Research Tools

Use Guidestar to search for any nonprofit. Guidestar publishes IRS Form 990 for organizations that file this document. Note that nonprofits with annual revenues greater than $25,000 are required to file a 990.

Search the Internal Revenue Service Pub. 78, which lists all registered charities. Note that this is an up-to-date listing, but that no details about financial history are available.

Browse the Napa Valley Coalition of Nonprofit Agencies website. NVCNA is the membership group of many health and human services organizations in Napa County.

Browse NapaHelp, a database of some of the health and human services nonprofits in Napa Valley. You can see here how these organizations describe their services to clients seeking help.

Search Charity Navigator, an independent site that evaluates the effectiveness of nonprofits with annual revenues greater than $25,000. Note that Charity Navigator evaluations are primarily based upon 990 filings; and the site doesn’t evaluate certain types of nonprofits, including hospitals, universities, PBS stations, land trusts and community foundations.

Search BBB Wise Giving Alliance, which also evaluates charities based upon their own standards. BBB offers a giving guide on this site, as well. Note that BBB only evaluates nonprofits that solicit donations nationally. Sometimes local or regional Better Business Bureaus maintain their own evaluations of local charitable organizations.

Read the Chronicle of Philanthropy to stay abreast of the philanthropic sector.

Read the local papers, which, from time to time, publish stories about nonprofits and charitable projects in Napa County.

Take a look at nonprofits’ websites. You can often get an overview of programs, and some offer more in-depth information on their operations.