Guides

How to read what a charity reports, in plain English.

• Before you give on GivingTuesday: a five-minute Form 990 check
  Five things to look at in a charity's own IRS filing before you donate, and where to find each one.
• How to read a charity's Form 990 in ten minutes
  A plain-English map of the IRS form most charities file each year: which parts matter to a donor and why.
• Program expense ratio: what it tells you and what it doesn't
  The share of spending that goes to programs is the most quoted charity number. Here's how it's computed and where it misleads.
• Charity executive pay: what Form 990 shows
  How compensation is reported on Part VII, what 'related organizations' and 'other compensation' mean, and the largest figures reported by the charities that raise the most.
• What it costs charities to raise a dollar
  Fundraising expenses divided by contributions, from Form 990: how to compute it, typical values, and why professional fundraisers show up separately.
• Contributions, program revenue and government grants: where charity money comes from
  How to read Part VIII of Form 990, and why some charities run on donations while others run on fees and contracts.
• Net assets and reserves: reading a charity's balance sheet
  What net assets with and without donor restrictions mean on Form 990, Part X, and how to read 'months of expenses'.
• Why donor-advised fund sponsors top the list of charities by contributions
  Fidelity Charitable, Schwab Charitable and community foundations report billions in contributions. Here's what a donor-advised fund sponsor is and how to read its 990.
• Hospitals and universities on Form 990: why their numbers look different
  Patient revenue, tuition, related-organization pay and very large balance sheets: how to read the 990s of the biggest nonprofits.
• The governance questions on Form 990, explained
  What each yes/no answer in Part VI and Part IV means: independent board members, conflict-of-interest and whistleblower policies, executive pay review and more.
• How to check that a charity is registered, and what that does and doesn't mean
  Using the EIN, the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search and state charity registries to confirm who you're giving to.
• The 100 charities that raised the most, from their latest Form 990
  The US public charities that reported the most donations (contributions excluding government grants) on their latest IRS Form 990, with where $100 of spending went at each.
• For charities: how your Form 990 reads to donors, and how to respond
  If your organization is on this site: where the numbers come from, how to fix a mistake, how to publish a response, and which parts of the 990 donors read first.