As a nonprofit organization, you need access to the most current, comprehensive information on grants and grantmakers. Utilizing the search capabilities and database that Foundation Directory offers is one way to help your organization find the funding it needs to continue its mission—but a subscription to FDO does come with a price tag.

In this post, we’ll reveal whether Foundation Directory Online offers discount codes and some potential ways you can save money on a subscription. We’ll also help you determine if FDO is worth the price for your organization or if there’s a better alternative.

Let’s dive in.

A grant database, sometimes known as a grant discovery platform, is a database that includes details about different funding sources and opportunities for grants.

Many databases contain records for all types of funders, from corporate giving programs to federal grants, whereas some databases concentrate on just a subset of funders, such as private foundations.

Grant databases can be a huge time saver for nonprofits and fundraising teams. Instead of having to spend time sorting through all sorts of grants from a Google search, a grant database assists in creating a large number of potential leads by allowing for a more narrowed search based on things like location, funding history, funding categories, and other unique information.

A grant database can even help you locate smaller grants and foundations that are harder to find and often not listed on websites.

Make no mistake; the right grant databases are worth their weight in gold. However, most grant databases require a paid subscription—including Foundation Directory Online. In the next section, we’ll explore some ways you can potentially save money on an FDO subscription.

Can we be honest with you? We conducted a massive online search for Foundation Directory Online coupon codes but could not locate any that are currently active.

This is not to say FDO never offers discount codes—there are plenty of expired coupon codes to prove they offer discounts throughout the year.

Even though we couldn't find any active FDO online discount codes, there are still a few ways you can potentially save money on an FDO subscription. And one of these is through their multi-year discounts.

For example, you can save money on FDO’s Professional Plan if you lock into a two-year subscription as opposed to subscribing monthly with the ability to cancel at any time.
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“FDO Professional” is just one of Foundation Directory Online’s tiered pricing plans. It is important to note each tier offers users access to different features and tools, allowing them to pay for the subscription best suited for their organizational needs.

More good news—you might be able to access FDO for free through your local library as they have agreements with several public libraries to provide free, limited access to their product. You can visit here for more information on where to find resources located near you.

While FDO does a good job of peeling back layers and allowing users to take a peek inside foundation profiles and past grant awards, you might be wondering if there’s an alternative tool that could give you even more value for the price.

Instrumentl is an all-in-one, easy-to-use grant prospecting, tracking, and management tool. Instrumentl makes it easy to discover active grant opportunities, identify good fit funders, track your deadlines, and create custom reports all in one place.

Unlike FDO, Instrumentl uses a Smart Matching tool to find good fit funders for you based on your organization and programs. This feature makes it incredibly easy to locate active grant opportunities that best align with your nonprofit’s particular mission and needs.
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You can then quickly create your short list of grants, reducing search time and narrowing the grants to only those you qualify for, thereby increasing your chances of funding.

Instrumentl also divides grants into active and inactive categories so that you can examine current grant opportunities quickly with 990 snapshots and in-depth funder details.
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And when funders change their priorities or deadlines for any RFP you've saved, Instrumentl automatically alerts you through email.

These are just a few of the many tools Instrumentl offers to streamline the entire grants lifecycle process. Instrumentl also offers users state-of-the-art grant tracking, calendars, and collaboration tools that FDO simply cannot touch.

FDO may have an impressive rating, but we are proud to boast a 4.9 out of 5-star rating. Below are just two happy customers and their experiences with Instrumentl.
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We have taken the grunt work out of it and broken down the differences between what FDO and Instrumentl have to offer, so feel free to take a look at a comparison chart.

Instrumentl also offers a 14-day free trial, so you can access its entire database, get familiar with grant searches, and see how this platform can benefit your nonprofit.

While our search did not return any active discount codes, that is not to say FDO never offers them. We encourage you to reach out to FDO directly to see if they have any special discounts or group rates.

The bottom line is Instrumentl offers the same tools that Foundation Directory Online does, but with active RFPs, tracking, collaboration, and a user-friendly design. Instrumentl can help you streamline your fundraising efforts and quickly locate good fit funders so that you can apply for the right funding opportunities.

To learn more about different grant prospecting tools and the value they can bring to your nonprofit, check out our list of the best grant research tools of 2022.

Happy fundraising!