
A Guide to Researching Charities This Holiday Season
As the holidays approach, requests for charitable donations start coming in from many organizations. But how can you be sure a charity is legitimate and well-rated before you donate?
One helpful tool to start when researching charities is The Nonprofit Sector in the United States: A Resource Guide, one of the many library guides that we offer in the Business Section at the Library of Congress’ Science & Business Reading Room.
This guide includes resources for researching nonprofits and covers a range of topics—from associations and datasets to consumer information. It lists resources that detail how to start a nonprofit, and those that discuss finding grants and give fundraising tips. One critical feature is a section on IRS Form 990, an annual filing requirement for all tax-exempt organizations. Form 990s are essential for assessing a charity because they offer a detailed snapshot of the entity’s financials, including revenue, expenditure, and income data. Note, religious organizations are automatically tax exempt and do not need to file a Form 990, so it can be challenging to find additional information on this subsection of organizations.
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