The National Center for Charitable Statistics started a wiki on their site to start a conversation about the future direction of the IRS 990 forms. Included on this wiki is just about everything you need to know about the 990 form and the means for a discussion about how it could change and improve. Not only does this include differences in the way that data should be tracked, but also "missed opportunities" for resources that are not tracked at all.
Should be useful for people looking to document nonprofit organizations in the United States.
]]>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.
]]>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.
]]>OneSource (resource for Ross Community Only)
The OneSource Database has information, articles and news stories on over 23,000 nonprofit organizations in the United States. You can search for them by name and then view all the associated resources. This includes both parent organizations and regional or local subsidiaries. This should be used to supplement what you can find in databases such as Guidestar (Ross Link) and the Foundation Center (UM Libraries Link).
]]>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.
]]>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.
]]>Ross Students, Faculty and Staff: http://www.bus.umich.edu/KresgePublic/Mentor/Login.asp?http://0-puck.worldbank.catchword.org.lib.bus.umich.edu
Alternative On-Campus URL: http://puck.worldbank.catchword.org
World Bank e-Library provides a searchable and browsable collection of over 4,000 World Bank documents including over 1,600 World Bank publications, over 2,400 Policy Research Working Papers, and the journal, the World Bank Economic Review. You can also browse the e-Library by the following geographic regions: Africa, East Asia, Eastern Europe and Central Asia, Latin America, and Middle East - North Africa (and then by subject under each category).
NOTE: This is a great resource for people looking at non-profits and NGOs in the developing world.
]]>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.
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
]]>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:
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.
]]>From their site: "The MicroBanking Bulletin (MBB) is the premier benchmarking source for the microfinance industry. Its benchmarks are widely used by investors, donors and other service providers to facilitate greater standardization and a better understanding of the development of the microfinance sector. Originally an output of the MicroBanking Standards Project, the MBB is one of the principal products offered by the MIX (Microfinance Information eXchange).
The MIX is a not-for-profit private organization that supports the growth of a healthy microfinance sector through increasing standardization and facilitating information exchange. The MIX is supported by CGAP, Citigroup Foundation, Deutsche Bank Americas Foundation, Open Society Institute, Rockdale Foundation and others."
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."
]]>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 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
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