How to Access Guidestar to examine IRS Form 990 filings by nonprofits throughout the United States

  1. Go to http://www.guidestar.org
  2. On the right hand side, click on "advanced search ".
  3. Type in a keyword to find all nonprofits matching that criteria; OR type in the name, city, and state of a specific nonprofit or just the city and state to find all nonprofits in that locality.
  4. Click on "search" ; you will find a list of all nonprofits. Click on the one(s) you wish to research.
  5. A log- in page will appear.  Create an account by typing in your email address, choosing a password, and providing some background information.  There is no cost to signing up for the basic service, which gives you access to IRS Form 990 filings.  Guidestar will not contact you unless you check the boxes asking to be places on their mailing list.
  6. If there are a number of organizations with a similar name you will reach one of two screens:
    a. a more detailed search screen: put in the city and state where the nonprofit is located; ignore the other fields; click on "search"; you should now get the next screen.
    b. a list of nonprofits showing symbols for what type of information is available on Guidestar; the city, state, and zip code of the nonprofit; and a one-sentence description of its work.
  7. Click on the name of the organization.
  8. A screen will appear that shows a snapshot summary of what information Guidestar has available for free and for subscribers..
  9. On the left, click on any of the items under "Guidestar Plus:" summary, mission & programs, financials, board of directors, or Form 990.
  10. The bottom of the screen will show the Tax Years that are available online. Clicking on the PDF image of the tax year you are interested in will download that form to your computer.
  11. Open the file using Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you don't have this program, you can download it free of charge at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readermain.html. Click on the symbol that says "Get Adobe Reader."
  12. Depending on your computer and operating system, the PDF file may be automatically saved onto your hard drive or you may need to manually save it.