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IntroductionThe GuideStar database of Nonprofit Profiles offers users a wealth of information about American nonprofit organizations. It is the world’s most comprehensive source of data about nonprofits the Internal Revenue Service has declared tax exempt under Section 501(c) of the Internal Revenue Code.

The breadth and depth of the GuideStar database are unmatched. Most watchdog groups list at most a few thousand organizations. State charities officials and nonprofit associations focus on the organizations in their respective states and regions. In contrast, the GuideStar database contains information about every nonprofit registered with the IRS as a tax-exempt organization. Learn more about different types of exempt organizations.

GuideStar obtains information on the organizations in the database from three main sources: the nonprofits themselves; the IRS Business Master File (BMF); and IRS Forms 990, 990-EZ, and 990-PF. The source of the data on a specific organization determines the completeness of that nonprofit’s GuideStar Nonprofit Profile.

Information from the Nonprofits ThemselvesGuideStar invites nonprofits to update their GuideStar Nonprofit Profiles with information about their missions, programs, services, accomplishments, goals, leadership, needs, and

Unlocking the World’s Largest Nonprofit DatabasePrepared by GuideStar

April 2016; Updated August 2018

GuideStar obtains information on organizations in the database from three main sources: the nonprofits themselves; the IRS Business Master File (BMF); and IRS Forms 990, 990-EZ, and 990-PF.

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volunteer opportunities. Nonprofits that do not file a Form 990 (i.e., churches and schools) can also fill out a basic financial statement modeled after the 990. (Financial data for organizations that do file a 990 is taken directly from those forms.)

Nonprofits that provide information to GuideStar can earn a Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum GuideStar Nonprofit Profile, depending on how much information they update. This program is free to nonprofits, the only cost being the time it takes to register with GuideStar and complete the online form. Organizations with Platinum GuideStar Nonprofit Profiles are the most complete in the database.

To date, more than 166,900 nonprofits have updated their profiles. Their participation levels the nonprofit playing field by enabling organizations of all sizes, missions, and locations to speak directly to donors and funders.

Many nonprofits report they have benefited greatly from taking the time to complete their GuideStar Nonprofit Profiles. Some have received substantial donations and grants as a result of making their information available on GuideStar. Donors note that having mission, program, and results information makes it easier to determine which organizations they wish to support.

Nonprofit participation is the strength of the GuideStar database. To offer a complete picture of the nonprofit sector, GuideStar will continue its efforts—and implement new initiatives—to gain the participation of even more tax-exempt organizations.

Information from the BMFGuideStar Nonprofit Profiles based solely on the BMF contain the least information. The BMF includes only basic data about exempt organizations: name; address; employer identification number (EIN); gross income; assets; ruling year; fiscal year; mission; whether it files a Form 990, 990-N, 990-EZ, or 990-PF; and, sometimes, National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code (used classify organizations by mission).

The Internal Revenue Service updates the BMF 10-11 times a year. GuideStar compares each update to the previous version, adding any new exempt organizations to the database and updating organizations’ addresses and financial information.

We do not, however, automatically delete nonprofits from the database if they disappear from the BMF. Instead, we double-check each organization’s name against the Internal Revenue Bulletin and the Automatic Revocation of Exemption list, two online IRS resources that list organizations that have recently lost 501(c) status. We also review the publications of the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC), which list individuals and organizations whose assets have been frozen because they are suspected of having ties to terrorism.

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We remove an organization from the GuideStar database only after (a) it appears in the Internal Revenue Bulletin, (b) it is included in the Automatic Revocation list, (c) OFAC designates it an entity suspected of supporting terrorism, or (d) we receive proof of its demise, such as official notification from the organization.

Information from Forms 990, 990-EZ, and 990-PFMost tax-exempt organizations must file an annual information return with the IRS. Every private foundation, regardless of income, must file a Form 990-PF. (Learn more about the differences between private foundations and public charities.) Other tax-exempt nonprofits usually file Form 990-N, 990-EZ, or 990; an organization’s annual gross revenue and total assets determine which return it must file.

GuideStar receives images of Forms 990-EZ, 990, and 990-PF directly from the IRS, then posts them on the appropriate GuideStar Nonprofit Profiles. (The IRS does not provide copies of Form 990-N, which is filed electronically and contains only eight questions.)

To protect individuals’ privacy, the IRS does not release Schedule B, which lists donors who contributed $5,000 or more to an organization, with Forms 990 and 990-EZ. It does release donor information provided on Forms 990-PF.

Occasionally, nonprofits include personal or sensitive information in their returns. GuideStar will mask the following information on 990 images:

• Social Security numbers

• Preparers’ signatures (we replace the signature with the preparer’s typewritten name)

• Street addresses of private residences

• Street addresses of certain organizations, such as domestic violence shelters

• Names of minors or adults receiving hardship scholarships, medical care, or other services

In addition to posting the 990 images, GuideStar digitizes hundreds of fields on the 990, 990-EZ, and 990-PF and adds this information to the database. On average, GuideStar digitizes the forms within two months of receiving them from the IRS.

GuideStar Nonprofit Profiles based on digitized 990s or 990-EZs are more complete than those compiled from the BMF. In addition to providing

Forms 990 can be challenging to interpret. GuideStar quality assurance staff regularly monitors the accuracy of the data digitization, and the numerical fields in the GuideStar database are captured accurately at the 99.9 percent level.

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financial information, the filing organization must list its exempt purpose and describe its three largest programs to achieve its exempt purpose. GuideStar transfers the financial information, exempt purpose, and program data into the appropriate parts of each organization’s GuideStar Nonprofit Profile.

Ensuring the Accuracy of Digitized 990 DataGuideStar goes to great lengths to ensure the quality and accuracy of the database. We capture data from hundreds of thousands of forms, entering more than 100 million values each year. Our goal is to capture values exactly as they were input by the organization or paid preparer for each Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF. To that end, every numerical value displayed on the GuideStar site is entered twice, and any disparity between entered values is reconciled. GuideStar quality assurance staff regularly monitors the accuracy of this double-keyed data. The numerical fields in the GuideStar database are captured accurately at the 99.9 percent level.

Several years ago, we analyzed the accuracy of the information nonprofits entered on the major financial sections of the 990. We found organization-entry errors in only 0.2 percent of the fields entered. In 30 percent of these cases, such errors resulted from the preparer’s failure to transfer a value, which had been established elsewhere on the document, into a required field (leaving the field blank) and did not reflect erroneous data or suggest any intention to misinform. We believe that this continues to be the case with 990 data.

The Accuracy of 990 Data in GeneralSome individuals inside and outside the nonprofit sector have questioned the accuracy of Form 990 data. Karen A. Froelich and Terry W. Knoepfle of North Dakota State University and Tom Pollak of the National Center of Charitable Statistics (NCCS) compared organizations’ 990s to their audited financial statements. The researchers concluded, “The IRS 990 Return is a reliable source of information for basic income statement and balance sheet entries.”

Froelich, Knoepfle, and Pollak also maintained that the Form 990 is “potentially more useful than financial statements for study of nonprofit organizations. In addition to the standardized information collected over time and across organizations, precise specification of revenue sources and required allocation of expenses into program, management, and fundraising categories can provide revealing detail not often available in the financial statements.” (“Financial Measures in Nonprofit Organization Research: Comparing IRS Form 990 Return and Audited Financial Statement Data,” Nonprofit Quarterly 29 [2000]: 232-254.)

We capture data from hundreds of thousands of forms, entering more than 100 million values each year.

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Posting the Most Current 990sGuideStar users often ask why we don’t have an image of an organization’s “most recent” 990 in its GuideStar Nonprofit Profile. Usually, the latest Form 990 image you see for an organization is the most current one available.

Unlike the well-known April 15 deadline for filing personal income tax returns, there is no one date on which all Forms 990 for a particular year must be submitted to the IRS. Instead, each nonprofit is required to file by the 15th day of the 5th month after the end of its fiscal year. Because the exact dates of a fiscal year vary from nonprofit to nonprofit, the filing dates for the 990s vary, too.

Form 990, 990-EZ, and 990-PF filers can also receive up to two 90-day extensions of time to file. Thus, the Form 990 for a nonprofit whose fiscal year ended on December 31, 2017, might not be filed until November 15, 2018:

Accounting Period 990 Due Date Due Date with 1 Extension

Due Date with 2nd Extension

1/1/17-12/31/17 5/15/18 8/15/18 11/15/18

The IRS processes the 990s before it forwards images of the forms to GuideStar. We do not, however, hold the images until they have been digitized; posting the images and digitizing the information on the forms are separate processes.

ConclusionThe GuideStar database contains profiles for more than 2.7 million nonprofits. We will continue to enhance both the breadth and depth of the database. Our goal is to provide the information people need to make better decisions about nonprofits.

Better data. Better decisions. Better world.