About Us
Est. 2015
Our mission is to educate and inform the public about philanthropy.
Unfunded List provides independent review of grant proposals, engaging a global community dedicated to improving philanthropy and grant-making since 2015. Our expert evaluation committee, comprised of more than 1,500 evaluators — including hundreds of seasoned grants professionals and reviewers with diverse lived experiences and valuable perspectives — meets twice a year to examine submissions in depth. Submission deadlines typically fall in March and September, and every applicant receives a comprehensive feedback report that includes multiple reviews, followed by a candid discussion.
Independent Grant Review Process
We believe that great review leads to great proposals and great projects. Many organizations share that, as a result of participating in Unfunded List’s program, they have discovered new grants and opportunities. 90% of reviewed groups are raising 215% more funds after five years. Continuous engagement with our committee (many of whom have participated with us for years) ensures nuanced, actionable feedback with each proposal.
Engaged Philanthropic Community
Beyond proposal review, Unfunded List produces accessible commentary on philanthropy, grant-making, and nonprofit sector trends. Followers can dive into our insightful articles, listen to our acclaimed podcast Open Door Philanthropy featuring longform conversations with influential philanthropists and attend our free Symposia on issues facing the philanthropic community.
Commitment to Inclusivity
At Unfunded List, we stand for the belief that great ideas deserve great feedback and that philanthropy is strengthened by inclusive participation.
Dave Moss
Founder
Dave Moss founded Unfunded List in 2015 to address the gap between ambitious nonprofits and the philanthropy sector’s limited funding conversations. After a decade working with nonprofit and philanthropic organizations, he recognized the need for better feedback in grantmaking and founded Unfunded List which is now relied on by hundreds of nonprofits and evaluators worldwide. He is also the host of Open Door Philanthropy, a podcast featuring candid discussions about giving, funding trends and innovations.
A proud native of Maine, Dave remains engaged in his hometown’s civic and cultural life while maintaining a national presence in the nonprofit and philanthropy world. He currently serves on the board of Waterville Country Club, where his golf handicap is a 2.8, and enjoys connecting the game’s traditions with the values of discipline, camaraderie, and community service.
You can contact Dave at dave@unfundedlist.com
Margaret Chapman
Board Chair
Margaret Chapman is a strategic advisor and co-founder of JaM Strategies with more than 20 years of experience helping organizations strengthen finance, operations, fundraising, and programmatic strategy. She has advised groups at all stages, from national campaigns and large institutions like The Pew Charitable Trusts and The George Washington University Cancer Institute to small nonprofits and start-ups. Her work emphasizes sustainable growth, governance, and building on organizational strengths.
Margaret is Board Chair of Unfunded List, where she helped secure 501(c)(3) status in 2017 and continues to support the evaluation committee. She has also served as Provost of Unfunded University and teaches social entrepreneurship at George Mason University. Previously, Margaret was Board President of Street Sense Media and Treasurer of Triage Cancer. She holds degrees in International Affairs and Economics from Marshall University and two master’s degrees from The George Washington University. A passionate supporter of the arts, she has also contributed her time and expertise to numerous DC-area theaters, including St. Mark’s Players and The Little Theatre of Alexandria.
Board of Directors
- Ashley Lahoud, Hostelling International USA (HI USA)
- Jane Moss, Duke University (retired)
- Heather Morgan, Marys Center DC (retired)
- Sarah McIntosh, Rockwood Company LLC
- Elissa Adair, FUSE Executive Fellow
- Memi Miscally, Fors Marsh
- David Ridker, Filmmaker
- Heather Stombaugh, Breakthrough T1D
- Anna Keye, The Fund for Global Human Rights
- Patrick Laorden, Boys & Girls Club of Hartford
- Ana Wright, One Simon, Two Rubies & a Hamp
- David Mutton, New Yorkers for Children
*Affiliations listed for identification purposes only.
- Dave Moss, Founder
- Margaret Chapman, Director
In 2015, founder Dave Moss started the Unfunded List in order to harness the power of the honorable mention and to bring added attention, recognition and funding to ideas that would otherwise have gone unnoticed.
We founded the Unfunded List with a simple mission: to provide feedback and recognition to unfunded grant proposals. What started as an informal effort to support social entrepreneurs with feedback has evolved into a vision of unlocking the value of an abundant and underutilized resource – well-conceived but unfunded proposals. There is no shortage of great ideas and potential solutions out there, but new programs need better support and the funding community needs a better way to identify and move new solutions forward.
Every submission receives detailed feedback on their proposal from our talented Evaluation Committee. Feedback could include introductions to other potential funders, suggested improvements to the proposal, potential partnerships, etc. and will be tailored to each individual application. Proposals from small nonprofits that have been submitted yet gone unfunded might also be published to the Unfunded List.
How does our feedback process work?
Unfunded change makers submit their best and most recent fundraising materials.
We assign their materials to a hand selected team of evaluators from our Evaluation Committee.
We compile the team’s feedback into one comprehensive report for each submission.
We share the feedback reports with each participating organization and offer a follow up consultation with our staff about the feedback they received.