GuideStar: A Brief History

September 6, 1994		Philanthropic Research, Inc. (a.k.a. GuideStar) opened its doors with a staff of five: founder Buzz Schmidt and four employees
July 1996		GuideStar Directory of American Charities published Full reports on 35,000 public charities Partial reports on 7,000 other charities
October 1996		Received 501(c)(3) public charity status www.guidestar.org launched Information on more than 40,000 public charities Reports included data on revenue and expenses and a balance sheet
1998		GuideStar database expanded All 501(c)(3) public charities in the IRS Business Master charities File included Digitized Form 990 data added to charities' reports
January 1998		Received an award for Nonprofit Web Site Excellence from Philanthropy Journal Online
October 18, 1999		Posting of PDFs of Forms 990 and 990-EZ for more than 200,000 public charities announced on the front page of the New York Times Business section
March 2000		PDFs of private foundations' Forms 990-PF posted
June 2001		First annual GuideStar Nonprofit Compensation Report published Based on IRS returns of nearly 75,000 public charities 14 job categories Nine income categories More than 400 program categories More than 260 metropolitan statistical areas
September 2001		Expanded database to include all 501(c) tax-exempt organizations eligible to accept tax-deductible contributions Added special 9/11 funds and programs Provided data to New York State Attorney General's Office for WTC Relief Info site
November 2001		GuideStar Charity Check launched Direct link from charity's GuideStar Report to its IRS Publication 78 record Faster, more efficient due diligence for grantmakers
February 2002		Former PBS chief operating officer Robert G. Ottenhoff named second GuideStar president
October 2003		Received Department of Commerce TOP grant Funded substantial portion of costs of building NASCONet for the National Association of State Charity Officials (NASCO) Enabled state regulators to share information
2004		Won the InfoCommerce Model of Excellence Award for distinction in database information publishing
June 2004		California Attorney General's Office joined forces with GuideStar to develop upgraded Charities Search powered by customized version of GuideStar database and search engine
September 2004		Celebrated 10 years of revolutionizing philanthropy with information More than 1 million charitable organizations in the database 20,000 users a day More than 1.5 million digitized Forms 990 85,000 nonprofits added information beyond their financial data 44 employees
November 2004		GuideStar Membership Program created to offer foundations and corporations the opportunity to fund GuideStar's efforts to revolutionize philanthropy and nonprofit practice with information
March 2005		GuideStar cited as resource for nonprofit information in the Interim Report of the Panel on the Nonprofit Sector delivered to the Senate Finance Committee
June 2005		New Web site launched Database expanded by 340,000 nonprofits to include all tax-exempt organizations registered with the IRS GuideStar Premium, advanced service for professional users, launched
November 2006		New, more powerful search engine launched, making it even easier for users to find the data needed to make informed decisions
December 2007		On-line donation capabilities launched in partnership with Network for Good
March 2009		Ability to read and write nonprofit reviews added to revamped Web site courtesy partnership with GreatNonprofits
January 2010		Five new features added to GuideStar Premium, GuideStar's flagship product
April 2010		TakeAction@GuideStar launched, giving donors a new way to find nonprofits on GuideStar and additional information on them, including expert reviews and analyses
March 2011		Announced plans to acquire innovative social-impact organizations Philanthropedia and Social Actions
May 2011		Charting Impact launched in partnership with BBB Wise Giving Alliance and Independent Sector, providing a standard framework for nonprofits to inform stakeholder about objectives, progress benchmarks, and impact
September 2011		2011 GuideStar Directory of Nonprofit Contractors published Only report of its kind Lists 13,000 businesses that provided services to 14,000-plus nonprofits, the nonprofits that purchased the services, and what the organizations paid for those services
April 2012		Membership Program expanded to reach out to new audiences, provide additional privileges, and offer tiered pricing structures
April 2012		Financial SCAN launched in partnership with Nonprofit Finance Fund, creating the first online platform to provide a comprehensive picture of a nonprofit's financial health
October 2012		Hewlett Foundation program officer Jacob Harold takes over as third president of GuideStar