A Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) or Civil Society Organization is any organization not established by government agreement. They comprise the "third sector" of modern society, in addition to the public and private sectors. For more background please see What is a Non-Governmental Organization? by Peter Willetts at City University, London.
Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) information on the Internet can be located using the following directories and the NGO search engine below.
NGO Custom Search Engine (enter terms below)
Foundation Directory Online. Funding sources for non-profit grant providers. Includes U.S. foundations, corporate giving programs, and public charities.
Gale Directory Library. Directories of organizations (including the Encyclopedia of Associations & National Directory of Nonprofit Organizations) with statistics.
Guide Star Pro. Profiles, data and general information on Nonprofit organizations. Includes information on IRS-recognized tax-exempt organization and faith-based non-profits. Data provided by 990 forms, other IRS sources and by the nonprofits themselves. Requires registration.
INGO Database. Limited to International NGOs holding participatory status with Conference of International Non-Governmental Organizations in the Council of Europe,
Reliefweb. Humanitarian information service provided by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Idealist.Org. Includes a directory organizations by name, mission, focus country and more.
Think Tanks and Civil Societies Project (TTCSP). From the University of Pennsylvania. Reports from scholars, donors, policy makers, and journalists on think tanks. The last Global Go To Think Tank Index Report was issued in 2020.
TakingITGlobal. International non-profit centered on young people. Good source of NGO information by country and area of focus.
WANGO. Worldwide directory of Nongovernmental organizations searchable by country and area of interest.
CGS PolicyArchive. Rsource for a range of documents produced by think tanks in the United States. Archive with summaries, videos, reports, & university, government and foundation-funded research.
Eldis. Information service providing free access to research on international development issues. Includes summaries and links to research and policy documents.
IssueLab. Free searchable publications and reports in the social services sector, including case studies, evaluations, white papers, and briefs. Published by Candid, the same company that produces Guide Star Pro (above).
PAIS International. Books, journals, government documents, research and conference reports, and web sources related to public policy, politics, economics, and social issues.
Project Muse. Scholarly content in the humanities and social sciences, includes many publications from overseas institutes and think tanks.
Think Tank Search Engine. From Harvard Kennedy School Library.
Charity Navigator. Nation's largest evaluator of charities.
Charity Watch. "Dives deep" to inform users how efficiently a charity uses donations to fund programs.
Guide Star Pro. Profiles, data and general information on Nonprofit organizations. Includes information on IRS-recognized tax-exempt organization and faith-based non-profits. Data provided by 990 forms, other IRS sources and by the nonprofits themselves. Requires registration.
International Aid Transparency Initiative. Seeks to improve the transparency of aid, development, and humanitarian resources in tackling poverty.
Source Watch. Tracks corporate front campaigns and think tanks funded by lobby groups, etc., posing as non-partisan groups.
