Find a Charity IRS Form 990 super fast and free

Just two elements are needed for Form 990 search magic.

First, the organization’s EIN (Employer Identification Number) — the EIN is the unique identifier for any nonprofit registered with the IRS.

And second, ProPublica.org’s Nonprofit Explorer (one of my top free charity research websites).

Your search will be simple, super fast and free.

Get the EIN of the organization

CharityCheck101.org is my favorite way to find EINs. It’s simple, super fast and free.

Of course, you can also ask the nonprofit to tell you its EIN (they should do it without hesitation).

Do your search

Start a new search at Google.com or Bing.com or another search engine of your choice.

Your search string should be propublica.org followed by a single blank space followed by the EIN (leave out any dashes or hyphens please).

Here’s an example: propublica.org 390123480 (which will take you to the Form 990 for Thrivent Financial, the wealthiest nonprofit in America).

When you get to the organization’s page, scroll down to Tax Filings by Year > Form 990 and you’ll find its most recent 990s.

Charity 990s are vital to your research

Charity Form 990s filed with the IRS provide a wealth of key information. They’re public and they’re free.

In addition to telling you about how the organization spends the moneys entrusted to it, a 990 will tell you about programs, people involved, cash reserves and debts, salaries, consultants and much, much more.