Building Better Charities
Charitable Resources
This list offers a starting point for individuals seeking assistance in establishing, operating and managing not-for-profit organizations. These are just a few of the many resources and publications available. Listing here is not an endorsement of the organization or its online content.
Government Resources
Illinois Attorney General's Office
Under Illinois law, fundraisers and charitable organizations are required to register each year with the Attorney
General's Office. A searchable list of registered charitable organizations is available online and potential
donors may then access important information such as income, expenditures, programs and administration before
giving to the charity.
Internal Revenue Service
The IRS's Exempt Organization oversees federal tax exempt status of charities and provides resources, including
publications, to help charities with compliance issues.
Illinois Department of Revenue
The primary responsibility of the Department of Revenue is to serve as the tax collection agency for state government and for local governments. The Department of Revenue oversees state sales tax exemption and real estate tax exemption for nonprofit organizations, licenses for raffles and other gaming such as bingo, pull tab, and jar games, and handles state income tax for organizations with employees.
Illinois Secretary of State
The Secretary of State oversees the incorporation of organizations. A searchable database provided by the Secretary of State’s Department of Business Services includes information regarding corporations, not-for-profit corporations, limited partnerships, limited liability companies and limited liability partnerships, as well as other business-related information.
The Unified Registration Statement
The Unified Registration Statement (URS) represents an effort to consolidate the information and data
requirements of all states that require registration of nonprofit organizations performing charitable
solicitations within their jurisdictions. The effort is organized by the National Association of State Charity Officials and the National Association of Attorneys General, and it is one part of the Standardized
Reporting Project, whose aim is to standardize, simplify and economize compliance under the states' solicitation
laws.
USA.gov
USA.gov makes information and services for nonprofits, including grants, loans, assistance, taxes, management and
more, available online.
Legal Services
Not-for-profit organizations may seek reduced-cost or pro bono services from the following legal service providers:
Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights
Chicago Lawyers' Committee is a group of civil rights lawyers and advocates working to secure racial equity and
economic opportunity for all. The goal is to root out and dismantle deeply entrenched systems of
discrimination, racism, and economic oppression by using the power of the law to give voice to those most
impacted by these civil rights issues.
Contact Information:
Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights
100 N. LaSalle Street, Suite 600
Chicago, Illinois 60602
312-630-9744
clccrul.org/legal-help
Lawyers for Creative Arts
Lawyers for Creative Arts (LCA) provides pro bono legal services to qualifying individuals and nonprofit
organizations in all areas of the arts—visual, entertainment and performing, literary, education and more.
Contact Information:
161 North Clark Street
Suite 4200
Chicago, Illinois 60601
312.649.4111
University of Chicago, Mandel Legal Aid
Clinic
The Law School's clinical students serve as advocates for people typically denied access to justice, are
responsive to the interests of the poor, and render assistance to indigent clients and nonprofit organizations.
Contact Information:
1111 E. 60th Street
Chicago, Illinois 60637
773-702-9494
www.law.uchicago.edu/clinics/mandel
Loyola
University of Chicago School of Law's Business Law Clinic
The Loyola University of Chicago School of Law's Business Law Clinic (BLC) represents for-profit entities with
general business matters and assists not-for-profit organizations with incorporating, obtaining federal tax
exempt status, registering with the Illinois Attorney General, applying for state sales tax exemption and other
related matters. In partnership with outside counsel, the BLC handles certain intellectual property issues.
Contact Information:
Philip H. Corboy Law Center
25 E. Pearson Street, Suite 1005
Chicago, Illinois 60611
www.luc.edu/law/centers/business/clinic/
businesslaw@luc.edu
DePaul University College of Law's Legal Clinics
The DePaul University College of Law's Legal Clinics allow law students to practice law with actual clients
facing real legal issues. The law school offers a number of Legal Clinics in different practice areas so
students can build their practice skills in a particular practice area while also building practice experience
on their resume.
Contact Information:
25 East Jackson Blvd.
Suite 1050 (O'Malley)
Chicago, IL 60604
www.law.depaul.edu/academics/experiential_learning/
DePaulLegalClinic@depaul.edu
John Marshall
Law School's Community Legal Clinics
The John Marshall Law School's Community Legal Clinics represent worker-owned cooperative business,
non-profit, or small business that operates for the benefit of an underserved community. Community enterprises
exist to change the way we work and to empower people to take control of their own quality of life. The
solidarity economy means regular people working for themselves and each other. Clients often promote equity,
practice democratic decision-making, and build sustainability in their neighborhoods.
Contact Information:
3oo S. State
Chicago, Illinois 60604
law-communications@uic.edu
Donald Pritzker
Entrepreneurship Law Center
The Donald Pritzker Entrepreneurship Law Center (DPELC) is an academic center at Northwestern Pritzker School of
Law. With the prevalence of entrepreneurship in business and law around the country, lawyers need to be prepared
both to serve entrepreneurs as clients and to approach legal problems in a more entrepreneurial manner. The
DPELC clinical program has served hundreds of entrepreneurs while educating future lawyers about entrepreneurs
and entrepreneurial thinking through a variety of traditional, clinical, and simulation-based course offerings,
a marquee annual conference, a speaker series, a transactional law competition, and workshops and outreach
efforts in the entrepreneurship community.
Contact Information:
375 East Chicago Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611-3069
312.503.5666
https://www.law.northwestern.edu/academics/entrepreneurship/
dpelc@law.northwestern.edu
University of
Illinois College of Law's Clinics & Experiential Learning
In addition to the study of legal principles, law students at Illinois enjoy a variety of learning opportunities
that apply principles to practice. Analytical thinking, problem-solving, research, pre-trial and trial skills,
negotiation, and interviewing are critical skills needed for real-world success.
Contact Information:
College of Law
504 E. Pennsylvania Avenue
Champaign, Illinois 61820
www.law.illinois.edu/academics/clinics
Notre Dame Clinical Law
Center
In Notre Dame Law School's clinics, second- and third-year students receive academic credit while providing free
legal services to individuals, small businesses, and nonprofit organizations. The clinics also provide an
invaluable service to the South Bend region by representing local residents who cannot afford legal counsel.
Contact Information
1100 Eck Hall of LawNotre Dame, Indiana 46556
https://law.nd.edu/academics/experiential-courses/clinics/
ndlaw@nd.edu
Nonprofit Oversight and Databases
Foundations and private donors often use these oversight websites and databases to learn more about potential grantees:
GuideStar
GuideStar gathers and disseminates information, including tax returns, about IRS-registered nonprofit
organizations.
The following organizations rate nonprofit organizations based upon various criteria:
Management & Operations Assistance
Local Resources
Forefront is a statewide membership association of grant makers, nonprofits and advisors that serves as a resource for networking and education, information and knowledge, and leadership and advocacy on behalf of philanthropy and nonprofits in Illinois. This website also contains a significant number of additional resources.Legal Help for Nonprofits and Small Businesses
Legal Help for Nonprofits and Small Businesses, formerly known as the Law Project, a project of the Chicago Lawyers' Committee for Civil Rights, provides high-quality legal counsel for nonprofit organizations and small businesses in need of transactional legal assistance. They connect skilled pro bono attorneys with nonprofit organizations and small businesses and work in collaboration with them to ensure that legal goals are met. For nonprofit organizations, they provide assistance with 501(c)(3) tax exemption applications, corporate structure, intellectual property matters (such as obtaining copyrights and/or trademarks), real estate transactions, personnel/employment issues and contractual matters. Lumity works in Chicagoland to connect nonprofits to resources for technology and financial services and solutions. Lumity hosts the region's nonprofit job board (NPO.net), monthly executive director roundtables and the Community Corps' Matching Service for Nonprofit Volunteer Opportunities in Chicago to match skill-based volunteers to mentoring, training and technology projects at nonprofits and programs with the Chicago public schools.The Axelson Center for Nonprofit Management
The mission of the Axelson Center for Nonprofit Management at North Park University is to enhance performance and effectiveness of organizations and individuals in the nonprofit sector through education, service and resources. The Center offers a variety of programs for professionals who work, volunteer or are transitioning into the nonprofit sector. These include half-day and full-day professional development workshops, an annual symposium, a BootCamp for New Nonprofit CEOs, custom designed workshops for your organization, networking opportunities and some no-cost programs.Executive Service Corps of Chicago
Executive Service Corps of Chicago enhances the overall impact of Chicago area nonprofits through professional, affordable consulting services which enables them to better meet the needs of those they serve.University of Illinois Chicago Certificate in Nonprofit Management
The Certificate in Nonprofit Management is an online, professional development program offering a comprehensive suite of non-credit courses for the student of nonprofit management.Northern Illinois University Center for Non-Governmental Organization Leadership and Development
In addition to its academic and research work, Northern Illinois University Center for Non-Governmental Organization Leadership and Development (NGOLD) provides outreach and training to nonprofit organizations in the northern Illinois region. NGOLD also connects students and nonprofit organizations for internships, service-learning and volunteer opportunities.DeKalb County Nonprofit Partnership
DeKalb County Nonprofit Partnership (DCNP) is a collaborative effort between Kishwaukee Community College, Kishwaukee United Way, DeKalb County Community Foundation, the NIU Masters of Public Administration Program and NGOLD to provide professional development and access to resources for DeKalb County nonprofit organizations.Alliance of Illinois Community Foundations
The Alliance of Illinois Community Foundations is a professional, collaborative network organized to: strengthen and promote organized philanthropy in the state of Illinois, particularly through the promotion and development of publicly-supported community foundations in the state of Illinois; educate the public on the benefits, purpose and role of publicly-supported community foundations; assist and educate its members and other interested parties in order to facilitate and promote effective philanthropic grant making; and provide a forum for the exchange of information on philanthropic programs and issues affecting the charitable nonprofit sector in the state of Illinois.National Resources
- Alliance for Justice
- Alliance for Nonprofit Management
- American Bar Association's Good Governance Library
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA)
- Association of Consultants to Nonprofits
- Association of Fundraising Professionals
- Boardnet USA
- Board Source
- Candid
- Council on Foundations
- Independent Sector
- National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS)
Additional Resources and Publications
In addition to publications on the Law Project and Forefront websites, the following resources and publications may be of interest:
Starting a Nonprofit
Fundraising
Nonprofit Board of Directors
Running a Nonprofit
Tax Issues