Arkansas Community Foundation launches nonprofit directory

An online, searchable database of Arkansas nonprofit organizations is now available from Arkansas Community Foundation at arcf.org/directory. Made possible by support from the Walmart Foundation, the online directory of 501c3 organizations is powered by Candid (formerly known as GuideStar), a national organization that provides data and research on nonprofit organizations.

The database is searchable by county, organizational characteristics like cause area, type of nonprofit, transparency rating and financial characteristics like revenue size or assets pulled directly from an organization’s IRS Form 990 and updated on a monthly basis.

“If you are considering a year-end gift and thinking about where your dollars could make the most difference, you can use the new Arkansas Nonprofit Directory to explore and vet charitable organizations to identify causes that interest you,” said Heather Larkin, Arkansas Community Foundation president and CEO.

Clicking the names of individual organizations in the directory reveals more information like the organization’s mailing address, mission/cause area and, and in some cases, an enhanced profile including annual reports, videos, photos, goals/objectives, metrics and board lists. Information can be copied and downloaded to share with others in the community.

“As more information is added to the listings for Arkansas charities, the directory will be even more beneficial,” Larkin said.

Candid offers a program that incentivizes nonprofits to share information about themselves beyond the bare minimum that is included in the IRS database. Nonprofits can claim their profile in order to gain access to it, edit it and add supplemental information they want to share with potential donors.

The more supplemental information the nonprofits provide, the higher their ”Seal of Transparency,” a rating badge indicating they’ve taken action to share information about themselves.

Arkansas Community Foundation is a nonprofit organization fostering smart giving to improve communities by providing tools to help Arkansans protect, grow and direct charitable dollars while learning more about community needs.

Since 1976, the Arkansas Community Foundation has provided more than $261 million in grants and partnered with thousands of Arkansans. Contributions to the foundation, its funds and any of its 28 affiliates are fully tax deductible.