NonprofitScan

Data Sources

NonprofitScan aggregates data exclusively from public, government-mandated sources. All nonprofit tax filing data is public domain under IRS disclosure requirements for tax-exempt organizations.

IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File (EO BMF)

The EO BMF is the primary registry of all IRS-recognized tax-exempt organizations in the United States. It contains approximately 1.8 million records with basic information about each organization.

Data Included

  • Organization name and EIN
  • Address (street, city, state, ZIP)
  • Tax-exempt subsection (e.g., 501(c)(3))
  • NTEE classification code
  • Ruling date (when exemption was granted)
  • Deductibility status
  • Filing requirements

Details

  • Source: IRS.gov
  • Format: CSV files (one per state)
  • Records: ~1.8 million organizations
  • Update Frequency: Monthly
  • Authentication: None required
  • License: Public domain (US government)

ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API v2

ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer API provides structured access to IRS Form 990 filing data, including multi-year financial information that is not available in the raw EO BMF files.

Data Included

  • Multi-year financial filing data
  • Total revenue, expenses, and assets
  • Contributions and grants received
  • Program, admin, and fundraising expenses
  • Officer and employee compensation
  • Balance sheet data (assets, liabilities)
  • Links to original PDF filings

Details

  • Source: ProPublica
  • Format: JSON REST API
  • Coverage: Organizations with 990 filings
  • Authentication: None required
  • License: Free for public use

How We Process Data

  1. Import: We download the latest IRS EO BMF CSV files and import all organization records into our database, creating a comprehensive directory of every registered tax-exempt organization.
  2. Enrich: We query the ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer API to retrieve detailed financial filing data for each organization, including multi-year revenue, expenses, assets, and compensation data.
  3. Aggregate: We compute summary statistics, including state and city organization counts, category breakdowns, and revenue rankings.
  4. Display: The processed data is presented on searchable, SEO-optimized pages with financial trend charts, sortable tables, and geographic/category browsing.

Data Accuracy Notice

While we strive for accuracy, the data displayed on NonprofitScan comes from IRS records and may contain errors, omissions, or outdated information. Organizations may have corrected or amended their filings after we imported the data. For the most current information, we recommend consulting the organization directly or reviewing the original IRS filing (linked from each organization's page when available).