Research Guides: Nonprofit Research: Start Here

Definition of Nonprofit Organization

A nonprofit organization (NPO) is:

Dedicated to furthering a particular social cause
An organization that uses its surplus of the revenues to further achieve its ultimate objective, rather than distributing its income to the organization's shareholders, leaders, or members.
Tax exempt, meaning they do not pay income tax on the money that they receive for their organization.
Tax exempt under 501(c)(3) requirements if it is either a religious, charitable, or educational based organization.
Accountable to the donors, funders, volunteers, program recipients, and the public community.

What entity might collect or produce information on your issue? Research steps include:

1- Review the demographics (statistics and data) of the Grand Forks region

2- Learn about the agencies and resources for nonprofits in the Grand Forks region (including UND)

3- Get more detail about the nonprofit you are researching

4- Find funding, 990 tax forms, and budget information

5- Use a guide to cite the information you've found

Are you looking for funding opportunities? Search the Foundation Directory Online

Foundation Directory Online This link opens in a new window
The database provides detailed information on more than 140,000 U.S. foundations, corporate donors, and grantmaking public charities. It includes detailed descriptions of recipient information for more than 9.5 million grants. You can search for funding opportunities by location, fields of interest, types of support, and type of grantmaker. The website includes online training tools for grantseeking strategies and sample search techniques.