Just in Time for the Giving Season, GuideStar Launches Improved Search

Business Wire, Nov 29, 2006

Faster Searches, More Relevant Results, Easier Nonprofit Research

WILLIAMSBURG, Va. & WASHINGTON -- GuideStar, the leading provider of nonprofit information, today announced the launch of its powerful new search engine, which will help donors research their charitable giving more quickly and easily than ever before.

"Last year, people visited GuideStar more than 7.6 million times to find nonprofit information," said Robert Ottenhoff, GuideStar's president and CEO. "Many were donors looking for disaster-relief organizations after the year's natural disasters or researching their regular giving.

"We are delighted to launch our new search engine, which will make it even easier for donors to find the data they need to make informed decisions about their giving. We are pleased to offer this new tool to all users in time for the end-of-year giving season, when so many people rely on GuideStar."

GuideStar's nearly 1 million unique users come to GuideStar for accurate, authoritative information on more than 1.5 million nonprofits. Most users find what they need with GuideStar Basic, offered at no charge to all registered users. Enhanced search tools and data are available to persons who subscribe to GuideStar Select or GuideStar Premium.

GuideStar's new search engine significantly improves the ease and speed of navigation through GuideStar's robust database for all GuideStar users:

* Searches are faster. Most searches will take just a few seconds; many will come back in less than a second. The time it takes to complete the search will now be shown.

* Search results are more relevant. The results will better match the search terms.

* Targeted and user-friendly tools enable GuideStar Select and GuideStar Premium subscribers to refine search results. GuideStar Select subscribers can refine results by city and state, GuideStar Premium users by city, state, city, IRS subsection code, National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) code, metropolitan statistical area (MSA), or income.

About GuideStar

GuideStar, www.guidestar.org, connects people and organizations with information on the programs and finances of more than 1.5 million IRS-recognized nonprofits. GuideStar serves a wide audience inside and outside the nonprofit sector, including individual donors, nonprofit leaders, grantmakers, government officials, academic researchers, and the media.