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Not for Profit Organizations

Not for Profit Defined

                                                                         

 

There are many types of Not-for-profit or non-profit organizations, and researching these organizations is different than researching a company.

Perhaps the best known types are the 501(c)(3) nonprofits, which are charities like the    Easter Seals, the Boys & Girls Club and, the Red Cross. These entities are exempt from paying most federal income tax, and donations to them are exempt from tax. There are many varieties of nonprofit organizations beyond 501(c) (3)’s, such as 501(c)(5)’s, which include labor unions, and 501(c)(4)’s, which include social welfare organizations. Each type has its own rules about things like eligibility, lobbying, electioneering and whether donations to them are tax deductible, and each is covered by a different subsection of the 501(c) section of the tax code. See the listing of other major types of non-profits further down on this site.

This guide will help you understand the different types of non-profits, the key jargon and terminologies, and where both inside and outside of the library you can target the names of non-profits you are seeking, locate financial and other operational data, and locate a range of further useful sources for keeping up with the non-profit industry.