GuideStar Blog

1. Let go of any written or unwritten rules you may have about the "right" way for board members to participate in fundraising.
   
   
2. Above all, let go of the notion that all board members must ask others for money.
   
   
3. Accept the 20-60-20 rule when it comes to fundraising and your board. That is, 20 percent of the board will enjoy being involved in fundraising, 60 percent will be neutral about it, and the remaining 20 percent will want nothing to do with it.
   

Maximizing Opportunities

• calculates totals,
• includes nearly 50 standard attachments, and
• verifies the accuracy of the return.

Other features include:

• Where are the 990s and are they still free?
  All registered users can access the three most recent 990s at no charge. If you want to look at a 990 older than three years, you'll need to subscribe to GuideStar Premium.
  
  The only things that have changed about accessing the 990s are (a) the Form 990 links are on the right side of GuideStar Report pages and (b) GuideStar Select and GuideStar Premium users can access 990s from the search results in a pop-up window.
  
  Remember, though, that not every nonprofit files a 990. Many of the people who contact us about missing 990s are looking at organizations that do not file them. Only organizations with annual incomes of more than $25,000 must file—around two-thirds of the public charities in this country are under that threshold. And most faith-based organizations of any size are not required to file a 990.
  
  Step-by-step path to 990s:
  

• Do I have to pay to see the 990s?
  All registered, logged-in users can access the three most recent 990s we have received for an organization from the IRS at no charge. You can also access at no charge all 990s nonprofits have posted through our new eDocs service. If you want to look at a 990 older than three years, however, you will need to subscribe to GuideStar Premium.
  
  
• Where are the 990s?
  In each filing organization's GuideStar Report. GuideStar Basic users can access 990s using the Form 990 link in the report. GuideStar Select and GuideStar Premium subscribers can access 990s from either the search results or GuideStar Reports.
  Remember, though, that not every nonprofit files a 990. Many of the people who contact us about missing 990s are looking at organizations that do not file them. Only organizations with annual incomes of more than $25,000 must file—around two-thirds of the public charities in this country are under that threshold. And most faith-based organizations of any size are not required to file a 990. (For more information, click on the "De-myth-ifying IRS Form 990" link at the end of this Newsletter.)
  
  
• I see the 990 link in the GuideStar Report, but I can't get the 990.
  You probably have pop-ups blocked on your browser. You can set your browser to allow pop-ups when you are on GuideStar. Go toHelp in your browser's toolbar, search "pop-up blocker," and follow the instructions for adding sites on which pop-ups are permitted. If that doesn't solve the problem, please e-mail info@guidestar.org.
  
  
• Do you have 990s for the 340,000-plus nonprofits you just added to your database?
  Not yet, but we'll start receiving and posting them soon.
  
  
• I confirmed my registration the first time I went to your new site, but the link in the confirmation e-mail doesn't work.
  Try copying the link from the e-mail and pasting it into your browser. If that doesn't work, please contact info@guidestar.org.
  
  
• I confirmed my registration but never received the confirmation e-mail.
  Please go to our site and confirm your information one more time. If you still don't receive an e-mail, please contactinfo@guidestar.org.
  
  
• Your site seems slower than it was.
  It is, and we're working on getting it back up to speed.