Follow the steps accordingly:
1) Go to this link – http://www.guidestar.org/. This website ONLY lists nonprofit organizations (arts, culture,
humane society, etc.) that are open for the public inspection and viewing.
2) You have to sign up in order to access information. It is free. It’s a great resource for any future projects,
esp. if you are researching any non-profit organizations.
3) Search for at least ONE (1) organizations that you are interested in (i.e. Metropolitan Museum, Lincoln
Center, Carnegie Hall, etc.) in the not-for-profit industry. Remember, this site is only for nonprofit
organization.
4) With the search results, click on the organization that you are looking for.
5) After clicking the organization, you’ll see different tabs (Summary, Financials, Forms 990 & Docs, People,
Programs & Help), CLICK FORMS 990 & DOCS.
6) Under “Forms 990 Received from the IRS,” click on the latest year (i.e. 2012 Form 990 or 2011 Form
990). Note, this is a .pdf file.
7) On the first page of Form 990, look for the “described organization’s mission.” You’ll find it on line
1. Write or print that page.
8) Go to the organization’s website (i.e. www.carnegiewv.com). On its website, look for the organization’s
mission or what is the organization’s about. Most of the time you’ll find it under “About the company.”
9) Once you found the organization’s mission, either write it down or print that page.
10) Bring the information found from both guidestar.org and the organization’s website to class. The goal is to
compare the information you found from both guidestar.org and the organization’s website.
11) No written analysis necessary, just bring your notes and insightful thoughts. In doing an insightful
analysis, you should be asking yourself – is the organization’s fulfilling the mission as stated on the
organization’s Form 990 published by Guidestar.org.
