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Research Charities

GuideStar
Contains descriptions of and financial data on more than 850,000 nonprofit groups, drawn primarily from the organizations' informational tax returns filed with the Internal Revenue Service.  The information includes a breakdown of each charity's assets, liabilities, revenue, and expenditures, including administrative and fund-raising costs.  The site also includes advice to donors on effective giving and profiles of nonprofit groups.

American Institute of Philanthropy
A private watchdog organization that rates charities based on how much they spend on program expenses versus fund raising and administration.  The institute's Web site lists the more than 360 non-profit groups that have been rated and names the charities that have received "excellent" ratings in various areas, such as cancer groups, environmental organizations, and charities that serve the elderly.

BBB Wise Giving Alliance
Maintained by the Council of Better Business Bureaus, this site includes reports on hundreds of national charities and whether they meet the bureau's standards for fund raising, governance, financial management, and public accountability.  The site also includes information on charitable giving, solicitations by police and fire-fighter organizations, tax deductions for donors, and how to handle unwanted mailings from charities.

Charity Navigator
Works to advance a more efficient and responsive philanthropic marketplace by evaluating the financial health of America's largest charities.

The Foundation Center
An information clearinghouse that serves the philanthropic sector with an extensive online library, research desk, publications and online training.

Internal Revenue Service
Offers a searchable database of all types of organizations that the IRS has granted tax exemptions.

U.S. Dept. of the Treasury
Their office of Frozen Asset Control regularly updates its list of charitable organizations and individuals that support terrorism.  This is a direct link to that directory of suspected organizations. 

Associations & Affinity Groups
Build your network of contacts, and enhance your understanding of philanthropy.

Association of Small Foundations
ASF is committed to building and strengthening small foundation philanthropy by providing quality programs, products and services to foundations with few or no staff.

Council on Foundations
An association of 2,000 private, corporate and community foundations, and giving programs worldwide.  COF provides leadership expertise, legal services and networking opportunities—among other services—to its members and to the general public.

Family Firm Institute
An international professional organization dedicated to assisting family firms by increasing the interdisciplinary skills and knowledge of family business advisors, educators, researchers and consultants.

The Forum of Regional Association of Grantmakers
Helps grantmakers practice more effective philanthropy and provides a forum for promoting to inspire and enhance leadership and capacity in promoting the public good.  There are 28 regional association of grantmakers throughout the US. Visit this site to locate a local chapter.

Grantmakers for Effective Organizations
Dedicated to promoting learning and encouraging dialogue among funders committed to building strong and effective nonprofit organizations.  GEO's mission is to advance and expand organizational effectiveness practices in and by the philanthropy community.

Independent Sector
National organization that encourages philanthropy via research and policy with links to hundreds of nonprofit member organizations as well as associations of nonprofits.

National Center for Family Philanthropy
Nonprofit resource center that focuses on helping families and individuals create and sustain their philanthropic missions through educational research, materials and programs.

National Council of Nonprofit Associations
Provides links to state and regional nonprofit associations.

National Network of Grantmakers
Comprised of individuals and institutions involved in funding social and economic justice.

The Philanthropy Roundtable
A national association of individual donors, corporate giving representatives, foundation staff and trustees, and trust and estate officers.

Resourceful Women
Promotes progressive social change by educating and empowering women to make informed choices when investing, spending and contributing their money.

Women Donors Network
A dynamic peer community where women can explore all aspects of philanthropic practice—from personal development and professional training, to strategies for long-term targeted giving and the creation of funding alliances.  Through annual and regional conferences, publications, donor and study circles, and their Website, WDN provides the tools and relationships women need to be activist donors working together for progressive change.

Women's Philanthropy Institute
Works to raise awareness of women as donors and encourages women to increase their charitable giving.

News & Media
Publications that feature stories on philanthropy, planned giving and wealth management from a donor's perspective. 

The Chronicle on Philanthropy
Bi-weekly news journal, available in hard copy and online, that presents research on trends in philanthropy and fundraising as well as publishes grant deadlines for foundations all over the nation.  Donors and their advisors would be well served by periodically reading this journal because it is a good "pulse" of the philanthropic community.

Nonprofit Resources on About.com
The nonprofit resources from About.com provide information on a variety of topics of interest to nonprofits.  The fundraising section is particularly good because it has articles about fundraising issues as well as links to several fundraising software products websites.

Foundation News & Commentary
Information, analysis and commentary relevant to effective grantmaking for foundation trustees and staff.

NonProfit Times
Targeted to nonprofit executives, it covers key management a business issues of the nonprofit sector. 

OnPhilanthropy
A resource for nonprofit and philanthropy professionals.  It is free of charge and features several industry-leading e-mail newsletters.

Passages
Presents the latest in family giving research and the organizational challenges and family dynamics of family giving programs.

Philanthropy Journal Online
Online journal covering philanthropy and nonprofits.

Philanthropy News Digest
Daily online news and original content from the Foundation Center.

Philanthropy News Network
Online news service covering primarily nonprofits, along with listings of conferences and job opportunities.

The Philanthropy Roundtable
Bi-monthly magazine covering issues in the philanthropic sector.

Worth.com
Worth magazine on-line has a large section on philanthropy.

Charitable Planning
Institutions and consultants that specialize in philanthropy and legacy planning.

Advisors in Philanthropy
A network of professional advisors who are devoted to mastering and promoting the principles and practices of client-centered planning

The Inheritance Project
This nonprofit consulting firm works with heirs to enhance their understanding of the unique challenges and opportunities that come with inherited wealth.

Leave a Legacy
National program to help people learn about charitable giving through a will or from an estate.

More Than Money
Helps individuals live more joyful, balanced, and principled lives—through publications and programs that help people become more efficient and clear decision-makers about their money and their values.

NewTithing Group
Educates the public and their advisors to help donors determine how much they can comfortably give to charity.

The Philanthropic Initiative
Nonprofit organization formed in 1989 to help donors increase their impact through the development of innovative and strategic approaches to philanthropy. 

Rockefeller Philanthropic Advisors
Nonprofit consultants helping donors to create thoughtful and effective philanthropic solutions.

Women's Philanthropy Institute
Works to raise awareness of women as donors and encourages women to increase their charitable giving.

Philanthropic Research Centers

AAFRC Trust for Philanthropy
Publishes, Giving USA, an annual report that provides comprehensive nationwide giving statistics.

Center on Wealth and Philanthropy
Multidisciplinary research center located at Boston College, specializes in the study of spirituality, wealth, philanthropy, and other aspects of cultural life in an age of affluence.  Their seminal report "Millionaires and the Millennium: New Estimates of the Forthcoming Wealth Transfer and the Prospects for a Golden Age of Philanthropy," is one of the most widely recognized analyses of philanthropic trends conducted to date.

The National Center for Charitable Statistics
Comprehensive data supplied to the IRS about charities' total public support, revenue, assets, and expenses.

Center on Philanthropy
Leading academic research center at Indiana University, devoted to increasing understanding of philanthropy and improving its practice.  Recently published, "Philanthropy in America," a three-volume, illustrated examination of philanthropy in American life from the early 1600s to the present.

The Center on Philanthropy & Civil Society
The Graduate Center of The City University of New York, the Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (CPCS) focuses on giving, volunteerism, and nonprofit entrepreneurship by individual donors, foundations, and corporations in the United States and around the world.

The Foundation Center
An information clearinghouse that serves the philanthropic sector with an extensive online library, research desk, publications and online training.

International Philanthropy

Acumen Fund

United States International Grantmaking

Civitas

Better World Campaign

Worldwide Initiatives for Grantmaker Support

Synergos
Offers two online resources about global philanthropy.  Global Philanthropy & Foundation Building provides detailed best practice information on organized philanthropy and grantmaking foundations around the world, while Global Giving Matters contains news and information about individual and family philanthropy and social investment.

Natural Disaster Relief

Volunteering

Idealist.org
Global coalition of individuals and organizations working to build a world where all people can live free, dignified and productive lives. 

Impact Online
A nonprofit organization investing in the development of public interest Internet applications.  Since its founding in 1994, ImpactOnline has been providing innovative public services on the web.  VolunteerMatch, the organization's premier service, utilizes the power of the Internet to help individuals nationwide find volunteer opportunities posted by local nonprofit and public sector organizations.

Npower
Npower is a good source for technology volunteers.

Volunteer Match
Allows organizations to put volunteer opportunities on its website at no cost.

National Mentoring Center
Created a national database of mentoring opportunities that is searchable on the internet.  Organizations can add themselves to the list simply by visiting the site.

Servenet
Another internet volunteer portal, targeted mainly at youth involved in public service. Organizations can list volunteer opportunities in a searchable database.

Intergenerational Innovations 
Links senior citizens with youth in a variety of volunteer service projects, including mentoring relationships.  The website provides a description of all of the group's programs and contact information.

Executive Service Corps
Provides affordable management consulting to nonprofits.  Go to this site to locate a chapter in your area.

International Executive Service Corps
Is the world's largest not-for-profit business development organization to increase the competitiveness of small- and medium-sized firms in the developing world and in emerging democracies.  

SCORE
Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE) volunteers provide free online advice to nonprofits.  The web site also has lots of helpful links on topics such a preparing a business plan. 

Donor Education

National Center for Family Philanthropy
Holds workshops, commissions research, and provides information to family grant makers.  The center also has a library that includes books, annual reports, and other material on family philanthropy. 

Newtithing Group
A nonprofit organization in San Francisco that encourages wealthy people to increase their charitable giving.  The Newtithing Group's Web site features a charitable-giving calculator that helps donors figure out how much money they can afford to contribute to charity.  The site also includes a synopsis of Wealthy and Wise, How You And America Can Get The Most Out of Your Giving by the group's founder, Claude Rosenberg, and links to websites of interest to donors.

The Philanthropic Initiative
A nonprofit organization in Boston that helps corporations, foundations, and individuals make effective giving decisions.

The Philanthropy Workshop
Offered by the Rockefeller Foundation, in New York, this course is designed to teach wealthy people how to be strategic philanthropists.  The course explores the role of philanthropists in social change, non-profit activity in the United States, international philanthropy, and grant making.  The course meets for a total of four weeks over nine months and costs $10,000 per participant.  The foundation plans to expand the program to also offer shorter regional workshops.