GuideStar

Our nonprofit organization is in the process of dissolving and does not want any donations directed to us. I contacted GuideStar for information on how to block on-line donations from their partners. GuideStar was very responsive. With little effort on my part, they quickly blocked donations from their partners and provided helpful information & contacts that went beyond my request. All this was very much appreciated by our organization.

Guidestar is not a responsible organization and misleads the public in many cases. If you file your 990 taxes you will be held out to the public as being transparent. Once they claim an organization is transparent their appears to be no way to reverse that opinion. If the taxes are fraudulent or if the organization stops filing their taxes they will still be held up to the public as being transparent. Stop relying on Guidestar as a measure of an organizations transparency.

Very disappointed that Guidestar is prominently publishing reviews on non-profit organization pages from Greatnonprofits.org, which allows anyone, even those with a tenuous connection to the organization, voice their opinions. When we investigated one negative review on greatnonprofits.org, we were told it was posted by the friend of the individual, someone she told her story to, not her! Whether that is true or not, it points out a serious problem with Great Non-Profits. These off-the-cuff, often angry statements are now given equal billing by Guidestar along side the responsible, collective data that supports years of hard work required to establish a non-profit. We are being told that Amazon Smile will soon be publishing Great Non-Profits comments soon, too. The offending post was removed, along with another irresponsible post, but this raises a serious concern. Someone needs to register with Guidestar to see financial reports but anyone can view the ad hoc Great Non-Profits comments. Great Nonprofits will always attract comments from ‘squeeky wheels’ unless organizations take on the additional task of constantly monitoring the greatnonprofits.org site and actively soliciting ‘positive reviews’ from supporters to make them look good. This is one more PR burden that small, all-volunteer non-profits do not need. Guidestar needs to remove the Greatnonprofits comments from its pages or offer non-profits the option of whether they want them published on Guidestar or not.

GuideStar is a great resource for nonprofits and donors alike. I've worked with them on several books and conferences, all designed to build nonprofit capacity, and find their team both professional and committed to growing the field. They produce a great newsletter, a ton of free webinars, and provide their support to as many fundraising and other strategic resources as any other group out there!

Just when I get used to using the site, they change it. How can they not have a mobile application, considering that they've been "working on it" for so many years? WORST NONPROFIT EVER! Guidestar contributes NOTHING to society.

I am giving GuideStar a mixed review because I use GuideStar as a researcher and as a nonprofit "administrator" responsible for keeping my organization's profile up to date. As a nonprofit "administrator" the support center is terrible. I have tried multiple ways to formulate my question and haven't found one even remotely helpful answer. You put out a public profile without permission or notice. There are multiple gaps because no one knew to go look at it, and now you make it virtually impossible for me to fill those gaps because we are an all-volunteer organization with no related email to verify my ability to update our record. Because of this, our nonprofit looks as though it hasn't had any income for the last four years. GuideStar is HURTING our reputation and ability to secure funds because of barriers GuideStar has put in place.

I would like to actually speak to someone, but there is not a phone number to be found. I wonder how a donor would contact the organization if they had a question

Finally, GreatNonprofits requires me to register as an individual or a nonprofit. In this case I am both. I am responding as someone who wants to update my nonprofit's profile, but also as a person who uses GuideStar as a research tool. Fortunately I am smart enough and have an understanding of GuideStar's limitation. Only 5% of the nonprofits listed have actually added even the smallest piece of information to their profile page.

Guidestar's new Website makes it even easier for bad charities to make themselves look good. What people will read on Guidestar is the charity's own marketing material about all the wonderful things they do. This will let even the worse charities make themselves look good.

Saying "goodbye" to admin overhead is a blank check for many charities to continue excessive fundraising expenses, overhead, and egregious executive salaries. The 990's will make little sense to anyone other than seasoned accountants or the most savvy financial readers.

It appears Guidestar is nothing more than a vehicle to enable clever charities to promote themselves. #shameful

I am a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Founder/CEO of Pathways For Change, Inc. I bring clinical strengths to our organization, but I've had to rely on mentors and organizations like GuideStar to learn how to implement compliant nonprofit strategies. GuideStar has allowed me, at my own pace, to explore best practices and implement those practices throughout every aspect of our organization. I highly recommend a Gold Star rating experience!

Thank you Guidestar for providing the platform to share the details of our hard-working organization. Founded in the 1990’s, our message of training in the absence of violence has grown in importance with the news headlines. Our presence on Guidestar is often mentioned as the first place potential donors looked after they heard about our programs. When Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II became our patron to encourage our Horse Sense and Healing program, we knew we were in the ultimate fishbowl. Guidestar was there for us, even internationally, to assure and guide the public. Thank you!
Warm regards,
Debbie Loucks
Director of Development www.Join-Up.org/veterans

A great tool for nonprofits to share the good work and impact they have on their community. I work for a nonprofit and refer all friends and family to check Great Nonprofits before making a donation to any organization.

If I could give them zero stars, I would. They have the WORST CUSTOMER SERVICE imaginable. If you are a nonprofit looking for help, expect to wait at least a week for each correspondence. Write them an email, wait a week for a response that doesn't even match your request. Write another email, wait another week. Maybe I'm missing the point of GuideStar, but I thought their mission is to help the nonprofit sector. Worse than that, you can't call them and if you request that they call you, you're just out of luck. If you're lucky enough to get a phone call, you'd better be at your desk the moment they decide to call you (about a week later) or you'll receive a voicemail telling you to email them. How can a multi-million dollar nonprofit brag about being the "leader" in anything if their customer service is so terrible?

I first started using Guidestar nearly 5 years ago to provide some very basic updates to our organizational profile. We started taking Guidestar seriously, when the donor walked through the door and asked to update all sections of our organizational profile and solicit at least 5 reviews through Great Non Profits in order to complete for the grant. Many of my colleagues view Guidestar as a watchdog of the nonprofit industry. To me, it is first and foremost an incredible source for the research. I’m often using Guidestar for benchmarking and learning about specific organizations in the nonprofit world. This year, I was honored to be invited to participate on the Guidestar User Advisory Panel, and I’m looking forward to providing feedback on their new initiatives while learning more about this fascinating organization.

I have been using guidestar for years in my grant writing and updating our nonprofits profile for our donors to have access to our information. The site has improved tremendously over the years and in the last couple of years I've had the pleasure of being able to provide feedback on their ideas and new products.
I am really excited about Guidestar and their willingness and ability to stay current in regard to technology and in trying to understand and accommodate the needs of its client base. They seem to take this responsibility personally which tells me it will only get better from here.
Congratulations Guidestar team for a job well done!

Overall, GuideStar is a very valuable service - both for non-profit staff and members of the public who use the site to conduct due-diligence.

In terms of being a member of the advisory panel, I have enjoyed the opportunity to provide feedback and believe that such a panel would be useful to many other organizations. I would welcome the opportunity to have additional volunteer options within the GuideStar community.

i love guidestar! i use it for all of my research in the non-profit world. easy to use, easy to read. i recommend it to all of my clients (foundations and philanthropists) and to all the non-profits i work with as well. and the nicest thing is that most of the basic information you will need is free. the upgrades are amazing, and can be useful as well, of course. guidestar is professional and continuously strives to do better (and not making changes just for the sake of making changes, as so many websites do!). keep up the good work, guidestar.

I use GuideStar to research nonprofit organizations' IRS forms, especially foundations. I appreciate the ease of use of the system and the ever growing availability of data. I always refer clients and friends to GuideStar as a tool for industry information and decision making for donating, volunteering or collaborating.

GuideStar has been a great help to us as a small, young nonprofit. Within the first six months of getting our 501(c)3 in 2011 we created our profile and started loading information into it. We refer potential donors and grantors to it frequently. We encourage our clients, volunteers and board members to write reviews of us. Because we load them ourselves, we know our financials are out there for any interested party to see. Other databases of charities require significant assets, so we are not included in them. Our goal is to serve clients, and we spend our donations on their welfare. We feel very strongly that we have a responsibility to our donors to be transparent, and GuideStar helps us do that. We're extremely proud of our Gold Star rating!

We also use GuideStar when we are approached by a foundation or another nonprofit and asked to submit a grant request or collaborate. We are extremely cautious about our associations, and GuideStar gives us a way to find out information about other organizations before we make any commitments.

I learned about Guidestar when it just launched (was that 20 years ago?, not sure). Back then the notion of being able to access 990's online was providing a great resource to donors & industry professionals alike. Since then, Guidestar continues to think "outside the box" and strives to provide relevant data to and about the nonprofit community.
Professionally, as a grant-making foundation, we rely on Guidestar for tax exemption checks, informational articles, and as a source to access 990 data. Their website is a very valuable resource to us. We'd participate more if we could make it cost effective. The current product pricing structure does not suit our organization. I would like to see additional member/subscription levels for intermediary use. Perhaps that will come.

In the mean-time: keep up the good work!

I became an advisor to GuideStar because I found the site to be very helpful in both searching for funders as well as learning more about other non-profits. The website is robust and has essential information that provides pathways to donors and also understanding of how other nonprofits get funded. I have introduced this website to donors so they can educate themselves as to the nonprofit they support. Information and easy access makes for a 5 star rating.

Guidestar is the best tool out there with current information on the status of a non profit and a financial picture of an organization. The information is well organized and as up-to-date as it can be. As a staff member of a non profit responsible for our input to Guidestar the tool is has improved significantly since I started using in almost 10 years ago. Thanks Guidestar and your team for keeping transparency in the forefront and helping make information available to donors and funders!

This has been a great resource and tool for our organization.
Appreciate all the information and assistance.

It is always challenging to select charities worthy of your hard-earned money. Especially considering that many charities advertise heavily and appear to spend more money fundraising than they do on pursuing their stated mission.

I use GuideStar as a one-stop source to help weed out those charities whose expense to "doing good" ratio is out-of-whack with what I feel comfortable with. For larger donations, having easy access to a charity's IRS 990 forms gives me a way to see exactly where the money is going. It allows me to avoid giving to charities that simply collect money and provide a portion of the funds to other charities -- thus doubling up on administrative and fundraising expenses rather than being of benefit to the program's intended beneficiaries.

All-in-all, GuideStar is well worth having at hand when you are considering donating to ANY cause.

For me, GuideStar is a place that I can show the world what my charity is. More importantly, GuideStar is a go-to source for information on reputable causes and foundations. This non-profit collects and provides information which will greatly assist the non-profit sector and it's donors assuring all of reputable, transparent compliance with charitable rules. If you have not visited GuideStar.org, take a moment, check out your favorite charity, state, or city. Help the world be a better place for everyone.

As a nonprofit consultant, whenever I am contacted by a nonprofit officer or board member, the first thing I do is review their GuideStar profile. The information available allows me to make an initial assessment of the organization and its capabilities by providing me with immediate access to their NTEE category, EIN number, address of record, their Form 990s for the last several years, and, in the best cases, information concerning key staff/directors, programs, impacts and external references. This information enables me to immediately determine the level of service the nonprofit might require which helps me better serve and meet their needs. Thank you, GuideStar for being a one-stop shop for this information.

Thank you so much for your help this year. Your support and guidance makes it easier for smaller non-profits to enhance what they do.

Anyone who donates to a nonprofit, volunteers at a nonprofit, works at a nonprofit, or is served by a nonprofit should know about Guide Star and its many services including detailed information on charities. Guide Star is the best resource for in-depth information that will help in making charitable choices from whether or not to donate to a particular charity to serving on a nonprofit Board. Easy to access and easy to use, Guide Star carries up to date important information for anyone touched in any way by the nonprofit sector.

Guidestar is the gold standard in offering non profits the opportunity to be transparent through their online profiles. CPAs, attorneys and philanthropists can log in to Guidestar and quickly locate the information they need about a non profit organization and make an informed decision. And, Guidestar makes it easy for non profit organizations to upload their information and financial data efficiently. Guidestar listens to volunteers, advisors and professionals to always enhance and improve their online experience. Thank you for providing the perfect platform for non profits to showcase their good works to the business community!

Pets Without Parents, Inc. is a 501 C-3 CRISIS RESCUE/SANCTUARY.
When you support groups like Pets and People and they in turn help us or another 501 C-3
it has a very effective ripple reward.

This frees up some financing. .We can do with more spay and neuters- STOPPING THE BIRTHS in rural areas where dumping and abandonment of perfectly wonderful animals, caught in the web of ignorance and economic despair, stand very little chance of receiving any kindness.

Guidestar is helping in the most weather weary of areas that is constantly recovering from devastating incidents.

YOU ARE HELPING "ANGELS FROM THE REALMS OF GLORY".

My heart skips a beat every time we get a call or e-mail from Edy Bauer. THANK YOU is inadequate but most sincere. Blessings to you for all things good.

I take my donations seriously, and sites like Guidestar are invaluable for getting more information about charities so I know my money is going to a good cause.

As the Executive Director of NY nonprofit BoardAssist, one of the leading personalized board matching services in the NY area, I live on Guidestar. Its an absolute must for anyone considering joining a nonprofit board, and I tell people that every day! Guidestar is an incredible resource for anyone looking to donate money to a nonprofit....but for people considering making the most important donation they possibly can....one of their time and intellectual capital, in addition to money...Guidestar is a critical first stop. Thank you so much for all you do to help nonprofits like BoardAssist engage people for board service. You make my job so much easier...and make me so much better at it!

I've found GuideStar to be an EXCELLENT central source of knowledge! They provide FULL DISCLOSURE concerning their own organization. Key Employee Salaries are broken out. They practice what they preach. They go above and beyond 99.9% of Non-Profits' reporting. Even breakouts of special programs' costs and outcomes are included in their reporting. TRANSPARENCY is KEY. I think the Other Reviews (negative ones) as a little Childish (which attitude is no necessarily uncommon among many Non-Profit leaders). Cudos to GuideStar. I'm not affiliated with them in ANY way... just read these CRAZY reviews & HAD to share an unbiased & sincere observation.

Guidestar is immensely valuable for non profit information and transparency. Their charity check full reports gives up to date information from the IRS about the individual non profit organization's standing and charitable giving eligibility.

Public radio and television stations (like KUHF - Houston public radio, KUHF.org - given Houston is the 4th largest metro area in the nation, you wouldn't think that would need to be added) . Since our company has selected you to verify charities, I am going to recommend they not use you in 2013. We are a Fortune 100 company.

Love the selfless and helpful service Guidestar provides to non profits and the public alike! We are all so blessed to have them! THANK YOU, Guidestar!

What Guidestar provides is very helpful - mainly access to Form 990 for nearly all non-profits in US - and operates a very professional website for valuable information. The other reviewer's comment about compensation is apparently true. For a non-profit with annual revenues/expenses of around $7 million - their salaries and bonuses are very high with CEO earning $325,000, 2nd $260,000 and 8 people between $110,000 to $170,000. My non-profit is $26 million annually and no one makes more than $150,000. Don't get me wrong, I am for good salaries in non-profit sector and I believe most are way too low, Guidestar however is a bit high and the Guidestar board should address that. The bonuses are a little outrageous - bonuses of more than 5 to 10% of salaries in the non-profit world are a little too much.

I've had a guidestar login for years. I wanted to write a review, and the process was horribly convoluted, and counterintuitive. It took 4 tries. I suggest the staff try to do the same with a new account, and experience it for themselves.

This organization does not return phone calls. How many different ways can I say it?

GuideStar responded in a very timely manner and gave us permission. Beyond this one time permission, I have a deep gratitude and awe for the contribution that GuideStar has and is making to the nonprofit sector. I work with the Standards for Excellence Program – my work is all about ethics and accountability of the nonprofit sector. There is hardly a training session that I do that we don’t mention the tremendous work of Guidestar in promoting the transparency of the sector. Thanks for to GuideStar for its leadership, vision and passion for the nonrpofit sector. Tish Mogan Standards for Excellence Officer Pennsylvania Association of Nonprofit Organizations.

SAFE, South Atlanta for the Environment is a community-based environmental health collaborative agency, business and other stakeholders in Neighborhood Planning Unit- V (NPU-V). This collaborative is facilitated by the Environmental Community Action, Inc. (ECO-Action).We conducted a multimedia environmental assessment, design ane implemented a leadership training institue, establish environmental risk reduction plan, shared lessons learned with other communities, increased community awareness and potential, solutions,ranked environmental health hazard in five community in the NPU-V, and ECO chats a group of residents sharing their concern regarding environmental health hazards in their community in most cases action took place the SAFE team helped the residents help achieve the most pressing concerns these people are called Change Agents they distingushed themselves in their commitment towards environmental and community safety. SAFE helped the NPU-V communities priorize and vote on the most urgent environmental health hazard in their community. The ranking went as follows:Vacant Properties, Public Safety, Air Pollution, Solid Waste Management, Brownfields, and Drinking Water. The community voted for Brownfields. We are expecting to collaborate Vacant Properties and Brownfields as one purpose so that we can submitting a level II funding proposal from EPA, Environmental Protection Agency. To guarantee the sustainability of SAFE we need strong stackholders, businesses and other sources of funding the NPU-V communities which includes: Adair Park, Mechanicsville, Peoplestown, Pittsbury and Summerhill in Atlanta Georgia. So please endorse and help bring change to our NPU-V communities

Guidestar links to Great Nonprofits, which appears to be a ideological group masquerading as a dispassionate monitor of charity's. Great Nonprofit's funding reveals it a veritable Who's Who of environmental movement funders. That may explain why reviews of free market environmental groups are negative while those of command and control environmental groups are almost universally positive. Guidestar hurts its previously stellar reputation by being associated with Great Nonprofits.

Guidestar does not appear to be committed to responsible philanthropy as it has partnered with Greatnonprofits, an institution that is little more than a Wikipedia, allowing anonymous reviewers to sully the reputations of good non-profit organizations. In so doing, Guidestar puts its reputation in someone else's hands. An example, an anonymous reviewer accuses the two top executives of an institution with which I am affiliated, The National Center for Public Policy Research, of keeping most of the money raised by the institution. Together, their compensation was roughly 3.5% of the expenditures and, according to an independent survey commissioned in 2007, their salaries were substantially below the mean. GreatNonprofits will not take down the numerous libelous statements. For its part, Guidestar continues to link to the reviews. This does a tremendous disservice not only to my institution, but to Guidestar and Greatnonprofits as once it was informed of the false information, it incurred legal liability if it continued to post them. This suggests extremely poor judgment. Non-profit reviews from the public can be of great value to donors, if that are responsible. Reviews intended as malicious do not better inform prospective donors.

I found that the review of the National Center for Public Policy Research that Guidestar linked me to was an utter prevarication. Not only were the facts completely wrong, but there was a direct attack on the integrity of the officers of the National Center. I myself am a small donor and know there is no junk mail or hounding or repeated requests for money. I have also checked the financials and know over 2/3 of contributions go to program expenses. Guidestar threatens its own credibility by linking to and so endorsing GreatNonprofits and its libelous reviews. I use

I serve on the boards of two nonprofit organizations. GuideStar has helped both the organizations I work with gain more visibility and collect online donations. The comprehensiveness of the information on GuideStar's website also makes it easy for these nonprofits to benchmark with other similar organizations. As a board member, I find GuideStar a valuable resource in helping me gain insight into the nonprofit sector in general and appreciate the free information they make available to the general public. Thank you GuideStar and please keep up the great work.

Guidestar enabled me to evaluate a number of nonprofits, allowing me to make an educated decision with regard to donating. Thanks for providing such a useful resource.

GuideStar, while it strives to provide a great service to the public, has become too concerned with increasing profit margins and the advancement of its senior management, such as the reputation and salary of its CEO.

This nonprofit runs THE definitive website for searching for information about other nonprofits. I found the site easy to use. Their Charity Check product was very useful in my giving activities because I did not have to wade through the dreaded IRS Publication 78 and all of it's amendments to validate a charity's non profit status.