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THE PUBLIC RECORD · CHAPTER 08

The Nonprofit Public Presence Audit

See your organization as the public sees it.

Your nonprofit already has a public profile. This audit tests whether that profile is current, specific and consistent across the places an outsider can examine it.

This is not a rating of nonprofit quality. Philanthropy.org does not rank your organization. You are scoring the clarity of your own public record: what outsiders see across your Form 990, search results and organizational communications.

Answer from the evidence an outsider can see, not from what leadership knows internally. After all ten are complete, the audit will produce your score and action plan.

0 of 10 answered
01 Search Visibility

Begin where an outsider begins. Search for the organization by name, then add terms such as “Form 990,” “executive compensation,” “revenue” and “complaints.”

1. Do the first-page search results identify the organization accurately?

2. Has anyone reviewed those search results as an outsider would?

02 Form 990 and Financial Context

Open the organization’s filing history in 990 Scout. Read it without supplying explanations that are not visible to the public.

3. Does leadership know what the latest Form 990 communicates?

4. Can an outsider understand the figures most likely to attract attention?

03 Program Clarity

A mission statement names an aspiration. A useful public record shows what the organization actually does.

5. Do the program descriptions identify the work and its results?

04 Leadership and Governance

Names, compensation and governance practices are already public. The issue is whether the record is current and coherent.

6. Are leadership and board records current across public sources?

7. Can leadership defend the governance and compensation information the public sees?

05 Consistency Across Public Documents

The website, annual report, fundraising appeals and Form 990 serve different purposes. They must still describe the same organization.

8. Do fundraising and financial claims reconcile with Form 990?

9. Are the organization’s basic facts consistent everywhere?

10. Does one person own the complete public record?

The public record already exists. Now you know what it says.

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