For grant makers

Foundations and government agencies can post grant opportunities on Kinshare, take applications, review them as a team, award, and follow what grantees report.

Who can be a grant maker

Private and family foundations, community foundations, corporate foundations and giving programs, and government agencies. An organization can be a grant maker and a nonprofit at the same time, with one account and one membership.

Posting opportunities is free. Taking applications through a Kinshare form, reviewing, awarding and tracking grantee reports need a membership, at the same pay-what-you-can price as every member: $25 a month suggested, $9.99 minimum. See Getting started.

Ask to post grants

New to Kinshare? Start at For grant makers and choose Ask to post grants. Already a member? An organization administrator chooses Become a grant maker in the portal.

1. Tell us the type of grant maker, legal name, EIN, website and your email. Use an address at your organization’s own website domain, not a free mail address. Agencies use their official .gov, .us or state address and can leave the EIN out.
2. We email you a six-digit code. Enter it on your request page. It expires in 24 hours. Keep the request page open or bookmarked; the email doesn’t link back to it.
3. Upload your IRS determination letter as a PDF, JPEG or PNG, up to 10 MB. Agencies skip this.
4. A person at Kinshare checks the request: the confirmed email, that its domain matches your website, the EIN in IRS records and the letter. We email you when it’s decided. The letter is deleted once we decide.

If your organization is new to Kinshare, the contact on the request becomes its first administrator and gets an email to set a password.

Your team

Under Grant making, the Team tab sets who does what:

• Reviewer: scores applications and sees only their own reviews.
• Grant administrator: sees every review, decides, and asks for reports.

Post an opportunity

1. On Opportunities, choose New opportunity.
2. Fill in what it funds, who can apply, the smallest and largest award, and when it opens and closes.
3. Choose who sees it:
   • Public and members: on the public Kinshare site too.
   • Members only: seen by Kinshare member organizations.
   • Invited organizations only: seen only by the member organizations you invite. Each one gets an email.
4. Choose how to apply: On our own website with a link, or Through a Kinshare application form. For a Kinshare form, build it first under Forms as a grant application and publish it.
5. Add a Review rubric if you want scores: each criterion and its top score, in English and Spanish.
6. Choose Open for applications.

Only member organizations can apply.

Review and award

Applications come in on the Applications tab.

1. Open one and choose Start review. Score each criterion, pick a recommendation (fund, discuss or decline) and add a comment. Comments are for your reviewers and administrators only. The applicant never sees them.
2. A grant administrator reads the reviews and makes the Decision: Award with the amount, or Decline.

The applicant’s administrators get an email saying there’s a decision, with no detail. They sign in to see it.

Grantee reports

On Grantee reports, choose Ask for a report: a title, a due date and, if you like, a report form. The grantee sees it in Kinshare. When it comes in, Accept it or Ask for a revision.

If you’re applying

Nonprofit members find posted opportunities under Grants, then Apply for funding. Choose Start an application, save drafts as you go, and choose Submit to the funder when it’s done. After that it can’t be changed, though you can withdraw it. Reports the funder asks for show up on that grant’s Award tracking page.