Author Archives: Leigh Clark

About Leigh Clark

Leigh Clark is the Business & Funding Librarian at the New Jersey State Library Information Center. She regularly assists users with business and funding prospect research. If you have any questions related to business, nonprofits, or grant funding, please contact her at lclark@njstatelib.org.

Finding Nonprofit Data with GuideStar Pro

Candid GuideStar logo. Black font reading Candid. GuideStar, set on a white and yellow background.

A NJ State Library computer showing GuideStar Pro.The New Jersey State Library now provides free on-site access to GuideStar Pro, connecting you with the nonprofit information you need.

What is GuideStar Pro?

Candid’s GuideStar Pro is a directory of over 1.8 million IRS-recognized tax-exempt organizations, and thousands of faith-based nonprofits.  Its search features allow users to find information for nonprofits based on geography, subject, population served, IRS subsection, and financial capacity.

Use GuideStar to:

  • Locate nonprofits where you can volunteer or work.
  • Evaluate a charity before you donate to them.
  • Find organizations to partner or collaborate with.
  • Better understand the social sector in your community.
  • Increase the visibility and transparency of your nonprofit.

GuideStar User Guide (PDF)

Screenshot of a search in GuideStar Pro showing search criteria and top two search results.
Search results for Animal Welfare organizations in Mercer County, NJ.

Where does the data come from?

Information found in GuideStar’s nonprofit profiles initially comes from the IRS’s Business Master File and Forms 990/990EZ/990PF.  Nonprofit’s can then claim their profile to provide updated or additional data.  Nonprofits earn seals of transparency from Candid based on the level of information they include on their profile.

Screenshot of the GuideStar profile for the National Wildlife Federation.
An example of a nonprofit’s profile. Click the image to see the full profile.

How can you access GuideStar?

You can access GuideStar Pro for free at the New Jersey State Library using our public computers.  Unable to visit us in Trenton, NJ?  There are over 400 Candid community locations nationwide that also provide access.

A limited version of GuideStar is also available remotely when you create a free account with Candid.  However, GuideStar’s free version limits the number of searches you can perform and unique profiles you can view each month.  A subscription version, like Pro, is needed to access all search criteria and view all sections of a nonprofit’s profile.

Contact the New Jersey State Library’s Reference Services to learn more.

NJSL’s Funding Information Center

Bulletin board in the Funding Information Center collection at the New Jersey State Library.
The Funding Information Center collection at the New Jersey State Library.

What is the Funding Information Center?

The New Jersey State Library’s Funding Information Center provides free training and resources for individuals and nonprofits looking for grant funding.   We have been a community location with Candid (formerly The Foundation Center) since 1974.  Through this membership, we provide onsite access to Candid’s grant research databases.

 

 

 

 

What resources and training are available through the Funding Information Center?

Electronic Resources

Computer showing the Foundation Directory Online Professional database
Research computer showing the Foundation Directory  Professional database.

NJSL’s Funding Information Center provides free, onsite access to Candid’s research databases:

Foundation Directory – Professional:  Provides detailed information on over 240,000 U.S. foundations, corporate giving programs, and grantmaking public charities, with links to financials and 990-PF tax returns. Search by name, EIN, location, subject area, types of support, and more. View profiles for over 27 million previously-awarded grants, including their purpose, amount, and recipient.  Foundation Directory includes data on funding for individuals, including scholarships and fellowships. Updated weekly.

GuideStar Pro: Provides information on the finances, leadership and missions of charities and nonprofits. Search by name, keyword, location, nonprofit type, subject area and more.  Profiles include revenue and expenses breakdowns, contact information, links to 990 tax forms, mission statements, and governance information.  Onsite access only.

In addition to these databases, we also have several research guides to help users find information about grants, scholarships, and nonprofit management.  The research guides can be accessed online remotely.

 

Print Resources and Periodicals

Books and periodicals in the Funding Information Center collection at the New Jersey State Library.
Books and periodicals available in the Funding Information Center collection.

The Funding Information Center has over 1,000 print resources related to various funding and nonprofit topics.  You can borrow these print resources using a NJSL library card or by requesting them through interlibrary loan at your local public library.  Browse the collection using NJSL’s online catalog.

Additionally, we subscribe to a selection of nonprofit and philanthropy related periodicals, including:

  • Advancing Philanthropy
  • The Chronicle of Philanthropy
  • The NonProfit Times

 

Training

We offer regular virtual classes on nonprofit management topics, like grant writing, fundraising, event planning and more.  To see our latest programs, visit our events calendar.  You can also view recordings of our past webinars on our Foundations and Nonprofits video playlist.

In addition to our group classes, we offer one-on-one tutorials on how to use the Foundation Directory Professional database.  Tutorial sessions are scheduled in advance and generally run 30-60 minutes, depending on your research needs.  If you’re interested in scheduling a tutorial, contact Leigh Clark at lclark@njstatelib.org.

What is Candid?

In 2019, the Foundation Center and GuideStar merged to form the nonprofit organization, Candid.  For more information, visit https://candid.org/about.

Historical Company Research: Directories

Historical business directories

Historical company research usually requires pulling information from multiple sources.  Sometimes the availability of published business information is limited.  This is especially true when researching small, private companies.  A directory may be one of the few sources that publishes a company’s information.  For this reason, directories are a great place to begin researching the history of a company.  In this blog post, we’ll look at three types of directories available at the New Jersey State Library that can be used to find historical information on New Jersey businesses.


NJ Business and Industrial Directories

A selection of the New Jersey business and industrial directories available in our Jerseyana collection.

Within our Jerseyana collection there are hundreds of NJ business and industrial directories dating from the late nineteenth century to the present.  These directories usually index companies alphabetically, geographically, and by industry.

The information included in directory listings can vary by publisher and year.  However, they generally include a business’s name, location, industry, and leadership.  They may also indicate when a company was established, as well as its approximate size, number of employees, or sales revenue.

Below are the listings for Radium Luminous Material Corp. in the 1918 Industrial Directory of New Jersey.  Radium Luminous Material Corp., later the U.S. Radium Company, became notorious for the hazardous effects its radioluminescent paint had on its female employees, known as “Radium Girls”.

Image of directory listing that reads: Radium Luminous Material Corp., luminous material for watches, compasses, etc.; employ 125 persons.
(1918). Industrial Directory of New Jersey. NJ Department of Labor. p. 451.
Image of directory listing that reads: Radium, Uranium, Variadium Luminous Material - Radium Luminous Material Corp. 166 Alden St. Orange Essex
(1918). Industrial Directory of New Jersey. NJ Department of Labor. p. 818.

Later editions of the Industrial Directory of New Jersey provide greater detail, as shown in this listing for Ce De Inc., makers of Smarties candies, from 1956.  This listing not only shows their location in Bloomfield, NJ, but also their telephone number, number of employees by gender, industry classification, and executive board members.

Directory listing that reads Ce De Inc. 25 Lackawanna St. - BL 2-2775, M-11 F -25, Candy Other Confectionery Products - 2071, Pres- E. D. Dee, Sec.-Tr. - S. M. Honig, P/F - N. Parker.
(1956). New Jersey Industrial Directory. Hudson Dispatch. p. B-139.

For more information on the business and industrial directories available at the New Jersey State Library, see NJSL’s New Jersey Industrial, Manufacturer, and Business Directories.


NJ Phonefiche Telephone Directories

Cabinet with opened drawer containing Phonefiche yellow pages.
Phonefiche cabinets located on Level 4 of the New Jersey State Library.

In two small drawers on Level 4 of the New Jersey State Library lives a wealth of historical business information.  These drawers contain our NJ Phonefiche collection, made up of almost two-thousand microfiched yellow and white pages for New Jersey from 1976-2005.

  • Want to verify the existence of a restaurant in Toms River, NJ in 1989?
  • Looking to track the location of a dry-cleaning business in Newark, NJ in the 1990s?
  • Need to find a list of physicians operating in and around Pompton Lakes, NJ in 2002?

These are just a few questions that our Phonefiche collection can help answer.

Most telephone directories are published by area code.  For this reason, an individual directory can contain listings for multiple municipalities.  For a full list of our Phonefiche telephone directories and instructions on how to find a directory for a specific NJ location, see our Phonefiche Telephone Directories at the New Jersey State Library guide.

Companies are listed in yellow pages by industry and in white pages alphabetically by name.  Yellow pages also contain advertisements that can provide additional company information.  For example, the following advertisement from the 1997 Burlington County Area Yellow Pages indicates that Forrest Launderers & Cleaners was established in 1880 and provides details about their services.

Advertisement for Forrest Launderers & Cleaners that reads Dry Clean When You Care. Forrest Launderers - Cleaners. Quality since 1880. Dry cleaning, shirt launderer, draperies, alternations, tailoring, shoe repair. Suedes & Leather, fur storage & cleaning. Bridal gown preservation. Limited pick up & delivery. 273-8989, Larchmont Commons, Rt. 38 & Ark Rd., Mt. Laurel. 654-8988, 703 Stokes Rd., Medford. 235-8745, 221 Chester Ave., Moorestown.
Bell Atlantic (1997). Burlington County Area Yellow Pages, p. 196 [microfiche]. Phonefiche Burlington Co. Area, NJ (11/97, Fiche 03 of 12).

NJ City Directories

Image of bookshelves holding New Jersey city directories in print.
NJ city directories available at the NJ State Library.

Looking for information on a company from before 1976?  The New Jersey State Library has an extensive collection of New Jersey city directories, both in print and on microfilm, dating from 1835-1988.  For a full list of our NJ city directories and where to find them, see our New Jersey City Directories at the New Jersey State Library index.

While the contents of city directories can vary by year and publisher, most contain a business section that lists companies by industry.  Businesses can also appear in the alphabetical index, usually in bold face to distinguish them from individual residents.  City directories commonly include a company’s name, address, proprietor, and industry.   Some city directories also have advertisements for local businesses that provide images and other company information, such as the following image and listing for the Ocean Crest Hotel in Wildwood Crest, NJ.

Image of the exterior of the Ocean Crest Hotel, Wildwood Crest, NJ.
(1912). Bussey’s Official Directory of Cape May County, NJ. L.I. Bussey. Section 3, p. 34.
Directory listing reading Ocean Crest Hotel, Jas Wirkman, Prop. Buttercup and Pacfic,
(1912). Bussey’s Official Directory of Cape May County, NJ. L.I. Bussey. Section 3, p. 38.

Visit our Business & Company Research guide for more information on historical company research.

Winning the Grant Panel Discussion Recap

Hands holding money.

Winning the Grant : A Panel Discussion with Grant Recipients

Thank you to the five panelists, listed below, for participating in our Winning the Grant : A Panel Discussion with Grant Recipients program.   During the panel discussion, representatives from NJ nonprofit organization shared first-hand experience applying for and managing grants.

Panelists

Key Takeaways

Some key insights shared during the panel discussion include:

  • Applying for grants can be a time consuming process and usually involves a team effort to accomplish.
  • A nonprofit should focus on funding opportunities where their mission strongly matches the funder’s giving priorities and where they have the capacity to successfully apply.
  • A nonprofit’s board and community network can help find grant opportunities and build connections with funders.
  • Nonprofits can find funding opportunities in eNewsletters, electronic databases like the Foundation Directory Online, and annual reports of other nonprofits doing similar work.
  • If your grant application is not accepted, contact the funder to get feedback whenever possible.
  • Managing grants requires good organization to keep track of data and financials in order to meet with the funder’s reporting requirements.
  • Grants are not a nonprofit’s only revenue stream.  Others sources of funding include individual donations, event fundraising, and in-kind gifts.

For more information, visit our Funding Information Center webpage.

Introduction to Proposal Writing – Webinar Recap

Thank you to Susan Shiroma, Network Engagement Manager at Candid, for presenting “Introduction to Proposal Writing” on August 19th.  During this class, Susan explored proposal writing as part of the total grant writing process, which includes planning, researching, writing, and follow up.

Susan discussed the common elements that go into a project proposal:

  • Executive Summary – a condensed version of the proposal
  • Statement of Need – the need of your community, backed by statistics
  • Project Description – explaining goals, objectives, methods, evaluation, and sustainability
  • Organization Information
  • Conclusion
  • Budget and Budget Narrative
  • Supporting Materials

She then looked at some common questions funders may ask of grant applicants:

  • What specific need are you addressing?
  • What are you trying to achieve?
  • What is your strategy for making this happen?
  • How will you know if you are successful?
  • Why are you the best organization to do this work?
  • How will this project sustain itself in the long run?

Susan also shared a wealth of resources available for free through Candid and their Funding Information Network member locations, like the New Jersey State Library.  Some of these included:

Find more information about the grant and nonprofit resources available at the New Jersey State Library by visiting our Funding Information Center webpage.


Missed this webinar?  Watch Candid’s recording of “Introduction to Proposal Writing” or try their self-paced learning course.

Research Businesses with Reference Solutions

Reference Solutions

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Reference Solutions, formerly ReferenceUSA, is one of the JerseyClicks databases available to anyone with a library card from the NJ State Library or a NJ public library.   It is comprised of ten databases that contain information on businesses and consumers in the U.S. and Canada.  In this blog post, we’ll explore some of the advanced ways to search for businesses using Reference Solution’s U.S. Businesses database.

U.S. Businesses

The U.S. Businesses database contains records for 63 million U.S. businesses.  DataAxle, the publishers, pulls information from over 4,000 telephone directories and other sources, like Secretary of State filings, county courthouses, and public record notices.  Data Axle phone verifies business profile information at least once a year to ensure a business is active and their information is accurate.

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Advanced Search

You can easily look up a business by name, city, state, phone number, or executive name using the U.S. Businesses’ Quick Search tab.  However, if you’d like to generate a list of businesses in a specific industry or location, the Advanced Search tab provides you with more precise search filters. Some of these filters include Executives, Business Type, Geography, and Business Size.

U.S. Businesses Quick Search. The advanced search tab is boxed in red.

Executives

The Executives search filter allows you to search for businesses based on their recorded executive’s name, title, gender, or ethnicity.

Let’s say you want to generate a list of businesses recorded as having a female owner in Mercer County, NJ.   You could do this by selecting Executive Title and Executive Gender, under the Executives search filter.  Then, you’d select the title Owner in the Executive Title box and check Female in the Executive Gender box.  Finally, you’d check County in the Geography filter and select New Jersey, then Mercer County.

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Business Type

The Business Type filter allows you to search for businesses based on SIC or NAICS industry classification codes.  The Keyword/SIC/NAICS filter allows you to search by keyword to find the appropriate SIC or NAICS codes.  The Major Industry Group filter allows you to choose the appropriate industry from a hierarchical list of SIC industry classifications.

Let’s say you want to find a list of garden centers in Vineland, NJ.  You can select the Keyword/SIC/NAICS filter and search “Garden Center”.  By default, the “Search All SICs” option is selected but you can also select to search by NAICS codes.  Then, you’d check City/State in the Geography filter and search Vineland, NJ.

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Note that Reference Solutions sometimes adds an additional two digits to the end of standard SIC and NAICS codes to make them more specific.  For example, standard NAICS codes are a maximum of six digits long.  For garden centers, it lists the NAICS code as 44422008, adding 08 to the end of the standard NAICS code 444220 for “Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Stores”.

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To learn more about SIC and NAICS industry classification codes, please visit the Market & Industry Research page of our Business & Company Research guide.

Geography

In the examples searches we’ve looked at so far, you’ve seen the Geography filter used to search for businesses based on County and City.  Other options within the Geography filter include State, Metro Area, Zip Code, Street Address, and Neighborhood.  Reference Solutions also allows you to search for businesses within a certain radius of a specific address or GPS location using the Radius filter.

The Map Based Search filter allows you to search for businesses using four different map-based tools:

  • Draw Shape allows you to find businesses within a drawn polygon.
  • Define Radius allows you to search for businesses within a certain radius of a point on the map.
  • Boundary Select allows you to visually select geographic boundaries to search within, like counties or zip codes.
  • Drive Route allows you to locate businesses within a certain distance from a driving route between two addresses.

Let’s say you want to find a list of businesses located in the Opportunity Zone in Freehold, NJ.  You can use the Draw Shape tool to draw the boundaries of the Opportunity Zone, as shown in the image below.

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Business Size

The Business Size filter allows you to search for businesses based on their number of employees or their annual sales volume.  Employee numbers are phone verified by Data Axle.  When exact employee numbers are not available an approximate range is given.  While public companies’ sales volumes are pulled from SEC filings, private companies’ sales volumes are modeled by Data Axle using an algorithm based on type of business, location, and other factors.

Let’s say you want to generate a list of businesses with 1-9 employees in Sussex County, NJ.  You can do this by checking Number of Employees within the Business Size filter.  Then, you’d select the 1-4 and 5-9 ranges in the Number of Employees box.  Finally, you’d check County in the Geography filter and then select New Jersey and Sussex County.

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Watch our recorded webinar Reference Solutions: An Overview to learn more.

Free Tools for Researching Private Foundations

Private Foundations

Private foundations are 501(c)(3) nonprofits established to support a charitable purpose.  Typically, they derive most of their revenue from one source, like a family or corporation, and most award grants to other nonprofits.  Each private foundation is different, with its own mission and funding priorities. 

As with any type of grantmaker, you should always thoroughly research a private foundation before approaching them for funding.  Look for funders who have a track record of supporting the subject area and geographic region your organization serves. 

Check to see if the private foundation has a website.  Usually, this is where you’ll find the most up-to-date information.  If a private foundation has a website, be sure to read through it closely.  You should also check to see if the funder has a social media presence on platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn.

Screen captures of the Nicholson Foundation's website, LinkedIn page, and Twitter account.

Unfortunately, most private foundations don’t have websites, making researching them a bit more complicated.  Luckily for researchers, the IRS strictly regulates private foundations.  Each year they must file a Form 990-PF to report their charitable giving and other financials.  These tax forms contain a wealth of information about the foundation and their giving priorities.

Form 990-PFs

Form 990-PFs are freely available online.  You can access them directly from the IRS’s website using their Tax Exempt Organization Search tool.  Form 990-PFs are also found on other websites including:

Demystifying the 990-PF“, an article from Candid, discusses the Form 990-PF in more detail and points out key sections where you can find valuable information.

First page, top section of Tyler Foundation Form 990- PF

Grantmaker Databases

Reading through tax documents can be time consuming.  Thankfully, there are online tools created to make this process faster and easier.  Some of these tools are accessible for free, including:

Grantmakers.io

Grantmakers.io pulls data from electronically filed Form 990-PFs submitted to the IRS by private foundations.  The information is organized into easy-to-read profiles for each private foundation.  You can search profiles by Employee Identification Number (EIN), name, location, and trustee name.

Using the Grant Search, you can filter listings of over 4 million grants given by U.S. private foundations in the past.  Grant listings include information about the grant recipient, funding foundation, award amount, award year, and a brief description of the grant’s purpose.

Smith Family Foundation profile in Grantmakers.io. Showing a list previously awarded grants given by the Smith Family Foundation.

Foundation Directory – Professional

As a community location with Candid, the New Jersey State Library provides free on-site access to the Foundation Directory – Professional database.

You can use Foundation Directory to research private foundations based on their past grant awards.  Foundation Directory – Professional contains over 240,000 grantmaker profiles with helpful information about a foundation’s giving limitations, application instructions, and funding interests.  Information in this database comes from Form 990s and various other sources, including from funders who directly report their giving to Candid.  

Screenshot of Foundation Directory Grantmaker Profile for the Hyde and Watson Foundation.Visit the New Jersey State Library to research with Foundation Directory – Professional.  Just come in or schedule a one-on-one tutorial with our staff.  Contact Leigh Clark, lclark@njstatelib.org, to schedule an appointment.

Not local to Trenton? There are many other community locations that provide access to Foundation Directory for free.

Request for Proposals (RFPs)

Private foundations do not have to issue request for proposals (RFPs) and many do not.  However, some private foundations do advertise when they’re accepting applications or proposals for specific grant programs.  There are many websites and online tools that compile active RFPs, some of which are free, including:

Internet Searches

Even if a private foundation doesn’t have a website or social media presence, performing a targeted internet search, using a search engine like Google, can generate some useful information.  This can be a great way to supplement information missing from Form-990PFs.

A funder’s name often appears on other nonprofits’ annual reports and websites when being recognized as a donor.  You may also find news articles and press releases containing detailed information about grants awarded by the foundation.

Interested in learning more about grant research?  Visit our Grant Information research guide.

 

Non-Profit Dos and Don’ts Webinar Recap

Chalk board with nonprofit written on it.

Chalk board with nonprofit written on it.Thank you to Debbie Duncan, Director of Member Services at the Center for Non-Profits, for presenting the webinar: Non-Profit “Dos and Don’ts”.

The NJ Center for Non-Profits is the umbrella organization for all New Jersey 501(c)(3)s.  Their mission is “to build the power of New Jersey’s non-profit community to improve the quality of life for the people of our state.”

Debbie provided a wealth of information related to non-profit governance, board responsibilities, ways non-profits can develop their resources, and key issues currently facing NJ non-profits.

What is a Non-Profit?

Debbie began her presentation by addressing some misconceptions about what a nonprofit can and cannot do.

  • Are charities permitted to charge fees for services? – Yes
  • Are charities permitted to carry a surplus of funds from year to year? – Yes
  • Are charities permitted to have paid staff? – Yes
  • Are charities permitted to lobby for legislation? – Yes (with limitations)
  • Do non-profits need an annual audit? – Sometimes (this depends on a number of factors, including annual budget size)

She then looked at what it means to be a “non-profit” at the state-level and a “tax-exempt” entity at the federal-level.  She also reviewed the various 501(c) designations made by the IRS, explaining that only contributions to 501(c)(3) organizations are tax deductible.

What regulations govern New Jersey non-profits?

Debbie provided an overview of the common reporting requirements non-profits have at the state and federal level.

Basic Filing & Reporting Requirements for Non-Profits

Debbie then went on to summarize some regulations in NJ Statute Title 15-A, the statute that governs nonprofit corporations in NJ.  These include that a nonprofit corporation must have:

  • a minimum of 3 trustees, who are 18 or older and serve a term of 1-6 years
  • a “registered agent” in NJ
  • articles of incorporations and bylaws that govern the organization
  • a President, Secretary, and Treasurer
  • elections held every 2 years

What are the responsibilities of a non-profit’s board?

As Debbie emphasized, no one owns a non-profit corporation.  A non-profit’s board of trustees is responsible and accountable for all aspects of its operation.

Debbie recommended that all trustees be aware of:

How can non-profits develop their resources?

In terms of financial resources, Debbie described a variety of revenue streams including individual donations, corporate funding, foundation grants, and government grants/contracts.

Debbie also emphasized how fees for service income can be a major source of revenue for nonprofits.  See the graph on page 19 of the following National Council of Nonprofits report:

Nonprofit Impact Matters:  How America’s Charitable Nonprofits Strengthen Communities and Improve Lives (2019)

In terms of human resources, Debbie discussed the importance of staff and volunteer development, the use of in-kind gifts, and how nonprofits can partner to share services.

Visit the Center for Nonprofits website to learn more about:

View the presentation’s slides (PDF)

 

More nonprofit-related resources are available at the New Jersey State Library through our Funding Information Center.