NGO research
Look up a US nonprofit or NGO
IRS Form 990 filings via ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer — multi-year financial trends, officer compensation, every figure linked back to the original IRS source. Methodology →
For broader NGO research — state charity registries, foreign-agent (FARA) registration, federal grant recipients, international aid flows — scroll past the search to the Beyond Form 990 section.
Beyond Form 990 — federal NGO research
Federal authoritative sources
Form 990 covers tax-exempt status and finances. These federal sources cover the rest of NGO research: foreign-agent registration (FARA), federal grant recipients (SAM.gov), foreign-aid implementing partners (USAID), and sanctions (OFAC).
IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS)
Open ↗U.S. Internal Revenue Service
Authoritative federal source for U.S. tax-exempt status. Search by name or EIN; returns 501(c) classification, deductibility code, latest Form 990, and revocation history. The closest thing to a definitive 'is this org a real US nonprofit?' tool. Doesn't cover state registration or international NGOs.
IRS Form 990 — Direct Data Downloads
Open ↗U.S. Internal Revenue Service
Bulk Form 990 / 990-EZ / 990-PF / 990-T returns going back ~5 years. The raw upstream data behind ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer. Useful when ProPublica hasn't yet ingested the latest filing.
DOJ Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA)
Open ↗U.S. Department of Justice — National Security Division
Federal registry of agents acting on behalf of foreign principals — governments, political parties, corporations. NGOs lobbying or doing PR work for a foreign principal must register under FARA. Searchable by name, country, and date. Critical when verifying whether an 'independent' NGO is actually a foreign-government proxy.
FARA eFile — Registrants Search
Open ↗U.S. Department of Justice — National Security Division
Searchable FARA registrants database with quarterly disclosures, contracts, and activity reports. Updated continuously as new filings come in.
ForeignAssistance.gov — Foreign Aid Explorer
Open ↗U.S. Department of State + USAID
Federal source of truth for U.S. foreign-aid spending. Search by country, sector, agency, or implementing organization (NGO, contractor, or partner government). Returns funding amounts, project descriptions, and obligation/disbursement timelines. The way to trace 'who got USAID money for X program.'
SAM.gov — System for Award Management
Open ↗U.S. General Services Administration
Federal contractor and grantee registry. Every NGO that takes federal grants or contracts must register here. Search by entity name to see active registrations, exclusions (suspended/debarred entities), and award history (USAspending integration).
USAspending.gov — Recipient Profiles
Open ↗U.S. Department of the Treasury
Searchable database of every recipient of federal grants, contracts, and direct payments. Aggregated annual totals plus drilldown to individual award records. Complementary to SAM.gov (which is the registration system) — USAspending is the award-disbursement record.
DOJ Consumer Protection Branch — Charity Fraud
Open ↗U.S. Department of Justice — Civil Division
Federal prosecution of large-scale charity fraud, including telemarketing fraud and false-claims-act cases involving nonprofits. Reports case summaries; not a per-charity lookup.
OFAC Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) List
Open ↗U.S. Department of the Treasury — Office of Foreign Assets Control
Federal sanctions list. Includes organizations designated as terrorist groups, money-laundering operations, or sanctions evaders. Always cross-check an NGO claiming international work against the SDN list. Companion resource to the Verify module's OFAC tool.
State charity registries
Where charities register state-by-state
~40 states require charities soliciting in-state to register with the AG, Secretary of State, or a consumer-protection agency. Five states have full TruthMark integration cards (coverage notes per resource). For all 50 states + DC, see the full charity-registry directory.
California
New York
Texas
Florida
Rhode Island
Third-party transparency platforms
For deeper history and program effectiveness
Four third-party platforms with different framings. Charity Navigator and GiveWell are explicitly editorial — they rate; TruthMark does not. Candid (formerly GuideStar) is a transparency-data aggregator with paid tiers. ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer is free and is the upstream of TruthMark's own search.
Candid (formerly GuideStar + Foundation Center)
Open ↗Candid (501(c)(3))
The largest U.S. NGO transparency platform. Tracks 990 filings, leadership compensation, program-services metrics, and demographic data on nonprofit staff and beneficiaries. Hosts the Candid Seals of Transparency (Bronze / Silver / Gold / Platinum) self-reported by orgs.
AccessFree basic search. Paid tiers ($$) unlock historical 990s, comparative data, and grants intelligence. Free tier is usually enough for verifying basic facts.
Charity Navigator
Open ↗Charity Navigator (501(c)(3))
Star-rating system for U.S. charities based on financial health, accountability, and impact reporting. Methodology is editorial — different from TruthMark's directory approach — but transparent about what's weighted.
AccessFree. Editorial scoring with published methodology; treat the score as one organization's opinion, not a verdict.
GiveWell
Open ↗GiveWell (501(c)(3))
Effective-altruism research org that publishes deeply researched recommendations for a small list of high-impact charities. Methodology is unusually transparent; analysis is highly opinionated about effectiveness in global-health and poverty interventions.
AccessFree. Editorial recommendations with published research; explicitly an opinionated source, not a directory.
ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer
Open ↗ProPublica (501(c)(3) newsroom)
Free, comprehensive search of every U.S. nonprofit's Form 990 filings. The data behind TruthMark's /nonprofits search. Includes financial trends, officer compensation, and direct PDF links to original 990s.
AccessFree, no account required. Open API available. The closest free equivalent to Candid's paid tiers.
Cross-module suggestions are unavailable right now — refresh to retry, or browse modules directly at /search.
Don't see your state in the integrated list? Browse the full 50-state + DC charity-registry directory →
Data via IRS TEOS, ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, DOJ FARA, ForeignAssistance.gov, SAM.gov, USAspending, and state AG / SOS / consumer-protection agencies. TruthMark does not score nonprofits.
See also: State registries · Methodology · Paper trail playbook · Corporations · Lobbying