currently enrolled at Georgian College in Orillia.





The online fundraising courses are extremely helpful and after completing the Grant and Proposal Writing course I asked my Board to continue to subscribe to BIG Online. Different databases were reviewed in this course but I liked BIG Online the best. It is easy to use and all the information about grant funders is categorized. If you had to research this information on the internet you would not have time for any other fundraising projects. In fact, I don’t believe you would be able to find most of the information. Sample letters and proposals are also available in the database. The staff at BIG Online is very helpful with refining your searches and they will give you a pep talk when you receive a lot of refusals. I was very nervous when we first signed up.





It is a lot of money to put out. Like us I am sure you are always watching your expenses. Eventually I was successful and every year since I have received grant money. Some years I receive more funding than others but I always receive enough to cover the cost of the membership. The most funding I have received in one year is $25,000 and the least is $3,000. Compared to a gala auction or various fundraisers, grants are a lot easier. I have found that the results very depending on the number of fundraisers you are hosting. I am the only paid employee and find that I have limited time to work on proposals.





Most board members feel that you should be hosting lots of fundraisers but dollar for dollar grants are more cost effective although fundraisers have their role to play in creating awareness and recruiting volunteers."

Environment Rideau Valley Conservation Foundation
Executive Director
Manotick, Ontario
"After many years of using BIGONLINE and Foundation Search, we switched to AJAH Fundtracker Pro. It seemed to do everything that METASOFT products did at a cheaper price. After about a week, I realized I had made a mistake in switching. While the features were similar, BIGONLINE and Foundation Search proved to me much more intuitive and user friendly. Simply, we were more efficient in finding the information we were looking for and thus able to spend less time researching and more time writing and securing grants. I have now switched back to METASOFT. "

Social & Human Services







Social & Human Services Haven on the Queensway
Director of Development
Toronto, Ontario
"FoundationSearch is the most vital tool a grant writer could have in their arsenal! As far as I am concerned, having access to both the FoundationSearch database AND to the knowledgeable, highly experienced coaching staff is invaluable. Also, the membership cost is paid for by the first one or two successful grants, so it pays for itself immediately. I would never attempt grant writing without FoundationSearch and their team behind me!"

Education

Education Catholic Pacific College
Director of Development and External Relations
Langley, British Columbia
"I just wanted to send you a thank you for the coaching you've been giving me.





It has resulted in our receiving a $20,000 donation from a foundation. It's an inspiring start."

Religion Haven On The Queensway
Director of Development
Toronto, Ontario
"I do not know where we would be if it wasn’t for the FoundationSearch team. As Director of Development for a medium-sized, front-line charity in the city of Toronto, it is my job to find funding sources and, with the skilled guidance of my FoundationSearch mentor, we have been successfully able to expertly hone the search to determine who those best sources will be. Their team is always available both for regular check-ins as well as urgent calls for help and their advice has been financially beneficial for our charity over and over again.
I highly recommend FoundationSearch to anyone who needs help navigating the available funding corridors for the not-for-profit sector – their team and their database system is truly incredible. Believe me, if I can do it with their help, ANYONE can!"

Community Development

Community Development C.D. Howe Institute
Development and Public Affairs Officer
Toronto, Ontario
"We are a small organization with limited resources, and FoundationSearch and Big Online truly builds our internal capacity. Through this service, we have been able to efficiently identify prospective donors for particular projects without wasting valuable staff hours on massive prospecting campaigns. The keyword search allows us to identify organizations that support the particular activities on which we are currently focused, and the donor history allows us to adjust the size of our ask. I am confident recommending this service to any organization looking to allocate limited resources in a targeted, efficient and effective manner."

Education

Education Scientists in School
Director of Fund Development
Ajax, Ontario
"We are relatively new users but see great value in FoundationSearch and have therefore renewed our membership for five years. Like most rapidly growing organizations, we are challenged with limited capacity to undertake research. Fortunately, FoundationSearch helps cut our research time significantly, particularly when I need some quick background information on a prospect. I find the list of grants provided for Foundations particularly useful! We are looking forward to taking advantage of the full support that comes with our membership and learning to maximize our use of FoundationSearch to help us achieve even greater success in the future."

Health

Health Autism Ontario
Fundraiser
Toronto, Ontario
"Foundation Search is fantastic! I must say, I don't know what organizations do without it. I find the interactive charts available for each foundation profile to be most helpful in providing me with their detailed grant history. This enables me to really identify the organizations that are most likely to support us and gives a good indication of the appropriate size grant to ask for. This is a truly great fundraising tool!"

Education

Education Saint Paul University
Director
Ottawa, Ontario
"Recently Saint Paul University launched a three phase Library Expansion Project called, A Legacy of Wisdom. Phase I of the expansion project, a new Rare Book Room and Related Facilities, is now completed.BIG Online played and continues to play a significant role in the success or our Library Expansion Project. I like to consider my BIG Online as a sort of virtual in-house research consultant. Among the many prospect matches identified we were able to contact an American Foundation that eventually sent us a cheque for $50K US which at the time translated into a gift of in excess of $60K CN.BIG Online, a small investment that delivers excellent results."

Education

Education Investment and CAREERS: The Next Generation
Director
Edmonton, Alberta
"BIG Online has been an invaluable resource for me in fund development. Whether I'm working from home or at the office, BIG Online is always available and right at my fingertips - no more big, heavy binders to sift through, update and carry around. The database is particularly helpful in helping me establish a proposal writing cycle. BIG Online identifies important deadlines with potential deadlines and helps identify those investors most fitting with our organization. With the information I gain from BIG Online, I am able to employ resources more strategically to find investors who care and value the same things my organization cares about."

Health

Health Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation
Director of Development
Montreal, Quebec
"Montreal Children's Hospital Foundation has implemented Metasoft's online resources as our primary tools for research on organizational giving since 2001. Currently we are raising the funds necessary to open a new children's hospital in Montreal and could not do this without the proper tools. We have used another system available in Canada but find Metasoft's BIG Online and FoundationSearch to be more effective for our needs. Metasoft continues to introduce new tools to deepen our research such as the visual mapping tool Director Connections."

Health

Health BC Children's Hospital Foundation
Vancouver, British Columbia
"At BC's Children's Hospital Foundation, we have embraced BIG Online as a key major gift prospecting resource. We have found it to be a highly valuable tool for research and strategy development in a Canadian context."

Community Development

Community Development Cumberland Regional Economic Development Association (CREDA)
Development Field Officer - Community & Communications
Amherst, Nova Scotia
"As a Regional Development Authority we are constantly challenged to match the Community Economic Development needs and aspirations of our rural communities and volunteer led not-for-profit groups and organizations with the realities of fundraising. BigOnline/Foundation Search is our "go to'' resource for identifying foundations and organizations that may be a potential source of funding and for matching their areas of giving with our individual needs and goals. It is user friendly, easy to navigate and Big Online staff are readily available to provide helpful tips and friendly advice. We are pleased to renew our membership. It is an investment in the long term sustainability of our communities."

Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture Vancouver International Children's Festival
Development & Marketing Director
Vancouver, British Columbia
"We joined BIG Online and FoundationSearch in 2003. In that time, our membership has paid for itself several times over. We rely on BIG FoundationSearch as it is one of our best resources for fundraising research and the Metasoft staff have been very helpful and supportive over the years. Thanks so much!"

Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture Miami City Ballet
Foundation & Government Relations Manager
Miami, Florida
"FoundationSearch saves us time in our research efforts and helps us develop proposals that are more focused on the funder's interests. When evaluating our best opportunities for funding, we use the information available in the FoundationSearch database."

Education

Education Immaculata University
Director of Corporate, Foundation and Government Relations
Immaculata, Pennsylvania
"My colleagues and I are thrilled to switch to FoundationSearch. Major reasons for the switch include the following:
1. The user interface is very intuitive. From charts to maps, it is easy to quickly interpret information to make smart decisions about which funders to pursue.
2. The hotlinks throughout every search make navigation to pertinent information seamless.
3. Capable and friendly customer service representatives are available to help us with tough searches.
4. The relationship mapping system will be used throughout our University Advancement Office as we find connections between individuals and organizations."

Religion Archdiocese of San Francisco
Office of Development
San Francisco, California
"I find myself appreciating FoundationSearch the more I use it. Other similar products I've used were not as useful or intuitive - and I have found the customer support is extremely helpful at Metasoft Systems; they have done much to help me. When I am with my colleagues I share how FoundationSearch is a great resource for my fund raising work. FoundationSearch saves me time and I have come to depend on it as my initial and primary resource"

Religion Alpha USA
Foundations Relations Manager
Chicago, Illinois

"I wish that we could sign a contract FOREVER! I turn to Foundation Search for all my prospecting and research needs. Additionally, the My Prospect Manager keeps me organized and produces excellent reports for me to share with clients. My Calls keeps me on track with follow ups. I am grateful to have access to such a complete tool."

Education

Education Crown College
VP of Advancement
St. Bonfacius, Minnesota
"I worked with a non-profit organization for five years, and we used FoundationSearch for our foundation research. We found it especially helpful to look up 990s of the foundations we have been soliciting to see what their giving priority was. This enabled us to better focus our appeal to their main interests, resulting in larger gifts and better presentations.
I just accepted the Vice President of Advancement role at a Christian college, and immediately checked to see what tools they were using for foundation research. Not being satisfied with what I found, I immediately called and ordered FoundationSearch. It is reasonably priced, great information, web based so I can access it from anywhere, and I like the varied search criteria available for identifying foundations. I plan to use it to identify foundations in our area that fund educational institutions.
Thank you for making it so easy to get back on line with FoundationSearch!"

Health

Health The Children's Center
Development Director
Salt Lake City, Utah
"The Children's Center has been working with Foundation Search for four years. During that time using their resource we have been able to increase the number of our grant applications from 20 to 100. This has helped to establish critical funding during these challenging fundraising times. Also with their support we have recently completed a $13 million+ capital and endowment campaign.
The program is so easy to use with excellent information available to me, which has helped me in writing successful proposals. We look forward to a long relationship."

Religion Fuller Theological Seminary
Director of Foundation Relations
Pasadena, California
"Thanks, again, for making this great service available. FoundationSearch is my definite go-to resource for foundation relations-I can't imagine being without it!"

Education

Education Savannah State University
Grant Specialist
Savannah, Georgia
"I wish you had contacted me a year ago! I understand the potential of using this database and search software which will certainly make my work easier and increase productivity. It is an amazingly user friendly program, particularly with the charts, matrix representation and tutorials. Data is easy to access and not overwhelming. Trust me, you have made my job easier!"

Social & Human Services

Social & Human Services Boat People SOS
Development Manager
Falls Church, Virginia
"FoundationSearch has been exactly the resource I needed to move my organization's foundation fundraising to the next level. With the help of intuitive tools and up-to-date information my staff have been able to build relationships with potential grant making partners with more success than ever before. FoundationSearch keeps us educated and informed on particular grant makers, overarching trends, and changes in the field- and for that we are extremely grateful."

Sports & Recreation

Sports & Recreation Aspen Valley Ski/Snowboard Club
Executive Director
Aspen, Colorado
"As the executive director of a non-profit organization, I am frugal when it comes to spending money. But I don't have to think at all when it comes to renewing our subscription to Foundation Search/BIG Online. This tool pays for itself many times over.
It's utility for foundation giving is obvious: I can quickly see what foundations support organizations like us as well as what foundations support other organizations in our locale. But it is also helpful when meeting with individual donors, so many of whom direct their support from foundations. I am much more confident about an ask amount when I can first see the gifts of an individual's foundation over recent years.
Finally, the folks at Metasoft are fantastic: they are so eager to help! I kick myself for not reaching out to them sooner."

Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture KLRU-TV, Austin PBS
Grant Writer
Austin, Texas
"Your service is far and away the most invaluable to the work we do; the investment is truly worthwhile."

Social & Human Services

Social & Human Services Life of Mississippi
Director of Resource Development
Jackson, Mississippi
"In just three short months upon using Foundation Search, our organization obtained a grant for $34,110.32 from a foundation that we had never contacted previously and knew nothing about us. This grant will make a significant difference in the lives of individuals with disabilities - as it will allow them to maintain their independence and remain active in their communities!
We are thrilled with Foundation Search and look forward to the next grant we are able to obtain to make a difference!"

Health

Health Gaylord Hospital
Planned Giving Officer
Wallingford, Connecticut
"Foundation fundraising is no different from asking for gifts from individuals: you need to identify a foundation with an interest in your type of organization and your specific project, and which makes grants in the amount you need. It also helps a lot if a person with the foundation has a connection to your organization.
FoundationSearch lets me look for and compile all of that information easily and efficiently. The comprehensive search form allows me to narrow the field as much as I need to. Once matches are identified, I can just click on a summary profile and find the data to decide whether to choose this foundation as a prospect. I can then organize and save my prospects into folders for each different project- so that I can easily go back to it when I need to.
The Director Connection is also a great tool Quickly identifying directors, and finding out what other organizations they might be affiliated with, is an easy way to identify a critical personal connection to a new funder. I now also use it to learn more about our existing donor organizations.
I think FoundationSearch is a valuable resource for raising funds from foundations."

Social & Human Services

Social & Human Services Ronald McDonald House at Stanford
Development Officer
Palo Alto, California
"As we just renewed our contract with FoundationSearch, it was an opportunity to review the value of the service. After signing on with you, I found an abundance of foundations that are funding like organizations. We increased our proposal submissions by over 50% and received two significant grants in just the first round. Not only were we able to raise new funds in the first year and pay for the service, but have received new funding in each subsequent year. It was an easy decision to continue with our Foundation Search subscription and can't imagine being without this valuable resource now."

Social & Human Services

Social & Human Services Old Colony YMCA
VP, Marketing & Grants Development
Brockton, Massachusetts
"We were approached in 2005 by Metasoft Systems to preview their Foundation Search online grant research product, and I must admit that at first I was skeptical. I had always used other products for conducting research, and had grown comfortable with the abilities and limitations of those products. However, once I took a tour of Foundation Search, I was sold. Not only could I get the information available to me through the other products, but I could get even more detailed search responses and access it all in one place!
Foundation Search uncovers the prospect information we need to make informed decisions, and has increased our ability to target grant requests in ways that were not possible before. We have received more funding, uncovered new grants, and had great success with this product!"

Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture Twin Cities Public Television
Senior Development Officer
Minneapolis, Minnesota
"We've been using FoundationSearch at TPT for over six years now, and I love this tool! The flexible searching options, ability to export to MS Excel, and all-in-one-place access to everything I want to know about a foundation make it far superior to the other services I've used. I love the interactive graphs-they make FoundationSearch into a thinking tool as well as a research tool! I've been very happy with the customer support and training, both on the phone and by email. If you're using a competing service, you need to check FoundationSearch out. It's better! "

Education

Education Rutgers University
Executive Director
New Brunswick, New Jersey
"I prefer FoundationSearch and Foundation Manager over other fundraising resources. Their database is larger than most with more ways to search giving nationally, internationally and even globally. It has proven to be a very powerful tool."

Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture The National Concert Hall
Head of Development
Dublin, Ireland
"Foundation Search is fantastic! I must say, I don't know what organizations do without it. I find the interactive charts available for each foundation profile to be most helpful in providing me with their detailed grant history. This enables me to really identify the organizations that are most likely to support us and gives a good indication of the appropriate size grant to ask for. This is a truly great fundraising tool!"

Education

Education University of Michigan, Office of University Development
Executive Director, Foundation Relations & Program Initiatives
Ann Arbor, Michigan
"Michigan has been using FoundationSearch for as much as eight years. I love it - I find I'm on it nearly every day. It has lots of prospect management/query management tools that I manage to NOT use due to old habits, but its broader database of foundations (many more smaller, regional or family foundations are included) and its deeper data on grants (inclusive of all grants on the 990s, rather than those included in survey responses) are remarkably useful for us. It just feels much more comprehensive in its support.
When I cost-compared to FDO professional, the two were comparable, though we now have so many licenses on campus that I'd imagine we are paying more for FoundationSearch. At Michigan, we pay for the basic contract through University development, and then each unit buys in for a single license for their user, if they wish. I believe we have as many as 10 users across campus.
To be honest, we also have Foundation Center, because we are a FC library site, and I agree its profiles look nicer for sharing. But the ability to output specific grants data to spreadsheets for editing, sorting and sharing with faculty is still stronger at FoundationSearch.
I also agree that for a single mission/purpose like a museum, etc, that the price tag is high. But for a university with a very broad range of grant 'subjects', I find FoundationSearch indispensable. I also find it indispensable for the 'gray' areas between family foundations and professional foundations - it helps with prospecting and gives me great info to send off to major gift officers if need be."

Education

Education Michigan Technological University
Assistant Director, Research Development
Houghton, Michigan
"Foundation Search provides quick access to trends and data, saving approximately 1-2 hrs of staff time per project compared to Foundation Directory. Plus Prospect Manager allows for data management and sharing of data results in a format that resonates."

Education

Education Oklahoma Baptist University
Director of Prospect Research
Shawnee, Oklahoma
"I have been working in the field of securing foundation grants for 20 years. Initially, my university used large foundation directories - usually several in a set, bulky, and quite costly. It took hours to look through the directories trying to find foundations that might fund a project. When a new directory set was ordered, it was already outdated by the time it arrived.
Ten years ago we subscribed to FoundationSearch. I checked out other resources but was drawn to FoundationSearch because of its ease of use and its thoroughness in providing the specific information I was seeking. I like the ability to manage and coordinate my prospects and projects with ""Prospect Manager"", and currently, my favorite feature is the ""My Best Prospects"" module, especially with the addition of a suggested ask.
FoundationSearch has helped us secure thousands of dollars, not necessarily all from new foundations, but by also utilizing new and updated information on foundations that have supported us in the past. Customer support is excellent, the program is continually updated and improved, and I would recommend it to anyone involved in seeking grant funding.
FoundationSearch has saved me countless hours of research and makes my job more manageable."

Environment Reid Park Zoological Society
Director of Development
Tucson, Arizona
"FoundationSearch has proven to be an invaluable tool for really understanding the way a particular grantmaker thinks. The detailed historic data allows me to see a foundation's long-term priorities and interests in a way that is often much more fine-grained than what's on their website or their stated mission. FoundationSearch has opened up many new prospects for our organization that we were unable to locate using other similar products. And the customer support (especially Patricia) has been extraordinary!"

Environment World Resources Institute
Development Coordinator
Washington, DC
"My organization decided to switch to Metasoft's FoundationSearch after years of having used Foundation Center. We have been very happy with the service. It has taken the ordeal out of prospect research and we have found several new funders.Just as importantly, it has allowed us to have a more comprehensive relationship with our current funders, having an inside scoop on their financials and grants that our peers may have received. All of which is in a searchable database. The thought of manually searching through 990s is in the past.Overall Metasoft has been very responsive with their customer service and has responded to any questions or concerns very quickly, (even waking up super early to talk with us East Coast folks!). I have already recommended the switch to several of my peers, the benefits are entirely worth it."

Health

Health Miami Children's Health System Foundation
Development Coordinator
Miami, Florida
"I have been using FoundationSearch for five years and am extremely satisfied with the product and customer service."

Social & Human Services

Social & Human Services The Rape Crisis Center
Co-Executive Director, Client Services
San Antonio, Texas
"I came to FoundationSearch in my line of work as one of the Executive Directors of a non-profit. I was new to grant writing and in research funding opportunities. The agency was still a member of FoundationSearch and I contacted them for technical support. Gail was extremely helpful from the beginning. She set up several trainings for us to better understand how to navigate through the database. In the last two years we have contemplated whether or not to renew, as a non-profit we have to be very mindful of memberships like these. Locally there is an organization that has a similar system available at their facility at no charge; however, the convenience of being able to search on my time and any where I am is an important factor for me. Their customer services is above par and they check in with us if we have not used it in a while to determine if it is a training issue or if they can support us in any way. We have been successful in securing funds through FoundationSearch, one within a month of being introduced to the database for $15,000.00.
My only concern is that this database is massive. In one sitting, I tagged over 400 foundations that I needed to look into and it can be overwhelming. But the fact that FoundationSearch has all that information is impressive and keeps us renewing. The search for your need can be made extremely specific and you can create files of potentials, past funders, even upcoming foundation, etc. I would recommend this and have recommended it to my partners in the community including shelters, outreach, and faith-based organizations. On a scale of 0, not satisfied, and 10 extremely satisfied, I am at a 10. If I had more time, I think I could probably find 50 of my agencies funding through FoundationSearch, possibly more."

Social & Human Services

Social & Human Services The Rape Crisis Center
Grant Writer
San Antonio, Texas
"My Best Prospects! What a time-saver! Makes sure our requests comply with the funders’ guidelines in matching grant seekers with funders. This minimizes missed opportunities from both perspectives. Also, application support is phenomenal. As well as I like to think I can learn by reading, I find that there are questions, in some cases questions I do not even know to ask, that are answered through live support. Thank you!"

Religion Biblica
Director, Foundations & Corporate Relations
Colorado Springs, Colorado
"I am new to the foundation research game, and frankly, I was intimidated by the prospect. But Foundation Search America has made my introduction to research easy and productive. Our organization subscribes to a couple of research engines, but Foundation Search is definitely my favorite. I am learning new ways to use the site almost daily, and I appreciate the personal assistance that the staff has provided me. Thanks for helping a research novice succeed!"

Social & Human Services

Social & Human Services Baker Industries
President
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
"I love your application/program. Darned if I didn't find a foundation where one of the trustees was married to a college classmate of mine--needless to say we received a very nice grant from them."

Education

Education Bradley University
Prospect Research Analyst
Peoria, Illinois
"I am pretty enamored of the product. The variety of ways that you can search for information is my favorite aspect. You can search by state, by amounts, by interest, for your organization specifically. The ways to drill down into the specific information are also great."

Miscellaneous & Consultants CFRE
Development Service
Oakland, California

"I switched to Metasoft's FoundationSearch & BIG Online a few months ago. I'm delighted. The search capabilities and drill down are great, and their features are clean and easy to print and file. I especially like their download to Excel feature. BIG Online is great for corporate search. They seem to be very busy making improvements and updating their files. Tech support is immediate."

Miscellaneous & Consultants Consultant
Consultant and Grant Writer
Orlando, Florida
"I have been an independent grant writer for 25 years. The arena of grant solicitation has become increasingly complex and competition is fierce. I don't know what I would do without Foundation Search and Big Online. I have never experienced a more state-of-the-art system and they are constantly improving and adding dimensions. Foundation Search is probably my most critical tool, other than the writing.
Another feature is well worth mentioning. Their customer service is excellent! We are so used to being ignored or insulted as a consumer. Not at Foundation Search. Their technical and customer support is wonderful. The response is quick, courteous, and effective.
Without Foundation Search, I would be unable to provide the highest quality of grant writing that my customers deserve."

Health

Health Covenant Health System Foundation
Grant Specialist
Lubbock, Texas
"As kids say, I am so NOT disappointed with Metasoft. Y'all are the BEST!!!!! Please pass along my words of appreciation to everyone who works to make Foundation Search the top dog!!!"

Education Edison Schools
Director, Grants Department
Jersey City, New Jersey

"FoundationSearch has been an invaluable funding research tool for us at Edison Schools. From day one, Metasoft has provided our Grants Staff with hours of extra training and support, guiding us through complex searches.
This is our main resource for seeking the best funders for our 100+ schools across the United States and abroad."

Miscellaneous & Consultants GrantSage LLC
Owner
Santa Barbara, California
"As the owner of a Grant Writing company, I utilize Foundation Search almost daily. The site is easy to use and allows me to sort through and organize large amounts of information quickly. From prospecting for new funding, to updating Foundation information, to preparing lists for Board members regarding new foundation trustees -- Foundation Search should be a part of every non-profit Development Department. And the price is well worth it -- Foundation Search saves me hours each week while giving me the most important, up to date information on almost every U.S. Foundation that provides grant funding"

Social & Human Services

Social & Human Services Veterans Assistance Dogs of Texas
Director of Development
Kerrville, Texas
"Because of the use of the resources in FoundationSearch we were able to find foundations that were not on our radar. As a result, we obtained additional funding in the amount of $40,000. The training provided, along with the tutorials, helped to provide us with the necessary tools needed in the very competitive world of grant funding.
Thanks Metasoft for making our grant writing efforts a great success."

Health

Health St. Elizabeth's Health Center
Director of Development
Tucson, Arizona
"I chose Foundation Search because I’d used Foundation Center/Foundation Directory Online at a prior organization. I feel like, when I compare the two, Foundation Search seems like a more comprehensive tool with more in-depth information. So far I haven't been disappointed."

Health

Health Hospice & Palliative Care of Western Colorado
Director of Community Relations
Aurora, Colorado
"Having worked in the development field for seven years, I have worked with three different search engines for grant research. Foundation Search is far and away the easiest, most effective way I know to get quality information on foundations. In preparing for a visit by over 30 Denver foundations to our area of Western Colorado this summer 2009, I was able to pull detailed information on each foundation for our staff. We used the information provided to research foundation funding priorities, board member information and previous funding history to build a strong presentation before talking with foundation staff. Since having Foundation Search, I've found several "new" foundations that are a possible fit and have received a $5,000 grant from one already. What a wonderful tool!"

Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture Houston Grand Opera
Manager, Development Information
Houston, Texas
"People respond to colors and shapes, that is why I frequently include graphs and charts generated by Foundation Search as a section of my prospect reports. The export capabilities of the service allows for effortless analysis of funding categories specific to a project, offering a comprehensive list of grant recipients, amounts, designations and locality. Foundation Search is a valuable tool in our research and prospecting efforts, assisting us by quickly and efficiently displaying information that might otherwise take a great deal of time to collect."

Education

Education Northwestern College
Prospect Researcher
Orange City, Iowa
"Very easy to use, easy to search. We previously had a subscription to another resource. I like FoundationSearch better."

Health

Health The Denver Hospice
Grant Writer
Denver, Colorado
"I wanted to let you know how valuable Foundation Search and Big Online have been for The Denver Hospice."

Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture WSKG (PBS)
Director of Grants & Finance
Vestal, New York
"Foundation Search is one of the most comprehensive and useful tools I've used for identifying and pre-qualifying foundations. The interface is user friendly, offers informative maps that summarize distribution of funding, and allows me to search for information relevant to an individual's networks and connections. All of which is invaluable to my grant writing process. Prior to using Foundation Search I'd spend an inordinate amount of time searching through volumes of 990s and various online grant libraries. That's now time I'll spend writing more grants. Anyone working in an organization with limited resources or working as a consultant in this field will find value in Foundation Search."

Religion The Jesuits of the New Orleans Province
Director of Grants
New Orleans, Louisiana
"We're very happy with FoundationSearch. We started our membership just before Hurricane Katrina, and I don't know what we would have done without it-it helped us raise $7.5 million to assist in the rebuilding efforts of several member agencies. It was also a great help that we were able to access the membership from any computer, because after Katrina flooded our offices we had to work from our evacuation locations for months-family members' homes, public terminals and other locations. I'm always telling other organizations that they need FoundationSearch-there is simply no comparison with other resources."

Education

Education University of Michigan-Flint
Foundation Relations Officer
Flint, Michigan
"I love the reports I am able to create in 'My Reports' on FoundationSearch. My manager was quite impressed with what I was able to generate after only one review of the training tutorial on the site. Even though the site is intuitive to use, the tutorial showed me how to take the information to a higher level of analysis and create a concise, comprehensive list of prospective funding sources!"

Community Development

Community Development Habitat for Humanity Capital Region
Operations Manager
Lansing, MI
"As the grants manager at Habitat for Humanity Capital Region, I’m excited to have Foundation Search in our development toolbox. The program provides a user-friendly and robust interface to incredible amounts of data about potential funding partners, and that access frees up staff time to build relationships because research is made easy. Attentive, accommodating customer service and countless training and education opportunities make Foundation Search a great investment for nonprofits."

Social & Human Services

Social & Human Services West Texas Boys Ranch
CEO
San Angelo, Texas
"I have used this software for foundation and corporation research in grant writing for a university and a non-profit corporation. I love this software. It makes grant research and writing much easier and saves an enormous amount of time.
The staff are fantastic to work with! They take care of their clients.
Thank you for providing such a wonderful tool for grant writers."

Arts & Culture

Arts & Culture WNED, Western New York Public Broadcasting Association
Manager of Foundation Development
Buffalo, New York
"FoundationSearch has been invaluable to WNED's funding efforts. It's the first place we go when we need to find potential funders for a new project in development. The database is so easy to use and breaks down a foundation's funding history nicely with charts and graphs so it's clear to see what types of projects they've funded in the past and what geographic areas they tend to support. It has helped us focus our efforts on those funders most likely to support a particular project, and My Foundation Manager then helps us keep track of those prospects. Our organization serves a bi-national area, so FoundationSearch Canada is also a wonderful resource for us. It's never difficult to justify renewing our subscription to FoundationSearch. It is an exceptional tool as we continue to seek new revenue sources to support our services."

Education

Education WSU Foundation
Director, Foundation Relations
Pullman, Washington
"Washington State University has switched to FoundationSearch, and we love it."

Education

Education Dillard University
Corporate & Foundation Relations
New Orleans, Louisiana
"Dillard University believes in the power of knowledge, transparency, and instructional guidance for students as well as faculty which grants everyone the ability to create an environment of sound learning. However, we see through the demo with Foundation Search that an academic appeal of our university can be matched with an institutional advancement necessity to help fundraisers and grant-makers jobs of finding corporate donors to support our university’s mission of social mobility and affordable education far easier. In viewing the demo we received additional insight of the capabilities and capacity of Foundation Search, which made our decision to invest in the online database simple.
We see Foundation Search as a premier, fully searchable, online database of foundations as a tool that invigorates our annual fundraising initiatives a bit easier because of their skilled prospect researchers, who provide vital information about the funding history, preferences and contacts of over 100,000 US foundations. We trust it will provide fruitful information needed to approach the most qualified prospects with compelling reasons why your project fits their vision and our university’s mission. Dillard University believes we have entered a new realm of fundraising by joining the tens of thousands of Foundation Search clients who have raised billions of dollars to date. "

Community Development

Community Development Ashley County Skilled Workcenter, Inc.
Executive Director
Crossett, Arkansas
"As the Director of a very small non-profit serving adults with disabilities in rural south Arkansas, I and my administrative staff wear many hats daily! We do not have the resources to hire a grant-writer or development officer, and nobody on staff has time to spend hours researching possible funding sources. David Persad did an outstanding job of presenting this wonderful tool to our administrative staff, and he makes us feel confident that we have a truly dedicated, experienced partner as we move forward with our mission. I am delighted at the prospect of reducing our agency’s dependency on Medicaid dollars and community donations by utilizing Foundation Search to locate and secure additional funding.
Thanks so much for all of your help and encouragement! We look forward to working with you!"

Religion Friends With Jesus Inc.
Administrative Director
Bainbridge, GA
"The services offered by Metasoft / Foundation Search has opened the door to thousands of new program dollars for our small non-profit ministry which includes an afterschool and summer program for at-risk and underprivileged youth, a temporary housing program for women and their children, and a social enterprise that puts our clients back into the work force. The data provided allows us to quickly filter through which foundations are and are not interested in partnering with the work we do. It also provides us with information on who the decision makers are within each foundation in order to re-connect or build new personal relationships. If applied diligently, this system will definately advance your non-profit in the connections needed to grow your income and build the relationships that are essential to sustain the life changing work you do."

Religion Reach the World Ministries
President/Minister
Curwensville, Pennsylvania
"The vision of our nonprofit far exceeded our checkbook so I began to explore various avenues for funding. I have always been aware that there is money available to nonprofits. In particular, organizations that supply grant money and foundations who make it their business to support and supply organizations with funding to do what they do. I did not have the slightest idea of how to obtain these resources or what we must do as a nonprofit organization to receive this funding. I was contacted by a representative of Metasoft Systems Inc. and was made aware of their huge database of foundations and companies who supply funding to nonprofits. I felt that this was a great opportunity to put our organization in a position to receive more funding for our ministry.
The cost of access to their data initially seems quite high but in my opinion, if we receive one grant to our organization it would more than cover the cost of access to Metasoft's information and anything after that is gravy! We decided to take the plunge and make the investment in our future and have begun the process to position ourselves to receive funding for our projects and programs. Starting from scratch and knowing NOTHING about grant writing or submitting grant proposals, we are now 7 months into our membership. We have gained an amazing amount of information in regards to foundations that supply and support nonprofit organizations.
There are literally tens of thousands of foundations and corporations that supply funding for nonprofit ministries such as ours. Metasoft's database is filled with minute details that enable us to zero in on who and what will be a good fit and potentially fund our organization. We have enough data for potential contacts and funders that will literally keep us busy for years to come. These funds are essentially available for the asking but you must know HOW to ask and you must know WHO to ask.
The educational courses that Metasoft provides with their membership are worth the cost of the membership. With their service, they provide college level courses in grant writing. In a few months we went from literally knowing nothing about grants and grant writing to a place now where we can with confidence write letters of inquiry, a case for support, grant proposals, etc.
THIS IS NOT FREE MONEY OR A GET RICH QUICK SCHEME. It will take time to position yourself to receive the funding that is out there and available. It is a big investment for a small nonprofit such as ours but if one is interested in growing a nonprofit and expanding its reach, I believe an investment in metasoft will pay dividends for years to come. One must count the cost. If you are willing to take the time to educate yourself and grow, the investment is well worth it. If you invest with not only your money but also invest your time and educate yourself, Metasoft has everything you will need to grow your nonprofit and begin to do what you have always wanted to do - and that is make a difference, make an impact on this world in a big way.
As of yet we have not submitted any letters of inquiry or made any grant proposals. We are still educating ourselves. But with the knowledge base that Metasoft has provided, we will increase our ministry reach and effectiveness and they have given us the resources to pursue our vision and keep us busy for years to come. If you make the investment, do not let it go to waste. Educate yourself, think through on what you really want to accomplish and make a huge dent in the problems and difficulties of our world."

My colleagues and I are thrilled to switch to FoundationSearch. Major reasons for the switch include the following:
1. The user interface is very intuitive. From charts to maps, it...Read More

Immaculata University

Director of Corporate, Foundation and Government Relations

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▶️ Development Director
🖊️ Metasoft Systems
📍 Woodstock