Research Guides: Nonprofit Organizations/Philanthropy: Find Nonprofits

History of Nonprofits & Philanthropy

A Brief History of Nonprofit Organizations (And What We Can Learn)
Nonprofit Hub's summary of the history of US Nonprofits.
History of the Nonprofit Sector: A (very) brief history of the US Nonprofit Sector
Abramson, A.J. (March 2019). The History of the Nonprofit Sector: A (very) brief history of the U.S. Nonprofit Sector. Independent Sector
History of U.S. Philanthropy
Summary of the history of US charitable giving. Also includes a chronology. Written by Philanthropy New York. 2008
Six Important Moments in the History of the Nonprofit Sector
Ohio University. Online Master of Public Administration. February 3, 2020

Guidestar and the Foundation Center merged in 2019 into a new organization called Candid.

US Nonprofits

Charity Navigator
Charity Navigator rates over 6,000 U.S. charities based on their finances, transparency and results reporting. Search their directory for both rated and ratings-eligible charities.
National Center for Charitable Statistics
Search the NCCS for IRS Form 990 reports for non-profit organizations. Search active organizations by name, state or organization type.
Nonprofit Explorer
Summary data from, and links to, IRS 990 forms. From ProPublica.
IRS - Tax Exempt Organizations
Search for a tax-exempt organization’s federal tax status and filings.
NYCON - New York Council of Nonprofits
Includes a job board, searchable membership directory, an annual review of policy initiatives and a news blog.
ERI Form 990 Finder
Looking for historic Form 990's? The Economic Research Institute provides IRS 990 filings in PDF form in a collection beginning in 2003.

International NGOs

Civil Society Organizations
NGO Branch of the United Nations. NGOs are listed by geography, by type of organization & by field of interest.
European Union Transparency Register
The Transparency register is a database listing ‘interest representatives’ (organizations, associations & self-employed individuals) who carry out activities to influence the EU policy and decision-making process.It provides information on financial support, donations, sponsorship, etc.
International Organizations - Europa World Plus
This database contains a directory of NGO's both by type and via a search. Access is through NYPL. You must have a New York Public Library card to access the database.
Worldwide NGO Directory
Searchable database of NGOs produced by World Association of Non-Governmental Organizations (WANGO)