Research Guides (LibGuides): Nonprofit & NGO Research: Home

Definitions

NGO
Nonprofit

NGO

"A non-governmental organization (NGO) is any non-profit, voluntary citizens’ group which is organized on a local, national or international level. Task-oriented and driven by people with a common interest, NGOs perform a variety of services and humanitarian functions, bring citizens’ concerns to Governments, monitor policies and encourage political participation at the community level. They provide analysis and expertise, serve as early warning mechanisms and help monitor and implement international agreements. Some are organized around specific issues, such as human rights, the environment or health. Their relationship with offices and agencies of the United Nations System differs depending on their location and mandates."

Via the UN NGO Relations and Liaision Service

Nonprofit

A nonprofit organization "is dedicated to furthering a particular social cause or advocating for a shared point of view. In economic terms, it is an organization that uses its surplus of the revenues to further achieve its ultimate objective, rather than distributing its income to the organization's shareholders, leaders, or members. Nonprofits are tax exempt or charitable, meaning they do not pay income tax on the money that they receive for their organization."

Via Wikipedia on Nonprofit organizations

They can also be known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution.

Resources

Directories of NGOs

The resources below can help you identify a possible NGO to research and will often link out to the main webpage for those NGOs, some NGOs will publish information there that you can use in your research. For more information, you can use the resources on the next two tabs.

GuideStar This link opens in a new window
Contains detailed information for non-profit organizations, including revenue and expense data, contact information, and annual reports

Free Websites

Give.org from BBB WGA
From the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance, a source intended to help donors make informed decisions on where they give their money. BBB conducts the evaluations of the charities that they list on this site.
Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator evaluates charities based on two big areas: "their Financial Health and their Accountability & Transparency." Again, this service is intended to help potential donors make an inform decision as to which charity they will be donating to.
Form 990 Finder
If an NGO/nonprofit files with the IRS, you should be able to access their Form 990 for information. This will not work for organizations that are based outside of the US.
The Nonprofit Times
Aid Data
InterAction
InterAction has a searchable library of press releases for US-based NGOs
Eldis
Eldis has a huge library of reports from NGOS on a variety of topics

Databases

GuideStar This link opens in a new window
Contains detailed information for non-profit organizations, including revenue and expense data, contact information, and annual reports
Business Source Complete This link opens in a new window
Business Source Complete is the world's definitive scholarly business database. Includes books, case studies, company profiles, economic reports, industry reports, SWOT analyses, in addition to nearly 2,000 peer-reviewed journals.
Nexis Uni This link opens in a new window
Nexis Uni provides access to the full text of hundreds of major business and legal journals, magazines, and U.S. and international newspapers. Company financial, country, tax, medical, federal and state legal information, and accounting information can also be accessed.

Other Tips for Searching

Nonprofits and 990 Tax Forms

How to Read IRS Form 990
See also part 2, https://businessjournalism.org/2019/10/how-to-read-irs-form-990-part-2/
and part 3,
https://businessjournalism.org/2019/10/how-to-read-irs-form-990-part-3/

Using Google Advanced Search:

With Google Advanced Search, you can specify the file type for the search. Most nonprofits publish their annual reports or any sort of official documents as a PDF file, by searching the name of an organization and the PDF file type, you are likely to find relevant documents.

Nonprofit & NGO Research: Home

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