Crossref Funder Registry Scraper

Crossref Funder Registry Scraper

Scrape funder records from the Crossref Funder Registry by name, keyword, or country. Get each funder's ID, name, location, and identifiers in a clean dataset. No API key or registration needed. Export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML.

The Crossref Funder Registry is the authoritative open database of research funding organizations, but querying it manually or via the REST API means writing code and handling pagination. This Actor reads the public registry directly, filters by funder name, keyword, or country, and returns every matching record in one flat schema.

Who uses it	What they scrape Crossref Funder Registry for
Research administrators	Build a clean list of funders for grant management systems
Scholarly publishers	Validate funder names and IDs in manuscript metadata
Data analysts	Enrich funding acknowledgment data with canonical funder details
Librarians	Maintain an up-to-date directory of funding bodies for researchers

What it does

This Actor collects funder records from the Crossref Funder Registry by name, keyword, or country, and returns each one as a flat row.

• 🔍 Name or keyword search: find funders by partial name, e.g. 'national' returns National Institutes of Health, National Science Foundation, and more.
• 🌍 Country filter: restrict results to a single country, e.g. 'United States' or 'France'.
• 📊 Flat dataset: every funder is returned as one row with its registry ID, name, location, and identifiers.
• ⚙️ Flexible limits: set a maximum number of funders per run, from 1 to 1,000,000.

Results export to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML, or straight from the API.

What you can do with Crossref Funder Registry data

📋 Build a funder directory.

A research office runs the Actor with no filters to collect all funders in the registry, then exports the dataset to CSV for their internal grant management system.

🔎 Validate funder names.

A publisher searches for a funder name like 'Wellcome' to confirm the exact registry ID and canonical name before accepting a manuscript.

🌐 Enrich funding data by country.

An analyst filters by 'Germany' to get all German funders, then joins the dataset with their acknowledgment data to standardize funder names.

📊 Monitor new funders.

A librarian schedules the Actor to run weekly with a keyword like 'foundation' to keep their public list of funding opportunities current.

Why choose this scraper

	What you get
No API key	Uses the public Crossref Funder Registry, no registration or token required
Clean schema	Each funder is a flat row with ID, name, location, and identifiers
Flexible search	Search by name, keyword, or exact country name
Scalable	Collect up to 1,000,000 funders in a single run

How it compares

No other Store actor targets Crossref Funder Registry the same way, so the honest comparison is with the alternatives teams actually weigh.

	Crossref Funder Registry Scraper	Build it in-house	By hand
Setup	Run it now, zero config	Days of engineering	None, but hours per pull
When Crossref Funder Registry changes	Maintained for you	You fix it	You re-learn the page
Proxies, retries, anti-bot	Built in	Your problem	Browser only
Output	Fixed JSON schema, CSV/Excel export	Whatever you build	Copy-paste
Cost	Pay per result	Engineering time	Analyst hours

Configure the run

Drive the Actor with a funder name or keyword, an optional country filter, and a maximum item count. Filters run as each record is read, so only matching funders reach your dataset. The Input tab lists every parameter.

A first run with the defaults:

{
  "maxItems": 10,
  "query": "national"
}

A larger pull:

{
  "maxItems": 200,
  "query": "national"
}

Pricing

Pay-per-result: $0.021 per result collected. You pay only for the results written to your dataset.

Results collected	Approximate cost
100 results	$2.10
1,000 results	$21.00
10,000 results	$210.00

New Apify accounts start with $5 in free credit.

Free users

Free-plan runs return up to 10 results as a preview. Upgrade your Apify plan to collect up to 1,000,000 results per run.

Run it

1. Create a free Apify account with $5 in credit.
2. Open the Crossref Funder Registry Scraper.
3. Set your inputs and any filters, then click Start.
4. Export the results as CSV, Excel, JSON, or XML from the Dataset tab.

Run it programmatically through the Apify API (run-sync-get-dataset-items) or the ApifyClient for JavaScript and Python.

Use with AI agents (MCP)

Give an AI agent live access to Crossref Funder Registry through the Model Context Protocol. Add the Actor to Claude, Cursor, or any MCP client:

$claude mcp add --transport http apify "https://mcp.apify.com?tools=parseforge/crossref-funders-registry-scraper"

Then prompt it in plain language to run the scraper and read back the results.

Troubleshooting

Why am I getting no results?

Check your search term. The 'Funder name or keyword' input does a partial match, but the 'Country or location' input requires an exact country name. Try a broader keyword or remove the country filter.

Why did the run stop before reaching my maxItems?

The Actor stops when it has collected all matching funders from the registry. If your filters are too narrow, there may be fewer results than your maximum.

Can I get more than 1,000,000 funders?

The maximum is 1,000,000 per run. If you need more, split your query into multiple runs by country or keyword.

The dataset has duplicate funders.

The Crossref Funder Registry should not contain duplicates, but if you see any, deduplicate by the funder ID field in your downstream processing.

FAQ

Question	Answer
What is the Crossref Funder Registry?	It is a free, open database of research funding organizations maintained by Crossref. Each funder has a unique ID, name, location, and identifiers.
Do I need a Crossref API key?	No. This Actor reads the public registry directly, so no registration or API key is required.
Can I search by funder name?	Yes. Use the 'Funder name or keyword' input to search for partial or full names, such as 'national' or 'National Institutes of Health'.
Can I filter by country?	Yes. Use the 'Country or location' input to filter exactly by country name, e.g. 'United States' or 'France'.
What fields are returned for each funder?	Each funder is returned as a flat row with its registry ID, name, location, and identifiers. The exact fields are shown in the sample dataset.
How many funders can I collect?	You can set a maximum from 1 to 1,000,000 funders per run. The default is 10.
What output formats are supported?	You can export the dataset to CSV, JSON, Excel, or XML from the Apify platform.
Is the data live?	Yes. The Actor reads the current Crossref Funder Registry at the time of the run, so you always get the latest records.
Can I run this on a schedule?	Yes. Use Apify's scheduler to run the Actor daily, weekly, or at any interval to keep your funder data up to date.
Does this Actor handle pagination?	Yes. It automatically pages through the registry until it reaches your maximum item count or the end of the results.

Related actors

Browse the full ParseForge collection for more scrapers.

🆘 Need help? Email parseforge@protonmail.com with your run ID, your input, and what you expected.

⚠️ Disclaimer. This Actor is unofficial and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by Crossref. It collects only publicly available data. You are responsible for using the collected data in compliance with the source's terms of service and applicable data-protection laws, including GDPR, CCPA, and PIPL. Do not use it to collect personal data unlawfully.