March 28, 2007
Looking for IRS 990s (Nonprofit annual reports to the IRS)
If you are looking for a nonprofit's IRS 990 forms, there are a few places to look.
If you are at the U of Michigan, you can Guidestar Library Edition:
Guidestar (this has 990s back to 1997 when available). NOTE: if you are not affiliated with the Business School, please use the link in Searchtools.
If you are not at the U of Michigan, here are some other possibilities:
1. Look at the organization's Website. They will often have annual reports and many have the IRS 990s documents.
2. Grantsmart has a large number of 990s that you can view.
3. The Foundation Center also has many 990s.
For information on what you will find in these documents, the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New has a great resource on how to read these filings.
This entry was posted in the following categories: Free Internet Resources , Government Resources , Library Internet Resources (via Univ. Libraries or Kresge Library)Posted by cseeman at 07:16 AM | Comments (0)
March 09, 2007
NextBillion.net (Development Through Enterprise)
Site: NextBillion.net
NextBillion.net brings together the community of business leaders, social entrepreneurs, NGOs, policy makers, and academics who want to explore the connection between development and enterprise. Many of the resources here explore the economy at the Bottom of the Pyramid (BOP). This is sponsored by the World Resources Institute (WRI).
This is a great resource with links to many news articles, reports, and other documents on the web. Additionally, the site includes case studies looking at development issues, full-text reports and book reviews, and conference resources. Appears to be a great resource for exploring issues relating to NGOs in developing countries.
This entry was posted in the following categories: Free Internet Resources , Microcredit & Microfinance , NGO (Non-Governmental Organizations) , SustainabilityPosted by cseeman at 06:25 AM | Comments (0)
February 26, 2007
BBB Wise Giving Alliance (Give.org)
BBB (Better Business Bureau) Wise Giving Alliance (Give.org)
This site has numerous resources that provide information on larger nonprofit organizations in the United States.
National Charity Reports Index provide brief reports for leading nonprofits. Useful information includes financial reports as well as the percentage of the funds spent on programs vs. fund raising & administrative. The guidelines for their reports are found in clear documents on the standards employed in reviewing nonprofits.
Also include News Alerts for issues concerning nonprofits.
This entry was posted in the following categories: Free Internet ResourcesPosted by cseeman at 01:04 PM | Comments (0)
February 23, 2007
Blogs and Wikis Related to Nonprofit Management (from Michele Martin)
Blogs and Wikis Related to Nonprofit Management (from Michele Martin)
Great resource for finding blogs and wikis related to nonprofit issue in the United Kingdom and the United States. The term social media refers to tools that people use to publish, converse and share content online including blogs, wikis, podcasts, and resource sharing sites. The full URL is: http://socialmedia.wikispaces.com/Blogs+on+social+media
This was sent by Michele Martin, whose Bamboo Project Blog includes a great deal of information on technology and community building for nonprofits and links to other nonprofit blogs. Thanks Michele.
This entry was posted in the following categories: Free Internet ResourcesPosted by cseeman at 07:15 AM | Comments (0)
February 20, 2007
Nonprofit Resource Pages at other Business Libraries
These are some links to nonprofit resource pages that are hosted at other business libraries. Many of the links to print resources would not be applicable, but some of the descriptions could be useful for seeing what we should be buying and what we should be directly linking to.
Please remember that links to online resources from other library sites will force people through their proxy and would not work for Michigan students, faculty and staff.
Jackson Library Research Guides: Nonprofits (Stanford Graduate School of Business)
Columbia University's Business and Economics Library Guide to Nonprofit Organizations
More to follow.
Posted by cseeman at 08:36 AM | Comments (0)
February 03, 2007
Michigan Nonprofit Association
Michiagn Nonprofit Association (MNA)
Mission Statement of the MNA: "The Michigan Nonprofit Association enhances the effectiveness of the Michigan nonprofit sector in serving society.
While primarily an advocacy group, this organization hosts an excellent website that will be of interested to people studying non-profits. Components of the site that are excellent include:
Non Profit FAQ (with information on setting up non-profit organizations); Resources pulled from all over the web on management of non-profits including: finding information about organizations; Regulations; Organizational Effectiveness, and many others.
Also of note is research associated with the Michigan Nonprofit Research Program, including some great online publications
This entry was posted in the following categories: Free Internet Resources , Government Resources , OrganizationsPosted by cseeman at 10:09 PM | Comments (0)
November 21, 2006
RISE: The Research Initiative on Social Entrepreneurship
SITE: RISE: The Research Initiative on Social Entrepreneurship
URL: http://www.riseproject.org/
DESCRIPTION: The Research Initiative on Social Entrepreneurship (RISE) is a research project at Columbia Business School whose mission is to study and disseminate knowledge about the markets, metrics and management of for-profit and nonprofit social enterprise and social venturing.
Among the resources on this site that are valuable:
- RISE Social Entrepreneur CEO Directory (Use this searchable database to find contact, mission and biographical information for over 200 for-profit CEOs and managers surveyed in the RISE / Investors’ Circle / Social Venture Network For-Profit Social Entrepreneur Report.
- RISE Reports and Case Studies (falling under three themes: markets, metrics and management).
- RISE Double Bottom Line Investor Directory (includes information about institutional investors that invest through equity vehicles in for profit ventures with the aim of achieving social or environmental impacts.) This entry was posted in the following categories: Free Internet Resources
Posted by cseeman at 08:24 AM | Comments (0)
October 15, 2006
ACCION International
SITE: ACCION International
URL: http://www.accion.org
DESCRIPTION: Excellent resource for looking at microfinance. This organization (see below) has many resources on their site including free and modestly priced publications, speeches and articles; annual reports, and a great deal of other information.
From their site: ACCION International is a private, nonprofit organization with the mission of giving people the financial tools they need – microenterprise loans, business training, and other financial services – to work their way out of poverty.
"The mission of ACCION International is to give people the tools they need to work their way out of poverty. By providing "micro" loans and business training to poor women and men who start their own businesses, ACCION's partner lending organizations help people work their own way up the economic ladder, with dignity and pride. With capital, people can grow their own businesses. They can earn enough to afford basics like running water, better food and schooling for their children.
This entry was posted in the following categories: Free Internet Resources , Microcredit & Microfinance , NGO (Non-Governmental Organizations) , OrganizationsPosted by cseeman at 09:38 PM | Comments (0)
October 13, 2006
National Council of Nonprofit Associations (NCNA)
SITE: National Council of Nonprofit Associations (NCNA)
URL: http://www.ncna.org/
DESCRIPTION: Excellent resource with a fair amount of freely available content (including reports, lists of nonprofits and nonprofit resources.
From their site: "The National Council of Nonprofit Associations (NCNA) is the network of state and regional nonprofit associations serving over 22,000 members in 45 states and the District of Columbia. NCNA links local organizations to a national audience through state associations and helps small and midsize nonprofits: manage and lead more effectively; collaborate and exchange solutions; engage in critical policy issues affecting the sector; and achieve greater impact in their communities."
This entry was posted in the following categories: Free Internet Resources , OrganizationsPosted by cseeman at 06:35 PM | Comments (0)
Grameen Bank
SITE: Grameen Bank
URL: http://www.grameen-info.org/
DESCRIPTION: Along with its founder, Professor Muhammad Yunus, Garmeen Bank was the recipient of the 2006 Nobel Peace Prize.
The site has a great deal of information on Microcredit (providing loans without collateral to poor and unemployed people) and breaking the cycle of poverty in developing nations. Included are articles, documents, statistics and reports on the bank and its activities in Bangladesh.
About the Bank (from their site): Grameen Bank (GB) has reversed conventional banking practice by removing the need for collateral and created a banking system based on mutual trust, accountability, participation and creativity. GB provides credit to the poorest of the poor in rural Bangladesh, without any collateral. At GB, credit is a cost effective weapon to fight poverty and it serves as a catalyst in the over all development of socio-economic conditions of the poor who have been kept outside the banking orbit on the ground that they are poor and hence not bankable. Professor Muhammad Yunus, the founder of "Grameen Bank" and its Managing Director, reasoned that if financial resources can be made available to the poor people on terms and conditions that are appropriate and reasonable, "these millions of small people with their millions of small pursuits can add up to create the biggest development wonder."
This entry was posted in the following categories: Free Internet Resources , Microcredit & Microfinance , NGO (Non-Governmental Organizations) , OrganizationsPosted by cseeman at 03:20 PM | Comments (0)
NPR Series: Africa's Lagging Development
National Public Radio (NPR) does a great job of hosting all their stories. Many of their series are exceptional and showcase issues going on in the world that pertain to development and organizations seeking to improve life in less well off countries.
This 2006 series from NPR entitled Africa's Lagging Development includes stories that explore some of the fundamental issues that prevent development from gaining ground in Africa. These include poverty, war, famine, food issues and other problems that are explored by many nonprofits working in Africa.
You can also see this series titled: Africa: Portraits of Poverty
This entry was posted in the following categories: Free Internet ResourcesPosted by cseeman at 01:30 PM | Comments (0)
October 01, 2006
International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF)
SITE: International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF)
URL: http://www.iblf.org/
DESCRIPTION: From their site - The IBLF's purpose is to promote " responsible business leadership and partnerships for sustainable international development."
"In a globalised economy, social issues are business issues. And in today’s world, poverty, inequality and environmental degradation cannot be tackled without the full participation of business."
"It is in this context that the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF) works with business, governments, international agencies and other stakeholders to create new partnerships that help both business and communities to flourish."
"IBLF is independent of national and commercial interests. It has a track record of anticipating social and reputational issues, and of challenging perceptions within companies, campaigning organisations and development agencies."
The site has many valuable elements that are worth looking at:
--Current Programs and Activities that they are involved with including the Tourism Partnership.
--Resources, including publications, case studies, EBulletin (newsletter) & fact sheets.
If you are at the Ross School of Business and would like to request the purchase of one of these publications, visit this link to suggest it.
Posted by cseeman at 07:02 PM | Comments (0)
September 30, 2006
ConsultantCommons
SITE: ConsultantCommons
URL: http://www.consultantcommons.org/
DESCRIPTION: From the site: "ConsultantCommons provides an online collaboration space and community for non-profit technical assistance providers to collaboratively build and share knowledge. The goal of ConsultantCommons.org is to provide a resource for nonprofit technology assistance providers to share and develop consulting tools and resources. The system is designed so that consultants can find, contribute and collaborate on tools and information they use to maintain a consultancy and provide services to nonprofits."
Also from the site:
"The key features of this systems:
-The system is highly collaborative (a near wiki environment where consultants can directly edit content and content structure on the site toward building and refining tools)
-Open source, open content: Built with open source software, and applying a creative commons license to govern the content.
-Community owned: While Compumentor is powering the site and providing community management support, it is hosted at a non-profit and environmentally friendly ISP; and we intend to work toward establishing some sort of community governance structure in the near future."
Posted by cseeman at 08:06 PM | Comments (0)
September 24, 2006
CPANDA (Cultural Policy & the Arts National Data Archive)
SITE: CPANDA (Cultural Policy & the Arts National Data Archive)
URL: http://www.cpanda.org/
DESCRIPTION: From their site:
"CPANDA, the Cultural Policy & the Arts National Data Archive, is the world's first interactive digital archive of policy-relevant data on the arts and cultural policy in the United States. A collaborative effort of Princeton University's Firestone Library and the Princeton Center for Arts and Cultural Policy Studies, CPANDA is funded by The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Great source for researching cultural organizations in the United States and Canada. Of primary note are the following resources on the site:
National, state and local data sets focusing on marketing and population studies for numerous nonprofit cultural organizations (dating primarily through 2002).
Quick Facts including data and links to publicly available reports on the arts.
Resources (Guides to available research data on arts and cultural policy issues, in the areas of artists, audiences, arts and cultural organizations, and support for the arts).
Nonprofit Arts and Cultural Policy Organizations (includes links to many organization that support and fund the arts as well as general sites useful for studying nonprofits).
Posted by cseeman at 12:41 PM | Comments (0)
September 22, 2006
Nonprofit Finance Fund
SITE: Nonprofit Finance Fund
URL: http://www.nonprofitfinancefund.org
DESCRIPTION: From their site: "For 25 years Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) has helped nonprofits match their passion
and dedication with financial strength and sustainability. We provide impartial analysis and flexible, frequently unsecured, financing that nonprofits typically can't get from other sources. Nationwide,
NFF works with over 170 funders including financial institutions, foundations and government agencies to develop new ways of meeting the capital growth needs of the nonprofit sector."
Website is useful for not only information about the Fund and its operations in various cities including Detroit and Chicago, but also for the following:
Articles by President CEO Clara Miller
Online Reports (on education and arts funding). These reports include information on museums and the performing arts.
Documents for organizations working on facility projects or moving
Posted by cseeman at 06:00 AM | Comments (0)
September 11, 2006
The NGO Café
SITE: The NGO Café
URL: http://www.gdrc.org/ngo/
DESCRIPTION: The NGO Café provides a means for sharing information and resources for NGOs to succeed. It is a project of the Global Development Research Center (GDRC).
From their site:
"Realizing the growing importance and voice of NGOs in development in general, the NGO Café was set up on the internet as a think tank for NGOs to discuss, debate and disseminate information on their work, strategies and results.
"The basic objectives of the Café are to assist NGOs in enhancing and improving their programmes and activities; to effect a better understanding of NGOs in general; and to enable NGOs to network at local, regional and international levels.
The site has the following sections:
NGO Pigeon Holes (Definitions and other descriptions of NGOs and related organizations)
Kickstart an NGO
Strategies, tools, evaluations and other resources for an NGO.
NGO Wise Words
Documents and NGO information related to UN conferences, summits and other events.
NGO Bungee Jumps
Links to various NGO indices and resources on the internet.
NGO Flash!
Events, news and press items on NGOs and related affairs.
NGO Databases and Directories
Of the many queries that the NGO Cafe regularly receives, one of the most frequent is requests for contact information of NGOs in a particular country or region. This is a meta-directory of such NGO databases and directories in different regions of the world.
Posted by cseeman at 11:57 AM | Comments (0)
Non-governmental Organizations Research Guide (Duke University Libraries)
SITE: Non-governmental Organizations Research Guide (Duke University Libraries)
URL: http://docs.lib.duke.edu/igo/guides/ngo/
DESCRIPTION: From Duke University Libraries, this guide provided excellent information and online resources for studying Non-governmental Organizations. Included are valuable features including a 'Full' List of NGOs ; lists of NGOs broken down by issues they seek to resolve, geography of their activity, affiliation; sources with strong statistical data on NGOs; and other information.
An excellent resource that all students and faculty will find useful.
This entry was posted in the following categories: Free Internet Resources , NGO (Non-Governmental Organizations)Posted by cseeman at 11:35 AM | Comments (0)
September 10, 2006
NGO Global Network
SITE: NGO Global Network
URL: http://www.ngo.org/
DESCRIPTION: NGO Global Network contains a great deal and information relating to NGO (Non-Governmental Organizations) across the globe. One of the best features is the links page that includes an alphabetical listing as well as numerous subject listings
Children & Youth; Disaster Relief; Environment; and Sustainable Development just to list a few.
This site belongs to the NGO community in conjunction with EXECOM - The Executive Committee of Non-Governmental Organizations Associated with The United Nations Department of Public Information.
This entry was posted in the following categories: Free Internet ResourcesPosted by cseeman at 02:21 PM | Comments (0)
September 01, 2006
National Center for Charitable Statistics
SITE: National Center for Charitable Statistics
URL: http://nccsdataweb.urban.org/FAQ/index.php?category=31
DESCRIPTION: The National Center for Charitable Statistics is the national clearinghouse of data on the nonprofit sector in the United States. NCCS is a program of the Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy (CNP) at the Urban Institute.
The National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) is the national repository of data on the nonprofit sector in the United States. Its mission is to develop and disseminate high quality data on nonprofit organizations and their activities for use in research on the relationships between the nonprofit sector, government, the commercial sector, and the broader civil society.
Working closely with the IRS and other government agencies, private sector service organizations, and the scholarly community, NCCS builds compatible national, state, and regional databases and develops uniform standards for reporting on the activities of charitable organizations.
The site also has information on the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE). The NTEE "offers a definitive classification system for nonprofit organizations recognized as tax exempt under the Internal Revenue Code. These charitable organizations are exempt from federal taxes because of their religious, educational, scientific, and public purposes. The broad range of their activities includes health, human services, arts and culture, education, research, and advocacy. The use of NTEE is key to illuminating the diversity of the nonprofit sector."
This entry was posted in the following categories: Free Internet ResourcesPosted by cseeman at 10:05 AM | Comments (0)
August 09, 2006
Idealist (Action Without Borders)
SITE: Idealist (Action Without Borders)
URL: http://www.idealist.org
DESCRIPTION: Great site that pulls together news and resources (especially career searching) for non-profits.
Valuable sections to the site include:
Tools for Non Profits (Information on starting a non-profit, news sites, FAQ, support organizations, etc.)
Articles and Features (on a wide variety of subjects related to nonprofits).
Extensive database of nonprofits
This entry was posted in the following categories: Free Internet ResourcesPosted by cseeman at 01:34 PM | Comments (0)
Tax Information for Charities & Other Non-Profits (From the IRS)
SITE: Tax Information for Charities & Other Non-Profits (From the IRS)
URL: http://www.irs.gov/charities/index.html
DESCRIPTION: Great source of information on charities and other non-profits. Includes specific information on charitable organizations, churches and religious organizations, contributors, other nonprofits, political organizations and private foundations.
The site also has this valuable page called the Life Cycle of a Public Charity. This provides all the steps (with links) to the steps that one should take including: organizing, filing with the IRS, ongoing compliance, annual events and significant events.
This entry was posted in the following categories: Free Internet Resources , Government ResourcesPosted by cseeman at 09:02 AM | Comments (0)
August 07, 2006
Nonprofit Online News (Gilbert.org)
Nonprofit Online News (Gilbert.org)
This resource has a great deal of news and information on reports that have an impact on the nonprofit community. It is provided by the Gilbert Center:
(From their site): The Gilbert Center is an incubator, research institute, consulting firm, and publishing house working to support and empower the people and organizations who are changing the world for the better. The expertise of the founder, Michael Gilbert, and company lie primarily in the area of communication, whether for internal organizational health and renewal, for successful outreach to members, funders or the public, or for the dramatic opportunities presented by online communication.
This entry was posted in the following categories: Free Internet ResourcesPosted by cseeman at 07:31 AM | Comments (0)
August 03, 2006
NEW (Nonprofit Enterprise at Work)
SITE: NEW (Nonprofit Enterprise at Work)
URL: http://www.new.org/
DESCRPITION: NEW (Nonprofit Enterprise at Work) is a nonprofit organization located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, that provides a variety of support services and resources to nonprofits in Washtenaw County and southeast Michigan. NEW gratefully acknowledges its community partners.
Posted by cseeman at 08:52 PM | Comments (0)
