Where Private Foundation Money Actually Flows

We have 7.4 million grant records in our database. We asked a simple question: which states receive more private foundation money than they send out, which ones are exporting wealth to the rest of the country?

Note: Inflow figures include grants from foundations headquartered in the same state. So a portion of every state's inflow is local money staying local. Net flow figures reflect the full picture including cross-state giving.

The results are striking. Washington DC is the biggest net receiver in the country at +$11.3 billion, driven by the concentration of national nonprofits and policy organizations headquartered there. Massachusetts comes in second at +$6.4 billion home to major research universities and health systems that attract national foundation dollars. Virginia rounds out the top three at +$3.0 billion, largely due to its proximity to DC.

On the other side, Washington State is the biggest net exporter at -$4.5 billion. That's Bill Gates. New York sends out $4.3 billion more than it receives, and Texas, Florida, and Illinois each export $3.9–4.0 billion annually.

What This Means for Your Nonprofit

The red states on this map aren't places to avoid, they're where the money comes from. A foundation in Seattle, New York, or Chicago that regularly funds organizations in your region is often your warmest prospect, because they've already decided your geography is worth investing in.

That's exactly what GrantSnag's Location Search finds foundations that have already written checks in your city, regardless of where they're headquartered.

The money is moving. The question is whether your organization is in its path.