Current Data Resources on Nonprofit Advocacy The following organizations have nonprofit-related advocacy data that is available to the public through the Internet or other means. Disclaimer: The views expressed on the Web sites listed below should not be attributed to the nonpartisan Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. National Center for Charitable Statistics (a project of the Urban Institute's Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy) NCCS is the national repository of data on the nonprofit sector in the United States. Lobbying expenditure data for all 501(c)(3) organizations that are required to file Form 990 are available. Data are available from 1989 to 1998. The new "digitized" database will soon be available and will provide richer information on all 501(c)(3)s, including their advocacy activities. http://www.nccs.urban.org Internal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division The IRS collects sample data for 501(c)(3)-(9) organizations, based on Form 990 filings. Several years of data are available. Data on lobbying expenditures for 501(c)(3)s and political expenditures for non-501(c)(3)s are available. The data are available to the public; prices range from $100-$300 for each data set. http://www.irs.gov/tax_stats/othsoi.html Internal Revenue Service, Exempt Organization Division This IRS division manages scanned images of Form 8871 (initial registration) and Form 8872 (contributions and expenditures), filed by Section 527 political organizations. This data resource includes filings of all active 527 organizations, many of which are established by 501(c)(4)s, (5)s, and (6)s. Completed forms of individual organizations can be downloaded from the IRS's Web site. http://www.irs.gov/bus_info/eo/index.html Federal Election Commission (FEC) The FEC Web site contains data on federal campaigns and political action committees (PACs), derived from FEC Forms 1, 2, 3, 3P, 3X, and 5. The data are available from 1993 through the current election cycle and provide basic information for all registered PACs, including the organization's name, its treasurer's name, and its mailing address. A unique ID number can also be used to link individual PACs to data on PAC expenses and revenues. Data can be downloaded free of charge from the FEC's Web site. http://www.fec.gov/ Secretary of the Senate The Secretary of the Senate collects data reported through the Lobbying Disclosure Act for Senate members. Data are derived from Form LD-1 (initial registration) and Form LD-2 (semi-annual reports of activities). Lobbying firms must report who their clients are, which could include nonprofits. Organizations, including nonprofits, with an in-house lobbying staff must also register. Both lobbying firms and organizations must file semi-annual reports that detail lobbying-related expenses. All information is free to the public; however it is not currently available on-line. Interested individuals must go to the Secretary of the Senate's office and search through filings. http://www.senate.gov/contacting/contact_lobby.html Clerk of the House The Clerk of the House collects data reported through the Lobbying Disclosure Act for House members. Data are derived from the same sources explained above for the Secretary of the Senate. All information is free to the public; however it is not currently available on-line. Interested individuals must go to the Clerk of the House's office and search through filings. http://clerkweb.house.gov/pd/lobby.htm Please let us know if your organization collects and/or organizes data resources on nonprofit advocacy, so we can link to your Web site. Return to Top Comments and questions may be sent via email to advocacyresearch@ui.urban.org.