Frequently Asked Questions

Help for New GuideStar Users

  1. Who is PRI and what is their relationship to GuideStar?
  2. Where did the name GuideStar come from?
  3. Where do you get your data?
  4. How does GuideStar support its operations?
  5. What are GuideStar Reports?
  6. How do I navigate GuideStar?
  7. What can I find on GuideStar for free?
  8. Why does GuideStar make this information available for free?
  9. What's the difference between GuideStar Basic, Select, and Premium?
  10. How do I register?
  11. How do I log in?
  12. What organizations are included in the GuideStar database?
  13. How do I find an organization in the database?
  14. Why isn't my local house of worship listed?
  15. Why can't I find a particular organization on GuideStar?
  16. If an organization is listed on GuideStar, does it have some sort of seal of approval?
  17. Why don't all organizations have financial information?
  18. Can I donate to my favorite charity through GuideStar?
  19. My organization participates in the GuideStar Membership Program. Does that affect my access to GuideStar?
  20. How do I stop my product subscription from auto renewing?
  21. I manage my company's multi-seat subscriptions to GuideStar's products and services. How do I give my coworkers access to those subscriptions?
  22. Where can I find a copy of my product receipt?

Answers:

1. Who is PRI and what is their relationship to GuideStar?

Philanthropic Research, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) public charity founded in 1994. PRI's mission is to revolutionize philanthropy and nonprofit practice by providing information that advances transparency, enables users to make better decisions, and encourages charitable giving. PRI does business under the name "GuideStar" and operates the GuideStar Web site to deliver nonprofit information.

2. Where did the name GuideStar come from?

The name GuideStar was taken from modern telescope technology and refers to the role we strive to play in the nonprofit sector. A telescope in orbit stores the positions of guide stars in its database in order to calculate its own position. The GuideStar Web site and database serve that purpose in the vast nonprofit universe.

Before GuideStar was founded, information on for-profit companies was readily available, but conducting research on nonprofit organizations was difficult, time-consuming, and sometimes costly for the researcher as well as the nonprofits. GuideStar was created to support charitable entities through the free flow of information in a public forum, to enable supporters and nonprofit managers to research and benchmark organizations' missions, programs, and performance.

3. Where do you get your data?

Financial information comes from the IRS Business Master File of exempt organizations and IRS Forms 990, 990-EZ, and 990-PF. Other information, such as an organization's programs, accomplishments, and goals, are obtained directly from the organization or from the organization's Form 990 or 990-EZ.

4. How does GuideStar support its operations?

GuideStar is a 501(c)(3) public charity supported by grants and gifts from our users. The following foundations currently provide support for GuideStar’s operations: Ford Foundation, Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, W. K. Kellogg Foundation, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Charles S. Mott Foundation, David and Lucile Packard Foundation, The Skoll Foundation, and Surdna Foundation. For information on contributing to GuideStar, please visit our Support GuideStar page.

5. What are GuideStar Reports?

GuideStar Reports are Web pages displaying information on a single nonprofit organization. The amount of information available on these mini-Web sites depends on each organization's participation level. The most active nonprofits provide information for their GuideStar Reports, upload documents, and post classified ads and news releases. GuideStar Reports are found by searching the database and selecting one of the organizations on the search results page.

6. How do I navigate GuideStar?

Start at the home page to log in. Click My GuideStar for quick access to your customized tools and services, or search for a nonprofit by typing a keyword or phrase into the GuideStar It! box. Near the top and right side of each page you'll find navigation links to major content areas and their subsections. Note the drop-down box near our logo that displays your personalized subscriptions after you've logged in. You'll also find links at the bottom and top of each screen for easy access to the home page, information about GuideStar, a site map, glossary, and help sections. Want more than a simple keyword search box? You can use any combination of the criteria available in Advanced Search. The search results page displays links to organizations' reports in the database.

7. What can I find on GuideStar for free?

You can search the database and view basic information about an organization, including Form 990 images and other public documents when available. A simple, no-cost registration gives you access to this information. There is no fee to register, but we do ask you to agree to a site license agreement. We protect our customers' privacy. Nonprofits can register and update their GuideStar Reports at no cost. You can also learn about GuideStar's fee-based products and services.

8. Why does GuideStar make this information available for free?

GuideStar's mission is to improve philanthropy and nonprofit practice with information. Making nonprofit data available to more than 5 million users a year plays a large part of fulfilling that mission. Thanks to the generosity of a number of foundations, we are able to offer a substantial amount of this information at no charge to users.

9. What's the difference between GuideStar Basic, Select, and Premium?

People use GuideStar in different ways. GuideStar Basic is for users who need only a simple search and are using GuideStar primarily to obtain fundamental information about a nonprofit, such as its address and whether contributions to it are tax deductible. Thanks to the generosity of several major foundations, we are able to offer GuideStar Basic at no charge to users.

GuideStar Select and GuideStar Premium are for users who rely on GuideStar data in their work. GuideStar Select provides additional search options, twice the number of organizations in the search results as GuideStar Basic, ways to manage and refine search results, and additional information in the GuideStar Reports.

GuideStar Premium is our highest level of service. In addition to all of the features of GuideStar Basic and GuideStar Select, GuideStar Premium offers subscribers more search fields, the maximum amount of information available in search results and GuideStar Reports, and two important features available only to GuideStar Premium subscribers: People Search and Organization Download.

Learn more

10. How do I register?

Use this link to go to the Registration form and enter your information. There's no charge to register and search the GuideStar database for basic information As part of the registration process, you'll be asked to agree to a User Agreement. You'll also have an opportunity to upgrade to GuideStar Select or GuideStar Premium to get the search, sort, and retrieval tools that are best for you.

11. How do I log in?

Enter the e-mail address and password that you provided when you registered to use GuideStar.

12. What organizations are included in the GuideStar database?

GuideStar's database includes information on all tax-exempt nonprofits registered with the IRS. Currently, there are more than 1.7 million organizations in the database including information on more than 900,000 public charities, approximately 118,000 private foundations, and nearly half a million other exempt organizations.

13. How do I find an organization in the database?

GuideStar's search engine allows you to search by keyword or using our advanced search. The number of fields available in the advanced search is determined by whether you are a GuideStar Basic, GuideStar Select, or GuideStar Premium user.

Learn more

14. Why isn't my local house of worship listed?

Churches, temples, mosques, and other faith-based organizations are not required to file with the IRS for tax-exempt status. Although only a fraction of American houses of worship have applied for formal IRS tax-exempt status, more than 170,000 faith-based organizations are listed on GuideStar. The majority have posted their information after providing proof of their tax-exempt status to GuideStar.

15. Why can't I find a particular organization on GuideStar?

There are several reasons an organization may not appear on GuideStar:
  1. It is not registered with the IRS as an exempt organization.
  2. It is registered with the IRS under a different name. This name may not be the more commonly used name. For instance, GuideStar is registered under the name Philanthropic Research, Inc. Try putting the more common name in the keyword field rather than the name filed.
  3. It is considered a religious entity and is not required to file with the IRS for tax-exempt status.
  4. It is a program for a larger organization and does not have its own listing.
  5. It is no longer recognized as an exempt organization, having lost its exemption or gone out of business.
  6. It is a new organization whose listing has not been entered in the database yet.
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16. If an organization is listed on GuideStar, does it have some sort of seal of approval?

No. GuideStar does not judge nonprofits; it is not a watchdog organization. GuideStar's goal is to help donors make their own judgments, based on the information provided at www.guidestar.org.

Nonprofits listed in the GuideStar Exchange receive a GuideStar Exchange seal on their report pages because they agree to provide the public more information about who they are and what they do. In addition to the seal, these nonprofits can upload photos, video, their logo, testimonials, news releases, and contact information and more, to tell their organization's story to potential donors.

Learn more about the GuideStar Exchange >

17. Why don't all organizations have financial information?

Financial pages are available only for organizations that file an IRS Form 990 or 990-EZ. Many exempt organizations do not file a 990. For example, only about one-third of the nation's 900,000-plus public charities file. The remaining charities are not required to file either because (a) they have incomes of $25,000 or less or (b) they are faith-based organizations and are therefore exempt from filing. Note: financial pages are viewable only by GuideStar Premium subscribers.

18. Can I donate to my favorite charity through GuideStar?

Yes. Just click on the Donate Now button that appears beside the charity's name in the search results or at the top of its GuideStar report. All 501(c)(3) public charities recognized by and in good standing with the IRS automatically have a Donate Now button, unless they have opted out of receiving on-line donations.

Donations to GuideStar itself can be made directly from our site. Thank you for your support!

19. My organization participates in the GuideStar Membership Program. Does that affect my access to GuideStar?

All participants in the GuideStar Membership Program receive complimentary access to GuideStar Premium.

20. How do I stop my product subscription from auto renewing?

Login and click on My GuideStar in the upper right hand navigation. From your My GuideStar page click on Manage My Subscriptions. You will see a button that says Stop Renewal next to the product you're subscribed to. Click on this button to stop the auto renewal of your subscription.

21. I manage my company's multi-seat subscriptions to GuideStar's products and services. How do I give my coworkers access to those subscriptions?

Log in and click on My GuideStar in the upper right-hand navigation. From your My GuideStar page, select Manage my subscriptions. Click on the Assign User button and enter the e-mail address for each person who should have access to the product. (Each user needs to be registered with GuideStar under his/her own e-mail address; multiple users can no longer use the same e-mail to log in.) Note that your colleagues may have to log in again to access a subscription for the first time.

22. Where can I find a copy of my product receipt?

Log in, then click My GuideStar near the top of the page. Click Order History, then click the name of the product that you ordered. Your receipt is printable from this page.