How to verify a nonprofit before you give or grant
Free, no login. Checks IRS recognition, deductibility, revocation history and filing recency.
The four checks, in order
1. Recognition. Is the organization in the IRS Business Master File, and under which subsection? A 501(c)(3) is the usual requirement for charitable grants; a 501(c)(4) or (c)(6) is a legitimate organization but contributions are generally not deductible.
2. Deductibility. Is it listed in Publication 78, or covered by a group exemption? Missing from both, with no group ruling, is the case to confirm before relying on a deduction.
3. Revocation. Has exemption been automatically revoked and not reinstated? This is the one true hard stop.
4. Filing recency. Is it filing annual returns, allowing for the 12–18 month publishing lag and for organizations not required to file?
What IRS data cannot tell you
Tax status is a floor, not a recommendation. IRS files say nothing about whether programmes work, whether governance is sound, whether the organization is solvent, or whether it is registered to solicit donations in your state — a separate legal requirement in most states, enforced by state regulators rather than the IRS. The official directory of state charity offices is maintained by NASCO.
Any verification tool that does not tell you what it left unchecked is asking you to mistake silence for a clean bill of health.
For grantmakers checking a portfolio
If you are re-verifying a whole grantee list, check them together rather than one at a time, and re-check before each disbursement rather than once at intake — status changes between cycles. The checker on this site takes up to 50 organizations at once and can email you if a monitored organization's status changes.