CommunitySuite integrates with Guidestar and Ajah to verify the nonprofit status of organizations. United States nonprofits are verified through Guidestar, and Canadian nonprofits are verified through Ajah.
Guidestar's charity check first checks a grantee’s IRS Pub78 status. It will deny grantees whose Pub78 check is false (i.e. 501(C)4 organizations). If they pass the Pub78 check but do not return 501(c)(3) Public Charity in their subsection description, they will also not pass charity check. This allows foundations to identify grantees who may require additional due diligence; however, the option can be disabled in Grants Settings.
Ajah pulls charity status from the most recent CRA data as available on the CRA Charities Directorate website.
Run a Charity Check
Prior to running a charity check, ensure the items listed below are in place.
- In Grants Settings, enable either Enable Guidestar (for US clients) or Enable Ajah (for Canadian clients). Only one option can be used.
- The (US) grantee must have an EIN entered in their profile. Foundations using Ajah must have the grantee's tax ID in the profile.
- No Charity Status Check must be unchecked in the grantee record, which is the default setting on a grantee designation.
Option 1: From the Grantee Record
- Navigate to the Grantees page.
- Enter the grantee name in the Grantee field and select the grantee from the drop-down list, and then click Grantee in the Designations section.
- Alternatively, click List on the left-side menu to view a list of all grantees. Click the ID of the grantee that you want to use, and then click Grantee in the Designations section.
- Alternatively, click List on the left-side menu to view a list of all grantees. Click the ID of the grantee that you want to use, and then click Grantee in the Designations section.
- Click [guidestar charity check] or [ajah charity check] to pull the grantee's information from Guidestar or Ajah.
- Click [show charity log] to view the charity check log.
- Click [show charity log] to view the charity check log.
Option 2: During Grant Processing
A charity check can be performed during grant processing by clicking [guidestar charity check] or [ajah charity check].
Create and Process an External Grant and Create and Process an Internal Grant provide additional guidance on grant processing.
Option 3: Bulk Run a Charity Check
When this option is selected, CommunitySuite looks at the Charity Check Interval in Grants Settings and the list of grantees. If a charity check has been performed on one or more of the grantees in the list, the answer from the grantee profile will be returned. A Guidestar or Ajah check will be performed on the remaining grantees.
- Navigate to the Grants page and click the New Grant Bucket.
- Click Charity Check All on the left-side menu.
- Check the box next to the grants for which you want to run a charity check, and then click Run Charity Check.
- Click [Yes] to confirm.
Charity Check Failure
If the charity check failed, then the options listed below provide further guidance.
- Ensure the organization's EIN or tax ID is entered correctly.
- The organization may be a chapter of a bigger organization/government body/school.
- Reach out to the organization and have them send you the proof of their nonprofit status.