We needed grant money to supplement our clinic
Our very small not for profit was contacted by FoundationSearch's marketing/ outreach man. He told us that we could expect to receive significant dollar amounts of grant money, certainly enough to cover the expense. I told him that the cost of participating was about 5% of our budget, but he assured me that we would receive much more than that in grant funds, if we applied regularly.
So, we purchased their system for almost $6,000. We sat through their training lessons, prepared LOIs, requested assistance, and paid an employee to apply for grants. Their employee who updates their list created a list of about 60 foundations that would support our work. Of that list approximately 75% did not exist or were donor advised (we wouldn't qualify). We began complaining within a couple months... more promises.
Finally, after months of applying, I told them we wanted our money back. They had their man who is second in command contact me. He asked me what I wanted. I said I either want what they promised, an accurate list and customer support, or I wanted my money back. They have refused to give us our money back. I've requested support at least 3 times in the past 2 months. They have refused to provide support. They took me off of our account because I complained, and they lied to me on multiple occasions, always promising a response and delaying to provide it for months.
The only thing I can say is that they do have a big list. However, it is not up to date, difficult to use, and therefore virtually useless. We paid our employee thousands of dollars to prepare applications. I also asked them to allow me to write a review on their website where they advertise reviews. They would not allow it.
Finally, they told me that they would help us more and extend our contract for 3 months. They did not follow through and cut us off.
May 26, 2024
Unprompted review