How to examine a non-profit's public tax returns

(Updated on Dec. 18, 2008.) Charitable foundations and other non-profit groups are a rich source of stories about how billions of dollars are spent each year across the country. But they don't get much scrutiny because many journalists don't know how to examine the public documents they file annually. In my first journalism career, I used these documents to write about increasingly powerful foundations, such as the Walton Family Foundation, created by the founders of Wal-Mart. It's become a huge player in public-school reform, and is expected to become even more influential as the foundation grows.

Foundations file annual tax returns with the Internal Revenue Service. Groups that raise money from the general public file a Form 990. Those raising money more narrowly -- such as the Gannett Foundation -- file a Form 990-PF. The Resource Center at Investigative Reporters and Editors has a lot of helpful tips on dealing with non-profits.

Generally, groups are supposed to make these returns available to the public at their main offices soon after the close of their tax year. But they often get filing extensions, so don't be surprised if the reports lag by several months. Some states require groups to file the forms with state government, too. Talk to your Secretary of State or Attorney General.

While researching ways to get the Gannett Foundation's 2007 return, I was delighted to learn on the Foundation Center's website that foundations must now make copies -- and mail them! -- within 30 days. The center says: "Requested copies of the Form 990-PF and the exemption application are required to be made available on a same day basis for walk-in requests, and within 30 days for mail-in requests." The only downside: I don't think the rule requires electronic copies, which I prefer.

For older forms 990 is the non-profit organization, GuideStar. It has a searchable online database of non-profits. Access is free. I got the Gannett Foundation's forms through GuideStar. (In a perfect world, all non-profits would put their tax returns on their websites. Most don't.)

The forms on GuideStar are scanned copies. I don't know any easy way to import the information into a spreadsheet program, such as Excel. The Gannett Foundation's 2006 Form 990-PF is 76 pages long -- including 34 pages of grants. It took about two hours to enter the main data into Excel, then do a couple quick calculations and sorts to complete my Gannett Foundation analysis.

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