Getting found by funders: your IRS listing, your Candid profile and your website

This guide is for any small charity that is starting to ask foundations, companies or larger donors for money. Before a funder says yes, someone there usually looks you up. They check that you're a real charity, that gifts to you are tax-deductible, and that what they find matches what you told them. None of this costs money to fix. After reading, you'll know the three places funders look first, how to check each one, and how to keep them in step.

Why it matters

A program officer reading your application has a simple question: "Is this organization what it says it is?" If your IRS listing shows an old name, your Candid profile is empty and your website has a different mission statement, the officer has to work harder to trust you. Small charities don't lose grants only on the quality of their idea. Sometimes they lose because the basics were hard to confirm.

Step 1: Check your IRS listing

The IRS's free Tax Exempt Organization Search (often called TEOS) is the official place to check a charity. The IRS says it shows whether an organization is eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions, along with information about its tax-exempt status and filings. It searches several IRS lists:

• Publication 78 data: organizations that can receive tax-deductible gifts;
• the automatic revocation list: organizations that lost their exemption for not filing;
• Form 990-N (e-Postcard) filings and Form 990-series returns;
• determination letters: the IRS letters that recognize an organization as tax-exempt.

Search for your charity, then check:

1. Your name is your legal name, as it appears on your IRS letter.
2. Your city and state are right.
3. You appear as eligible to receive deductible gifts.
4. Your recent annual filings appear.
5. You're not on the revocation list.

If something is wrong, fix it at the source. Our directory lists the IRS help line for exempt organizations.

Keep the IRS up to date

• Moved, or new leaders? The IRS says to use Form 8822-B to tell it about a change of mailing address, location or "responsible party", and that a change of responsible party must be reported within 60 days.
• File every year. If a charity doesn't file a required annual return or notice for three years in a row, the IRS automatically revokes its exemption. Our compliance stage explains which Form 990 you file, and the compliance calendar puts the date on your calendar.

Step 2: Claim your free Candid profile

Candid is a nonprofit that publishes information about US charities. Your charity may already have a Candid profile waiting to be claimed. Candid says your profile is shared with more than 200 charitable platforms.

Candid's steps to claim it:

1. Create a personal Candid account. Candid recommends using an email address at your organization's own website domain, because it may give you access straight away.
2. Search for your organization on Candid and open its profile.
3. Select "Is this your organization?"
4. Verify. If you have a website and an email address at its domain, your claim may be approved straight away. If not, Candid asks you to email an IRS EIN Issuance Letter or an IRS Affirmation Letter as a PDF. Candid says it doesn't accept a determination letter for this.

Candid reviews document requests in the order received, and says approved claimants get a link to start within 3 business days. A profile can have several managers. Candid suggests adding a shared team inbox as a manager, so access doesn't depend on one person.

Earn a Seal of Transparency

A Candid Seal of Transparency is a free badge you earn by filling in your profile. Candid says claiming a profile and earning a Seal is free at every level. The levels build on each other:

For demographic questions, Candid lets you choose "Decline to state" and still meet the requirement. Candid says a Seal expires two years after you last published changes, and recommends updating your profile at least once a year.

Start with Bronze and Silver. They use information you already have.

Step 3: Make your website tell the same story

Your website is where a funder goes next. It doesn't need to be fancy. Our guide to your first website covers the basics. For funders, make sure it has:

• Your legal name and EIN, for example in the footer or on your "About" page.
• The same mission statement as your IRS and Candid listings.
• What you do, for whom and where, with one or two real, recent examples (names and details removed or used with permission).
• Who runs it: your board, and staff if you have any.
• Your recent annual report or a short summary of last year, and your latest Form 990 or a link to it.
• A way to give, and a way to reach a real person.

Step 4: Keep the rest in step

• Your Golden Hint profile. A complete organization profile helps member charities find you on the Exchange, and earns 1 credit, once.
• Your state charity registration. If your state requires charities to register before asking for donations, make sure your registration is current. Our directory lists every state's charity regulator.
• A yearly review. Once a year, after you file your Form 990, update Candid, your website and your shared "basics" document together. Put it on the same calendar as your filings.

Your getting-found checklist

• We wrote down our legal name, EIN, address and one-sentence mission in one shared document.
• We searched for our charity in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search and checked every detail.
• Our recent annual filings appear, and we're not on the revocation list.
• We've told the IRS about any change of address or responsible party.
• We claimed our Candid profile, with at least two managers.
• We've earned at least a Bronze Seal of Transparency.
• Our website shows our legal name, EIN, mission, programs, leaders and a way to give.
• We've put a yearly profile review on our calendar, after our Form 990 is filed.

Funders want to say yes to good work they can trust. Making yourself easy to check is one of the cheapest, fastest things you can do for your next grant. If you'd like a second pair of eyes on your profile or website, ask a member charity for help on the Exchange.