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The IRS website concerning non-profits and taxing information is also very helpful.  Unless you run a non-profit, it is unlikely that you know a lot about the tax regulations and benefits.  This guide by the IRS is both official and helpful when thinking about the business side of non-profits and the motivation or downfalls that taxes place on charitable organizations.  When writing a story about charities it is important to be skeptical and to look into the social and economic sides of all of the company's actions.

http://www.irs.gov/charities/index.html

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Similar to the Guide Star website, the Better Business Bureau also has a site geared specifically to non-profits and charitable foundations.  There are several search engines within the site that allow you to research a charity of your choice.  The site also allows educates about official charity reports and standards or even file a complaint with an unethical non-profit organization.  Another great aspect of the site is their news feed; readers can go to bbb.org and immediately see news from the last month about non-profits.

http://www.bbb.org/us/charity/

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Academic Search Premier is a great resource for gaining background information on particular charities and non-profits or reading recent articles and scholarly journals.  By staying up to date with news concerning charities, it is easier to spot trends or croaked dealings.  Another related search engine is HW Wilson Web.  This site also compiles articles and past information about non-profits and those involved with social work.  These sites act as a foundation for knowledge that can then be used when deducing recent actions and information about charities.

http://web.ebscohost.com/ehost/search?vid=1&hid=102&sid=75a3b472-b783-419d-83d0-71c9b6f6bdeb%40sessionmgr113

http://vnweb.hwwilsonweb.com/hww/results/getResults.jhtml?_DARGS=/hww/advancedsearch/advanced_search.jhtml.4

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Another site to background nonprofits and analysis data is GuideStar.  GuideStar is specifically geared towards nonprofits; this is a great watchdog site, one can background a charity before they contribute to it.  There are also interesting lists on GuideStar, like the most searched nonprofits in the last month. GuideStar also encourages nonprofits to update their forms and reports in order to get the 'GuideStar Exchange Seal' on their reports, which helps their credibility.  When looking at 990s and form 1023 it is important to be very speculative..the more questions asked the more credible the nonprofit may be, or possibly more corrupt.
http://www2.guidestar.org/

The U.S. census bureau is also a trusted site when it comes to business statistics and information. There is a specific tab for businesses and nonprofits with multitudes of tables and information.   There is also a breakdown of how much each state contributes each year.  This site is especially useful for comparing data sets of information.

http://factfinder.census.gov/home/saff/main.html?_lang=en

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If we look at charaties and nonprofits as businesses, which they are, a great website to get background financial information is the Securities Exchange Commission.  The SEC requires companies to file certain documents that are readily available to the public.  If you are researching a non-profit, a company's 990 is especially important to look into that way you can compare the administrative costs and the amount that actually goes into the charitable fund.  The SEC website is a great jumping off point when profiling businesses.
http://www.sec.gov/

Another way to start profiling a business would be to search it on the Department of State website.  This is Pennsylvania's business search..
https://www.corporations.state.pa.us/corp/soskb/csearch.asp

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http://www.charitywater.org/

Charity Water uses %100 percent of the donations it recieves to give clean drinking water to poor undeveloped nations.  According to Charity Water, 1 in 6 people do not have clean and safe water to drink.

http://www.freerice.com/

This website is full different games and quizzes to test one's knowledge, what does that have to do with charities you ask?  Well, for each correct answer, Free Rice donates 10 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program.  The rice keeps adding up in a bowl next to your quiz, so when you are bored through out the day you can gain knowledge and simultaneously feed someone in need.

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http://www.charitynavigator.org/

This site points people who would like to volunteer in the right direction.  It is basically a search engine for charities, but it also tells you background information on each one.


http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article
/ALeqM5hvUtmDJUw9kiAQKf98S2rZHv4l0QD9B14N4G1

I found this AP article via Twitter..
'The Recession Orders a Double Blow to Many Charities'


http://nccs.urban.org/

The National Center for Charitable Services is the national clearing house for data on the non-profit sector in the United States.  This site offers statistics, graphs and data analysis tools.

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http://www.rootsandshoots.org/ is a website that focuses on community service projects organized and led by the world's youth.  Roots and shoots is a Jane Goodall institute, so the projects usually have something to do with improving the earth for both animals and humans.  The main mission of the site is to enhance understanding among different cultures, ethnic groups, religions, and socioeconomic levels.  The roots and shoots program is active in almost 100 countries.

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 Greater Philadelphia Cares is a website that has information regarding various volunteer projects in the Philadelphia area.  I'm also subscribed to their weekly newsletter and event list-serve.

http://www.gpcares.com/

 Volunteers of America is a national, non-profit, faith based organization.  The website helps volunteers look for an area of interest; the site features over 15 categories dealing with issues like homelessness, mental health, and substance abuse.

http://www.voa.org/