Why isn’t my nonprofit listed?

We see five possible answers. The first three are the most likely.

  1. You might not have searched in a way that the database recognizes. The fastest and most accurate searches are based on using the organization’s 9-digit EIN (federal employer identification number) on the Reverse Lookup page. If you are doing a name search, use fewer words in the search box. Try searching again.
  2. The organization is an IRS-recognized nonprofit or charity, but has not yet been included in the IRS public database. 
    • There can be a significant delay (months) between the issuance by the IRS of a tax-exemption determination letter (or reinstatement) for an organization and the time the organization is listed in the IRS public database called the Exempt Organizations Business Master File Extract.
    • We only include organizations in the CharityCheck101.org directory once they included by the IRS in the IRS public database.
  3. The organization is not an IRS-recognized nonprofit or charity (or has lost that status). In recent years the IRS has revoked the status of thousands of organizations based on their failure to file annual reports with the IRS.
    • Note that “mini nonprofits” which have not obtained an IRS determination are not included in the IRS list.
  4. The IRS has made an error in showing the organization’s status in the IRS data files. At CharityCheck101.org we obtain our list directly from the IRS’s official Exempt Organizations Business Master File Extract. If there’s an error in the IRS data files, that error will also show in our directory.
  5. There’s a glitch in the CharityCheck101.org directory system. If possibilities 1 through 4 are not the case, please let us know about the issue by using our Contact Us page.