How to Find and Support Local Nonprofits

Using IRS Data to Find Nonprofits Near You

The IRS maintains the Business Master File (BMF), a comprehensive registry of all organizations that have applied for and received tax-exempt status. PlainCharity draws from this database to provide searchable, browsable profiles for over 1.87 million organizations across 21,921 cities and all 62 states and territories.

To find nonprofits in your community, start with PlainCharity's city pages. Every city with registered nonprofits has a page listing all IRS-recognized organizations in that location, organized by NTEE category and sortable by name or size. If your city is not listed, try the county seat or a nearby larger city — some small communities have organizations registered under a nearby city's address.

You can also browse by state to see all nonprofits in your state, filtered by cause category. If you know the type of work you want to support — food access, housing, youth development, arts — browse the relevant NTEE category and filter by state.

The IRS also provides its own search tool at apps.irs.gov/app/eos/, where you can search by name, EIN, city, state, or NTEE code. This is the authoritative source for verifying an organization's current tax-exempt status.

Community foundations — local grant-making organizations that serve a specific geographic area — often maintain their own directories of local nonprofits. A quick web search for "[your city] community foundation" or "[your county] nonprofit directory" will usually surface these resources.

Small vs. Large Nonprofits: Where Your Donation Has More Impact

One of the most important decisions a local donor can make is whether to support large, established organizations or smaller, community-rooted nonprofits. The right answer depends on your goals, but the marginal impact argument for smaller organizations is worth understanding.

Marginal impact refers to the difference your specific donation makes. If you donate $500 to an organization with a $10 million annual budget, your contribution represents 0.005% of their resources — a rounding error. The organization will do roughly the same things whether or not your donation arrives. If you donate $500 to a neighborhood organization with a $50,000 budget, your donation represents 1% of their annual resources and may directly fund a week of programming, a piece of equipment, or a part-time staff hour.

This does not automatically mean small organizations are better. Large organizations have proven systems, experienced staff, audited financials, and the scale to tackle problems that small organizations cannot. A large food bank network can negotiate volume pricing on food, operate industrial-scale warehousing, and coordinate hundreds of distribution points. A neighborhood food pantry cannot replicate that infrastructure.

The question is what you value. If you want to see your donation have a measurable, traceable impact in your immediate community, a small local organization is often the better choice. If you want to support work at scale and accept that your individual donation is a small part of a large operation, established national organizations may be more appropriate.

A practical middle ground: donate to local chapters or affiliates of national networks. The local chapter of Habitat for Humanity, the American Red Cross, or Big Brothers Big Sisters operates in your community with direct local impact while benefiting from the national organization's infrastructure, training, and brand recognition.

Beyond Cash: Volunteer Opportunities and In-Kind Donations

Financial donations are valuable, but many local nonprofits are equally or more in need of volunteer time and in-kind contributions. For organizations operating on tight budgets, donated professional services and supplies can be more impactful than cash.

Skills-based volunteering is particularly valuable. If you have expertise in accounting, law, marketing, technology, construction, or medicine, local nonprofits likely need exactly those skills on an ongoing or project basis. Pro bono legal services can be worth thousands of dollars to a small organization. A marketing professional who helps redesign a charity's donor communications can increase their fundraising by far more than a direct cash donation.

Board service is another high-leverage contribution. Nonprofit boards are responsible for governance, financial oversight, strategic direction, and executive oversight. Many local nonprofits struggle to recruit board members with business, legal, or financial expertise. Serving on a board typically requires a modest time commitment (4-8 meetings per year) but can have an outsized impact on organizational effectiveness.

In-kind donations range from donating professional services to providing physical goods. Before donating goods, contact the organization to confirm what they currently need — well-intentioned but unwanted donations create storage and disposal costs that consume staff time and resources. Most organizations maintain updated wish lists on their websites or can provide them on request.

Workplace giving programs and employer matching can multiply the impact of your cash donations. Many employers match charitable contributions dollar-for-dollar or at other ratios. If your employer has a matching program, using it effectively doubles your impact at no additional cost to you. Check with your HR department whether your contributions to local nonprofits qualify.

Verifying Tax-Exempt Status Before Donating

Before making a significant donation — particularly to an unfamiliar organization — verifying its current tax-exempt status is a basic due diligence step. This protects you from two risks: donating to a fraudulent operation, and donating to a legitimate organization that has lost its tax-exempt status and therefore cannot provide a deductible contribution.

The IRS automatically revokes the tax-exempt status of organizations that fail to file their annual Form 990 (or 990-EZ or 990-N) for three consecutive years. This is called automatic revocation. Revoked organizations can apply for reinstatement, but the process takes time, and a revoked organization cannot accept tax-deductible contributions until reinstated.

To verify status, use the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search at apps.irs.gov/app/eos/. Search by name or EIN (Employer Identification Number). The search results will show whether the organization is currently recognized as exempt, under what section, and whether it is eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions. PlainCharity also displays status information from the IRS BMF for all organizations in our database.

For organizations that are very small or newly formed, check whether they have been recognized by the IRS at all. Some organizations operate informally or under a fiscal sponsor without their own tax-exempt status. Donations to fiscally sponsored projects may still be deductible, but you should donate through the fiscal sponsor (the 501(c)(3) organization that holds the tax-exempt status), not directly to the project.

Supporting Nonprofits in Underserved Communities

One of the persistent inequities in charitable giving is the geographic and demographic concentration of donations. Nonprofits in wealthier neighborhoods tend to have larger donor bases, stronger institutional relationships, and better access to foundation funding. Organizations serving low-income or rural communities often struggle to raise unrestricted operating funds even when their programs are highly effective.

Targeted giving to nonprofits in underserved communities — whether in rural areas, urban neighborhoods with high poverty rates, or communities with historically limited philanthropic infrastructure — can address this imbalance. Community development financial institutions (CDFIs), Black-led nonprofits, and rural service organizations are specific areas where directed giving can be particularly impactful.

PlainCharity's geographic data can help you identify organizations in specific communities. Browse city pages for communities you want to support, filter by the type of work that matters to you, and look for smaller organizations that may be overlooked by national donors.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I find nonprofits in my city?

PlainCharity's city pages list all IRS-registered nonprofits in over 21,000 cities across the US. You can also search by organization name, browse by state and category, or use the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search tool at apps.irs.gov. Most local community foundations also publish directories of nonprofits in their service area.

How do I verify a nonprofit's tax-exempt status before donating?

Use the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (apps.irs.gov/app/eos/) to verify that an organization is currently recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) and eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions. PlainCharity displays status information drawn from the same IRS Business Master File. Always verify before making a significant donation.

Do small local nonprofits have more impact per dollar donated?

Often yes, in terms of marginal impact. A $500 donation to a local food pantry operating on a $50,000 annual budget represents 1% of its resources — potentially funding weeks of operations. The same $500 to a large national organization represents a tiny fraction of their budget with likely less marginal impact. However, small organizations also carry higher operational risk and may be less able to deploy funds efficiently.

What types of in-kind donations are most valuable to local nonprofits?

The most valuable in-kind donations vary by organization. Food banks need shelf-stable food and hygiene products. Animal shelters need supplies and foster homes. Schools and tutoring programs need supplies and volunteer time. The best approach is to contact the organization directly and ask what they currently need most — many have wish lists or specific campaigns for needed items.