LibGuides: Nonprofit Organizations: Home

Reference & Research Help Fall 2023

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Welcome!

This guide was created to support the minor in Nonprofit Organizations. Use the tabs at the left of the page to explore available resources. Some of the resources listed in this guide are subscription databases and may only be accessed by current students, faculty, and staff of Bentley University, or, in some cases, by visitors to the library.

For resources related to grant writing, please refer to the Grant Writing Research Guide.

What is a Nonprofit?

Foundation vs. Charity vs. Nonprofit
A blog post from the Univ. of San Diego explains the differences between foundations, charities, and nonprofits.

Nonprofit Directories

Foundation Center Directory Online - 1 user limit This link opens in a new window
Foundation Directory Online Platinum provides information on grantmakers and their philanthropic activities. The database includes over 108,000 foundations, corporate giving programs, and grantmaking public charities in the U.S., and over 3 million recently awarded grants. Search keys include grantmaker, recipient, grant, and geography. The database is limited to one user at a time. Please contact the Bentley Library Reference Desk at 781.891.2300 or refdesk@bentley.edu for login information.
GuideStar This link opens in a new window
GuideStar provides information on faith-based organizations and IRS-registered nonprofit organizations, including mission, operations, finances, transparency, executives/key employees, board leadership, and governance. Where available, IRS Forms 990 may be viewed and downloaded.

Charity Navigator
From the web site: Charity Navigator helps millions of people take action and support the causes they care about by connecting them to the best charities that align with their passions and values.
CharityWatch
Top rated charities in over 30 categories
Give.org BBB Wise Giving Alliance
Evaluates charities bases on 20 standards addressing 4 themes: Governance, Results Reports, Finances, and Truthful and Transparent Representations.
Chronicle of Philanthropy
From the web site: the premier source of news, information, analysis, and opinion in the rapidly growing nonprofit world. Nearly 350,000 nonprofit professionals, foundation executives, board members, fundraisers, donors, and others working to advance the common good rely on it to stay informed, learn, and broaden their perspective.