The Foraker Group Report on the Alaska Nonprofit Economy Item Type Report Authors Goldsmith, Scott Publisher Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska. Download date 29/09/2021 09:45:10 Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/11122/12217 THE FORAKER GROUP REPORT ON THE ALASKA NONPROFIT ECONOMY APPENDIX by Scott Goldsmith Prepared for December 2006 Institute of Social and Economic Research University of Alaska Anchorage 3211 Providence Drive Anchorage Alaska 99508 907-786-7710 http://www.iser.uaa.alaska.edu The Foraker Group Nonprofit Report: Appendix December 2006 Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage ii The Foraker Group Nonprofit Report: Appendix December 2006 THE FORAKER GROUP REPORT ON THE ALASKA NONPROFIT ECONOMY APPENDIX A. DATA SOURCES ................................................................................. 3 B. TAX EXEMPT ORGANIZATION REFERENCE CHART ........... 5 C. DEFINING CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS ........................... 13 D. ALASKA NATIVE NONPROFITS .................................................. 15 E. NATIONAL TAXONOMY OF EXEMPT ENTITIES (NTEE) .... 17 F. ISER AGGREGATIONS OF NTEE CATEGORIES..................... 23 G. REPORTING ALASKA 5013C CHARITABLE NONPROFITS . 25 a. Ranked by Expenditures ....................................................... 25 b. Listed by Service Category.................................................... 50 c. Listed by Location.................................................................. 73 H. REPORTING FUNDING INTERMEDIARIES.............................. 97 a. Foundations Ranked by Expenditures................................. 97 b. Foundations Ranked by Assets ........................................... 102 I. REPORTING CIVIC LEAGUES AND SOCIAL WELFARE ORGANIZATIONS (501C4)............................................................ 105 J. REPORTING MEMBER-SERVING NONPROFITS.................. 109 K. NONPROFITS IN ONE COMMUNITY—KODIAK................... 119 a. Public Charities .................................................................... 119 b. Member-Serving................................................................... 121 L. MONITORING THE NONPROFIT SECTOR............................. 123 Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage iii The Foraker Group Nonprofit Report: Appendix December 2006 Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage iv The Foraker Group Nonprofit Report: Appendix December 2006 APPENDIX A. DATA SOURCES NATIONAL CENTER FOR CHARITABLE STATISTICS (NCCS) NCCS collects and disseminates the most extensive data on the number and financial characteristics of the nonprofit sector through its website. The website contains summary statistics for each state and the nation as a whole, compiled from their more detailed databases that are available electronically for a modest charge. One detailed database (CORE File) is a set of files for each state that contains information for each reporting nonprofit drawn from their most recent IRS Form 990 filing. There are separate files for public charities, foundations, and other categories of nonprofits. (This report uses the 2003 CORE File, the most current at the time of the preparation of the report.) The other detailed database (Business Master File) is a set of files for each state that contains information for each registered nonprofit drawn also taken from IRS filings. These databases have less extensive data on each nonprofit, but contain both reporting and non-reporting organizations. (This report uses the 2005 Business Master File, the most current at the time of the report.) This report has relied heavily on the CORE File for Alaska prepared by the NCCS, particularly for financial information. When using this data, however, there are a number of caveats to keep in mind: First, little information is available about religious organizations, which as a group may constitute the largest segment of the nonprofit sector in terms of both the number of organizations and their assets. These nonprofits may file for an individual tax exemption or they may file an omnibus return for their entire congregation and affiliated organization or denomination nationally. They are not required to file Form 990 returns, although some do so voluntarily. Thus, it is impossible to get complete information regarding this nonprofit subsector from the IRS. Second, there is a lack of information on small organizations. Those with annual revenues of less than $5,000 are not required to apply for tax-exempt status or to file a Form 990 tax return. Those with gross receipts of more than $5,000 but less than $25,000 are not required to file a Form 990 tax return, although they are required to file for tax- exempt status. Some of these organizations may complete Form 990, but the IRS does not report this information. (The lack of information on small nonprofits does not materially affect the results of this study as most of these organizations have no employees and together account for less than 1 percent of the total assets in the nonprofit sector.) Third, the IRS does not verify the correctness of the Form 990 information submitted by nonprofit organizations. Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage 1 of 124 The Foraker Group Nonprofit Report: Appendix December 2006 Fourth, the Business Master File is cumulative and includes all the relatively recent financial data available, but some of the information in the file may be several years old. For example, if an organization meets the $25,000 revenue threshold one year and files a Form 990, that information remains in the database and is not changed until the organization again meets the filing threshold. It is unlikely, however, that these errors are serious enough to materially affect the results of this study. Fifth, the IRS allows national organizations to file a single omnibus return for all affiliates in all states. In that case, all of the activities of the organization will be reported in the home state, although the names of the affiliates in each state will be included in the file. There are many nonprofits operating in Alaska that are reported in other states, and the organization of the CORE File makes it impossible to find those organizations in the database. Thus, the database for Alaska consists of those nonprofits that report from or have their home registration in Alaska. Sixth, since the IRS Master File is cumulative and organizations remain in the database until they notify the IRS that they have ceased operations, if a non-operating nonprofit does not notify the IRS, it will remain in the database and the total number will be overstated. Seventh, the functional categories (NTEE categories) into which individual organizations are placed in the database do not always reflect their actual activities; the categories of many organizations are unknown; and many organizations are arbitrarily assigned to one category when, in fact, the organization provides services across several categories (for example, an organization may provide recreational services to troubled youth and could consequently be placed in any of three different categories). Finally, the CORE File does not contain all the information reported on the IRS Form 990. In particular, the file reports the contributions component of revenues in the aggregate. Thus, it is not possible to separate government grants from personal and business contributions in describing revenue sources. INTERNAL REVENUE SERVICE (IRS) The IRS is the primary source of data on tax-exempt organizations. Using the returns filed by tax-exempt organizations, the IRS produces databases known as the Business Master File for Exempt Organizations and the IRS Return Transactions File. The former data file includes all organizations that have applied for and received tax-exempt status. The latter includes all organizations that have filed a Form 990 information return. These files are used by the NCCS in the preparation of their databases. The IRS prepares national summary reports on the finances of the nonprofit sector on an occasional basis using this data. The IRS also disseminates information on personal contributions reported by income tax filers by state each year through its Statistics of Income (SOI) program. Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska Anchorage 2 of 124 The Foraker Group Nonprofit Report: Appendix December 2006 GUIDESTAR The Guidestar Web site provides free access to the Form 990 informational tax returns of every nonprofit which files (as well as the Form 990 PF returns of private foundations). ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF LAW Charitable organizations that solicit funds within Alaska must register annually. The Department maintains a list of these organizations, many of which are located outside the state. The registration form includes financial information about the organization. ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT The state maintains a master list of all nonprofits registered in Alaska. The information in the file is limited and excludes any financial or other operational data. The list contains a large number of inactive and dissolved nonprofits. ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF LABOR The state reports the number of employees of the 100 largest private firms operating in Alaska, including a number of nonprofit organizations. U.S. DEPT OF COMMERCE The decennial census of population contains information on the number of persons who report