A nonprofit’s own website is a good place to start gathering information. Nonprofit websites generally provide extensive background information on the charity and its programs, as well as financial summaries and tax filing information. Contact the organization directly and request written information on its charitable activities and finances. Reputable charities already have this type of information prepared and ready to send out.
For a list of state-by-state searchable databases for corporations and secretary of state websites visit: http://www. coordinatedlegal. com/SecretaryOfState. html
The name, mailing address, and phone number (when available) of the company; The company’s IRS filing status, including the IRS nonprofit category. The company’s employer identification number. The company’s reported annual income as set forth on its IRS form 990. You may also be able to search this database online if a library has a subscription to the company that manages the NDNO’s electronic database. [1] X Research source
The name and contact information for the organization. Information about company contacts, members and staff. Information about the company’s founding. The approximate annual budget. The number of regional, national and local groups affiliated with the company. You may also be able to search this database online if a library has a subscription to the company that manages the Encyclopedia’s electronic database. [2] X Research source
Read several years worth of reports to get an idea of how the organization’s outlook has changed over time and the types of challenges they have faced.
Search the IRS tax-exempt database. The IRS offers a searchable database so that consumers may check on an organization’s tax-exempt status. You may access the database on the IRS website at: http://apps. irs. gov/app/eos/. Check the IRS’ list of revocations. The IRS offers a searchable list of organizations whose tax-exempt status has recently been revoked. After verifying that an organization has been granted tax-exempt status, check the list to ensure it has not been revoked. You may search the list by visiting: https://www. irs. gov/charities-non-profits/charitable-organizations/revocations-of-501c3-determinations.
GuideStar, which is a well-known and reputable nonprofit organization that gathers and publishes important information about other nonprofits on its website. You may search GuideStar’s nonprofit database at http://www2. guidestar. org/home. aspx. Consumer Reports WebWatch investigates websites claiming to be nonprofits, or that claim to be collecting for and donating to a nonprofit. Consumer Reports publishes its findings on its site in a searchable database, which is located at: http://www. consumerwebwatch. org/non-profit. cfm. The Wise Giving Alliance, which is run by the Better Business Bureau (“BBB”), investigates nonprofits and publishes reviews based upon 23 standards that include topics such as use of funds, public accountability, and ethical fundraising. The website is located at: http://give. org. Charity Watch is a well-known organization that acts as a charity watchdog, evaluating and rating charities and publishing the results of its evaluations and in-depth background information in an A to Z listing on its website. You may search the Charity Watch website at: http://www. charitywatch. org/. Charity Navigator is a reputable nonprofit organization that evaluates and rates charities. It publishes its ratings for hundreds of charities and nonprofit organizations on its website at http://www. charitynavigator. org/.
Ask them about their role within the organization and the success they have been having. Ask them how many grants they apply for each year and how many of those applications are successful. You can also ask for dollar amounts regarding how much money they have asked for and how much they have earned. Asking these types of questions will give you a good idea of an organization’s fundraising success.
You can search online for a nonprofit’s Form 990 at: https://projects. propublica. org/nonprofits/ Contact the nonprofit company and ask if they can mail you a copy. Request it from the IRS. Scanned images of all Form 990 filings for a specific tax year are available directly from the IRS on a CD or DVD for a small fee. You can request a specific 990 by filing an IRS Form 4506. Form 4506 is available on the IRS website at: http://www. irs. gov/pub/irs-pdf/f4506a. pdf. Request it from a third party. Many of the consumer advocate groups and online charity indexes discussed above include copies of nonprofits’ Form 990 and other IRS filings along with the background and financial information provided on their databases.
Research career fields. Find job titles that interest you based on your educational and experiential background. Identify people to interview. Once you know what jobs you want, find people that already have those jobs. You can ask your friends and family if they know anyone with a specific job title; you can call organizations directly; or you can read relevant news articles to learn about people in your field. Prepare for the interview. You need to develop a short introduction so you can tell the person who you are and why you are calling. Plan a number of open-ended questions you can ask in order to solicit information about the job the person holds, how they got it, and how someone like you can get a similar job. Call the other person. When you are ready, call the person and mention how you got their information. Ask if they have a few minutes to talk and introduce yourself. Ask if you can meet with them in person to ask them a few questions about their job. Be sure you emphasize the fact you are looking for information and not a job. Conduct the interview. When the day comes, go to your informational interview. Dress as if you were going to a job interview and arrive early. Introduce yourself and start asking your questions. Go with the flow and take notes if you need to. Always ask if they have any other contacts you could talk to about these types of jobs as well. Follow-up. When your interview is over, follow-up within a day or two. Send them a thank you note and let them know you appreciate their time. Keep in touch with the person and let them know how you are using their advice. [7] X Research source
Measure the potential experience you could get at the company against the burdensome workload and likelihood of burnout. If you understand that most employees only work for the company for a few years, ask yourself whether you can get enough transferrable experience in that time to make the position worthwhile. Determine whether you feel passionate about the work being done at the company. One of the ways to prevent burnout is to involve yourself in work that you feel passionate about and for which you can see demonstrated results. This may make the work and the company a worthwhile choice for you.
