How to Verify a Nonprofit Before Granting to Them

A funder or fiscal sponsor can verify a nonprofit before granting to them using four federal records. The exempt-status check, the Auto-Revocation List history, the determination letter, and the filing history each answer a separate question. One free IRS tool holds all four, as separate data sets, and each needs its own reading.

Run each check on the Employer Identification Number and date the result. No database returns the same answer forever. At renewal the review becomes a quick update to the same file.

Quick Answer: How Do You Verify a Nonprofit Before Granting to Them?

Before you release grant funds, confirm four things in the free IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool: current exempt status in Pub. 78 data, Auto-Revocation List history, the determination letter, and the filing history. Run each check on the Employer Identification Number, not the name alone, and record the date and source of every result.

Verify a Nonprofit Before Granting to Them: Four Checks

Verifying a nonprofit before granting to them means confirming four things on the public record: current tax-exempt status, a revocation history you can read correctly, the exemption class named in the determination letter, and a filing history that shows an operating organization. Each check sits in a separate federal record.

The exempt-status check and the revocation check are separate data sets in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool (IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search, June 28, 2026). The determination letters data set is published in the same tool (IRS, TEOS FAQ, read September 2026). The filing history lives in the annual returns themselves.

An Employer Identification Number is a taxpayer identification number that the IRS and every 990 database use as the lookup key (IRS, Form 990-N e-Postcard requirement, read September 2026). Ask the organization for its number before the first search. Legal names differ from the names people use, and the search tool lists organizations under "the legal name or a 'doing business as' name that are on file with the IRS" (IRS, TEOS FAQ, read September 2026).

How to Check Exempt Status in the IRS Search Tool

An exempt-status check is a lookup in the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool, which searches five separate data sets: "Pub. 78 data," "Automatic revocation of exemption list," "Determination letters," "Form 990 series returns," and "Form 990-N (e-Postcard)" (IRS, TEOS FAQ, read September 2026).

Pub. 78 Data is the IRS "list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions" (IRS, TEOS bulk data downloads, read September 2026). A name in that list answers the deductibility question as of the list's data date. A name missing from the list is a stop signal, and the revocation data set can explain the gap.

Search on the Employer Identification Number when you have it. The dash after the first two digits of the number is optional (IRS, TEOS FAQ, read September 2026). If you must search on a name, use the legal name and drop filler words, because the tool advises avoiding common words such as "the" or foundation (IRS, TEOS FAQ, read September 2026).

Date the check. The IRS bulk data files "are updated monthly" (IRS, TEOS bulk data downloads, read September 2026). On the page read September 2026, the IRS listed the Pub. 78 data as "Last updated: April 14, 2026," the Form 990-N data as "Latest data posting: April 27, 2026" and the Form 990 series XML as "Latest data posting XML: April 20, 2026" (IRS, TEOS bulk data downloads, read September 2026). Write down the day you searched and the data date the page shows. A grant file reviewed later needs both dates to make sense of a result.

The tool is free (IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search, June 28, 2026). For more free research databases, see free alternatives for foundation lookups.

How to Read the Auto-Revocation List

The Auto-Revocation List is the list of organizations whose federal tax exemption was automatically revoked because they did not file a Form 990-series annual return or notice for three consecutive tax years (IRS, TEOS bulk data downloads, read September 2026).

The rule behind the list is "Section 6033(j) of the Internal Revenue Code": "Organizations that do not file for three consecutive years automatically lose their tax-exempt status" (IRS, Automatic revocation of exemption, read September 2026). The same page states that "The law prohibits the IRS from undoing a proper automatic revocation and does not provide for an appeal process," and that "An automatically revoked organization is not eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions and will be removed from the cumulative list of tax-exempt organizations, Publication 78" (IRS, Automatic revocation of exemption, read September 2026).

The trap is reading the list as current. The IRS states that the "Presence of an organization's name on the Auto-Revocation List doesn't necessarily reflect its current tax-exempt status" (IRS, TEOS FAQ, read September 2026). An organization can be listed and later reinstated. The list keeps its history.

To settle the question, follow the reinstatement trail. The IRS directs you to "Pub.78 data ... or the exempt organizations business master file extract" or the organization's determination letter posted in the search tool (IRS, TEOS FAQ, read September 2026). A current Pub. 78 entry with a later determination letter behind it means the revocation is history. An organization found on the revocation list and nowhere else has an unresolved deductibility question.

Ask the organization for the date of any reinstatement and the document that shows it.

What the Determination Letter Confirms

A determination letter is the IRS record of the exemption it approved for an organization (IRS, TEOS FAQ, read September 2026). Read it for the exemption class and the approval date.

"Every organization that qualifies for tax exemption as an organization described in section 501(c)(3) is a private foundation unless it falls into one of the categories specifically excluded from the definition of that term (referred to in section 509(a))" (IRS, Private foundations, June 28, 2026). The distinction changes which annual return you should expect to find in the filing history.

For a private foundation, the approved exemption application is public record. "The IRS makes available a private foundation's Form 990-PF, Form 990-T, and approved exemption application," and "You may view exempt organization returns free of charge on Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS) at IRS.gov/TEOS" (IRS, Instructions for Form 990-PF (2025), section Q).

Disclosure rules work in your favor, and the 990-PF instructions spell them out for private foundations. A private foundation must make its annual returns and exemption application available for public inspection in three ways: "By office visitation. By providing copies. By Internet posting," and a request made in person at its offices during regular business hours must be filled "on the same day that the individual makes the request" (IRS, Instructions for Form 990-PF (2025), section Q). Refusal carries a penalty of "$25 for each day during which a failure occurs," capped at "$13,000" for any one annual return, with an additional "$6,500" for a willful failure (IRS, Instructions for Form 990-PF (2025), section Q). For exempt organizations generally, returns "must be available for a three-year period beginning with the due date of the return (including any extension of time for filing) or is actually filed, whichever is later" (IRS, Public disclosure of exempt organization returns, June 28, 2026).

"With the exception of private foundations, an exempt organization is not required to disclose the name and address of any contributor to the organization" (IRS, Public disclosure of exempt organization returns, June 28, 2026). Ask for the return and the application. A public charity owes you no donor list.

What a Filing History Tells You Before You Grant

A filing history shows whether an organization files, which return its size requires, and who signs off inside it. Read it after the status checks, because a registration with no filings behind it is a different risk from one late year.

Which return to expect is set by size, and a private foundation files Form 990-PF "regardless of financial status" (IRS, Form 990 series: which forms do exempt organizations file, June 28, 2026).

Source: IRS, Form 990 series: which forms do exempt organizations file, June 28, 2026.

The depth of the record follows the form. Form 990-N carries only "eight items of basic information," including the EIN, legal name and mailing address, principal officer, website address and a confirmation that gross receipts are $50,000 or less (IRS, Form 990-N e-Postcard requirement, read September 2026). Several years of that form confirm compliance and tell you little about programs or finances.

Two absences are normal and are not findings. Churches, "an interchurch organization of local units of a church, a convention or association of churches" and an "integrated auxiliary of a church" do not have to file an annual information return at all (IRS, Annual exempt organization return: who must file, May 31, 2026). And a public charity's grant list is thin by design, because Schedule I (Form 990) requires a line only for each recipient "that received more than $5,000 aggregate of grants or assistance from the organization during the tax year" (IRS, Instructions for Schedule I (Form 990), Rev. December 2024). An absent name in that schedule is not proof that no grant was made.

Where the record runs deep, it names people and money. On Form 990-PF, Part VII lists "all officers, directors, trustees, and foundation managers and their compensation" (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF). Its grant list, Part XIV on the 2021 through 2025 forms and Part XV on the 2019 and 2020 forms, carries recipient name and address, any relationship to a foundation manager or substantial contributor for an individual recipient, foundation status of the recipient, purpose and amount (IRS, 2025 Form 990-PF; IRS, 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2025 Forms 990-PF compared).

Timing can explain a gap in the record. A return is due "by the 15th day of the 5th month after the end of your organization's accounting period" (IRS, Annual exempt organization return: due date, June 28, 2026), and "Use Form 8868 ... to request an automatic 6-month extension of time to file Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF" (IRS, Annual exempt organization return: due date, June 28, 2026). A missing current year in any database can be a return on extension. If you check private foundations in a region, start from private foundation listings by state.

Which Free Sources Rebuild a Nonprofit's Track Record

Three free sources cover the verification work: the IRS search tool with its bulk files (IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search, June 28, 2026), ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, August 20, 2026), and, for foundations only, Grantmakers.io (Grantmakers.io, read September 2026). All three read the same federal filings, so a discrepancy between them points to a data lag or a coverage limit, not a different record.

Read the format before you read the filing. The IRS releases filings "in two formats: page images and raw data in XML," and a ProPublica "Full Filing" page is "a reconstruction of a tax document using raw data from the IRS" (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, "Full Filing" view, read September 2026). Those machine-readable files are "Only available for electronically filed documents" (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, August 20, 2026), so paper-filed years stay out of the structured record and have to be read as page images.

Read the lag before you read a gap. For grant data built from these returns, Grantmakers.io warns that "'New' grants that appear in Grantee Search results were likely actually funded 9-18+ months before first appearing in results" (Grantmakers.io, The IRS 990 dataset, read September 2026). A missing recent year can be a lag or an extension, not a lapse.

One limit shapes GrantCue's use here: its directory of more than 10,000 profiles is built from IRS 990-PF public filings and keyed by name and EIN, so it covers private foundations (grantcue.com, September 2026). Those profiles of 990-PF filers help when the organization you are vetting files Form 990-PF, or when a fiscal sponsor moves from vetting a project to finding funders for it; for a public charity, the IRS search tool remains the record to check.

FAQ

How Do I Verify a Nonprofit's Tax-Exempt Status?

Run the organization's EIN through the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool and read the Pub. 78 Data result, which is the IRS "list of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions" (IRS, TEOS bulk data downloads, read September 2026). Record the search date and the data date shown on the page, then check the same lookup for a revocation history and a determination letter.

What Is the IRS Auto-Revocation List?

The Auto-Revocation List is the list of organizations whose federal tax exemption was automatically revoked because they did not file a Form 990-series annual return or notice for three consecutive tax years (IRS, TEOS bulk data downloads, read September 2026). The revocation happens under "Section 6033(j) of the Internal Revenue Code" (IRS, Automatic revocation of exemption, read September 2026).

Can a Revoked Nonprofit Get Its Tax-Exempt Status Back?

Not by appeal, though reinstatement is possible. "The law prohibits the IRS from undoing a proper automatic revocation and does not provide for an appeal process" (IRS, Automatic revocation of exemption, read September 2026). What you can confirm is reinstatement: look for the organization in "Pub.78 data ... or the exempt organizations business master file extract," or read its determination letter in the search tool (IRS, TEOS FAQ, read September 2026).

Where Can I Verify a Nonprofit for Free?

The IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool is free and covers status, revocation history, determination letters and returns (IRS, Tax Exempt Organization Search, June 28, 2026). ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer lets you "Browse millions of annual returns filed by tax-exempt organizations" at no cost (ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer, August 20, 2026). Grantmakers.io is free too, but it covers Form 990-PF filers only, so use it when the organization you are checking is a private foundation (Grantmakers.io, The IRS 990 dataset, read September 2026).

Does a Nonprofit Have to Show Me Its Tax Returns?

For recent years, yes. An exempt organization must make its annual return available, and returns "must be available for a three-year period beginning with the due date of the return (including any extension of time for filing) or is actually filed, whichever is later" (IRS, Public disclosure of exempt organization returns, June 28, 2026). A private foundation must also make its exemption application available for public inspection (IRS, Instructions for Form 990-PF (2025), section Q).

Why Does a Nonprofit Not Appear in the IRS Search?

Absence has ordinary causes. Churches, "an interchurch organization of local units of a church, a convention or association of churches" and an "integrated auxiliary of a church" need not file an annual information return at all (IRS, Annual exempt organization return: who must file, May 31, 2026). The organization may also be listed under a legal name you did not search (IRS, TEOS FAQ, read September 2026). Ask for the EIN and search again.

What to Keep in a Pre-Grant Verification File

A verification file is a dated record of four results: the exempt-status entry, the revocation check, the determination letter, and the latest annual return. Keep the search date next to each result, because the answer changes over time and the file proves what you knew on the day you approved the grant.

In one folder per organization, record:

- The Employer Identification Number and the legal name you searched, with the date of the search.

- The Pub. 78 Data result and the data date shown, since the IRS bulk files "are updated monthly" (IRS, TEOS bulk data downloads, read September 2026).

- The revocation check result, with a note of any reinstatement document the organization supplied.

- The determination letter or the approved exemption application, and the exemption class you read from it.

- The latest annual return, with a note of the form type and the filing year.

Two next steps follow from the file. For a federal pass-through award, keep the subrecipient review in the same folder and work through the federal compliance checklist for grants. Once funds move, the post-award checklist for grant managers covers what gets added to the record through the life of the award.