Publishing Grants Data to the 360Giving Standard: What It Is and How to Do It

360Giving is a UK initiative and open data standard that lets grant funders publish information about the grants they award in a consistent, machine-readable format. When a funder publishes to the standard, anyone can see who was funded, how much they received and for what purpose — and, crucially, can compare that information across hundreds of other funders who publish the same way. The result is a shared picture of UK grantmaking that no single funder could produce alone.

For a funder, publishing usually means producing one dataset — most commonly a spreadsheet that follows the 360Giving Data Standard — and registering it so that it appears in 360Giving's tools, such as the GrantNav search engine. The data describes grants that have already been awarded, not applications in progress, so publishing is an act of transparency about decisions you have already made rather than a disclosure of anything sensitive or commercial.

This guide explains what the 360Giving standard is, why a growing number of UK trusts, foundations and public funders publish to it, and the practical steps involved in getting your own data out. It also covers how grant management software can produce a standard-compliant file directly, removing most of the manual formatting work that once made publishing feel daunting for small teams.

What is 360Giving?

360Giving is a UK charity that supports organisations to publish data about their grants using a free and open data standard. It was established to make grantmaking in the UK more transparent, and it maintains both the technical standard and the tools that turn published data into something people can actually use. The initiative is non-profit and the standard itself is free to adopt.

At its centre is the 360Giving Data Standard: an agreed set of fields that describe a grant, with consistent column names and formats. Because every publisher uses the same field names — an identifier for each grant, the recipient's name, the amount awarded, the award date and so on — software can read one funder's data and another's in exactly the same way. That comparability is the whole point. Spreadsheets of grants exist everywhere, but without a common structure they cannot be combined or searched together.

Once a funder publishes, the data can flow into 360Giving's analysis tools. The best known is GrantNav, a search engine that lets anyone explore grants across all publishers — by funder, recipient, location, amount or theme. Other tools, including data quality checkers and visualisation dashboards, sit on top of the same standardised data. None of this works unless the underlying file follows the standard, which is why getting the format right is the funder's main task.

Why do UK funders publish grants data?

Funders publish for three broad reasons: transparency and accountability, better decision-making across the sector, and demonstrating leadership. Each reinforces the others.

Transparency and accountability. Charitable funders distribute money for public benefit, and publishing openly shows where that money goes. It allows trustees, regulators, applicants and the public to see a funder's priorities in practice rather than in mission statements. For trusts and foundations that receive no public scrutiny through other routes, open data is a voluntary act of accountability that builds trust.

Better sector intelligence. When many funders publish to the same standard, the combined dataset becomes a research resource. Other funders can see who else is active in a cause area or region, reducing duplication and helping to identify gaps. Charities can research which funders support work like theirs. Researchers and infrastructure bodies can analyse funding flows at a scale that individual annual reports could never support.

Leadership and influence. A number of large UK funders and funder networks actively encourage publishing as good practice, and some grant programmes ask grantees who are themselves funders to publish. Adopting the standard signals that a funder takes openness seriously. Because the standard is free and widely supported, the barrier to joining is low relative to the reputational and practical benefits.

It is worth being precise about what publishing does and does not involve: it concerns grants already awarded, presented at a level of detail the funder controls, and it does not require disclosing unsuccessful applications, internal scoring or personal data about individuals beyond what the funder chooses to include.

What information does a 360Giving dataset contain?

A 360Giving dataset describes individual grants, one row per grant in the common spreadsheet format. The standard defines a core set of fields that every grant should include, plus a wide range of optional fields that add useful context. You publish what you have; more complete data is more useful, but a dataset with only the essentials is still valid and valuable.

The table below shows the kinds of fields the standard uses. Treat it as illustrative of the structure rather than the definitive specification — always check the current 360Giving Data Standard documentation for the authoritative field list and formats.

A key concept is the identifier. Each grant needs a unique grant identifier, and organisations are referenced using recognised identifier schemes — for example, a UK charity number prefixed to indicate the Charity Commission, or a Companies House number for a registered company. These prefixes let tools match the same organisation across different funders' datasets, so that all grants to one charity can be found together.

What is a publisher prefix and why does it matter?

A publisher prefix is a short, unique code assigned to each 360Giving publisher that prevents grant identifiers from clashing across funders. Because every funder generates its own grant identifiers, two funders could easily both have a grant numbered "001". Prefixing each identifier with a publisher-specific code makes every grant identifier globally unique.

In practice, a grant identifier is built by combining your publisher prefix with your own internal reference for the grant — often a fund or programme code plus a sequential number. The recipient organisation is then identified separately, using its official registration where available. This layered approach means a single row in your dataset carries enough information for a tool to know which funder published it, which grant it is, and which organisation received it, all without ambiguity.

Setting the prefix and your funder identity correctly is therefore foundational: get it wrong and your grants may not link up properly in GrantNav. This is one reason it helps to configure the publisher prefix and funding-organisation details once, at organisation level, rather than re-entering them for every export.

How do funders produce a 360Giving dataset?

There are three common routes to producing a standard-compliant dataset, and funders choose based on their size and the tools they already use.

Manual spreadsheet. A funder downloads a template that matches the 360Giving Data Standard and fills it in, mapping their grant records onto the standard's column names. This works for small numbers of grants but is laborious and error-prone, because the column names, date formats and identifier conventions must all be exactly right. It also has to be repeated each time the data is refreshed.

Conversion from existing records. A funder exports grants from their own system or spreadsheet and reshapes the columns to match the standard. This is faster than starting from a blank template but still requires careful mapping each time fields or formats change.

Direct export from grant management software. Where a funder already manages its grants in a dedicated platform, the platform can generate a compliant file directly from the live data. This removes the mapping step entirely: the software knows which of its fields correspond to the standard's fields and produces the spreadsheet in the correct format. For funders running regular rounds, this is by far the most sustainable approach because the dataset can be regenerated whenever new grants are awarded.

Whichever route you take, the output is the same kind of artefact: a spreadsheet (or equivalent file) that conforms to the standard. The difference is how much manual effort it takes to produce and keep up to date.

How does Plinth help funders publish to 360Giving?

Plinth can export your grants data directly in the 360Giving standard format, producing a standard-compliant spreadsheet without manual column mapping. You can run the export for a single fund or across all of your organisation's funds at once, so you can publish one programme on its own or your whole portfolio in a single file.

The export includes only grants that have reached an appropriate stage of the lifecycle — specifically approved, fully paid or completed grants. Applications and in-progress awards are excluded automatically, which matches the purpose of 360Giving: publishing decisions you have made, not work in progress. Plinth builds each grant identifier from your configured publisher prefix and the fund and award references, and identifies recipient organisations using their registered charity or company numbers where you hold them.

Your publisher prefix and funding-organisation metadata are configured once at organisation level, so every export carries the right identity without re-entry. Each export is also audit-logged for compliance, recording who generated the file and when — the same accountability discipline covered in our guide to audit trails in grant software. Plinth's reporting tools for funders sit alongside the export, so the same underlying grant data feeds both your funder reporting and your open data.

One point to be clear about: Plinth produces the standard-compliant file, and the funder then publishes and registers that file with 360Giving. Plinth generates the export; it does not itself host the public registry or push your data into GrantNav automatically. The final publishing and registration step stays in your hands, which is appropriate because you decide when your data is ready to go public.

How do you register and publish your dataset?

Producing the file is only part of the process. To make your data appear in 360Giving's tools, you register as a publisher and tell 360Giving where your data lives. The exact steps are managed by 360Giving and may evolve, so always follow their current published guidance, but the general shape is consistent.

First, you obtain a publisher prefix from 360Giving if you do not already have one, and you make your dataset available — typically by hosting the file somewhere stable and accessible, or by following 360Giving's preferred publishing arrangement. You then register the dataset so that 360Giving knows it exists and can include it in its data tools. Before or during this, it is good practice to run your file through 360Giving's data quality checker, which flags formatting issues, missing required fields and identifier problems so you can fix them before publication.

Once registered and validated, your grants appear in GrantNav and the wider 360Giving ecosystem, where they can be searched and analysed alongside other funders' data. Publishing is not a one-off: as you award new grants, you regenerate and republish the dataset so the public picture stays current. This is where direct software export pays off most, because refreshing the file becomes a routine task rather than a project.

What are the benefits and trade-offs of publishing?

Publishing to 360Giving is widely regarded as good practice, but it is a decision worth making deliberately. The table below sets out the main considerations.

The effort cost is the main practical trade-off, and it is precisely the cost that software export reduces. For funders concerned about detail, the standard lets you control what you publish: you decide which optional fields to populate, and you publish awarded grants rather than sensitive process data. The combination of low marginal effort and high reputational value is why many funders conclude that publishing is worthwhile once the technical barrier is removed.

FAQs

Is 360Giving free to use?

Yes. 360Giving is a non-profit initiative and the data standard is free and open to adopt. There is no licence fee for publishing to the standard or for using tools like GrantNav. The main investment is the effort of producing and maintaining a compliant dataset, which dedicated grant software can reduce substantially.

Do I have to publish personal data about individuals?

No. Publishing to 360Giving concerns grants you have awarded, and you control the level of detail. Funders that make grants to organisations publish organisation-level data. Where grants go to individuals, funders take care over what they include and should follow data protection law and 360Giving's guidance; the standard does not require you to expose personal data you should not share.

What is GrantNav?

GrantNav is 360Giving's free search engine for published grants data. It lets anyone explore grants across all publishing funders — searching by funder, recipient, location, amount or theme — because every dataset follows the same standard. Your grants appear in GrantNav once you have published and registered your dataset.

What format does a 360Giving dataset need to be in?

The most common format is a spreadsheet that follows the 360Giving Data Standard, with specific column names and formats for fields like the grant identifier, recipient, amount and award date. The standard also supports other structured formats, but the spreadsheet template is the usual route for most funders. Always check the current standard documentation for the authoritative field list.

Which grants should I include when I publish?

Publish grants you have actually awarded, not applications in progress. Plinth, for example, includes only grants that have reached approved, fully paid or completed status in its 360Giving export, excluding in-progress awards automatically. This matches the purpose of open grants data: transparency about decisions made, not disclosure of pending applications.

How often should I update my published data?

There is no single rule, but the value of open data depends on it being reasonably current, so funders typically republish whenever they award a meaningful batch of new grants — for example, after each funding round, or on a quarterly or annual cycle. Producing the dataset directly from grant management software makes frequent refreshes far less burdensome.

Does Plinth publish my data to 360Giving automatically?

No. Plinth generates a 360Giving-compliant file for a single fund or all your funds, with your publisher prefix and funder identity built in, and audit-logs the export. You then publish and register that file with 360Giving yourself. Plinth produces the standard-compliant export; it does not host the public registry or push data into GrantNav on your behalf.

Recommended next pages

• The Complete Guide to Grant Management — How AI-assisted grant management covers applications, assessment, awards and reporting in one platform.
• Reporting for Funders — How the same grant data powers funder reporting and impact summaries.
• Audit Trails in Grant Software — Why every export and decision should leave a tamper-resistant record.
• What is Fundraising for Charities? — How charities research funders and approach the funding landscape that open data helps illuminate.

Last updated: June 2026

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