- How do I search on Benefacts.ie?
- What happens when I search?
- How are the search results displayed?
- What information is included in the search results?
- Why can't I find the organisation I am looking for?
- Why can’t I see information about charity overhead costs?
1. How do I search on Benefacts.ie?
You can search the Benefacts database by entering in a keyword or phrase related to what you want to know in the search bar. When you click "search", you will see a page or pages of results related to your search term. The more precise your keyword(s), the more specific the search results will be. For example, if you want to find out about nonprofits concerned with cancer in Dublin, type in the keywords "cancer Dublin". You can use the filters on the lefthand side of the search page to streamline your search further, for example by using the filter to search for organisations that are registered with Revenue for tax-efficient donations, or ones that have signed up to the Best Practice Code for Fundraising.
2. What happens when I search?
When you put a keyword into the Benefacts search bar, the database looks for the keyword(s) you entered and returns a list of nonprofits that match your criteria. The Benefacts database is regularly updated with the latest available information from regulatory sources like the Companies Registration Office (CRO), the Charities Regulatory Authority (CRA), and the Revenue Commissioners (Revenue). This means that you will always be given the latest available data – note that sometimes there is a time lag between filing this information, and its recognition by the regulator in question.
3. How are the search results displayed?
Search results are ordered according to relevance, which is determined by search engine algorithms - not by a human! In some cases, results will appear that might not look relevant to you. This is because the term you have entered appears somewhere in the content of the listing in question. Try to be as specific as possible, and use the filters to narrow down your search further.
4. What information is included in the search results?
The database displays a list of organisations based on your specific keyword search. You can select the organisation or organisations that you want to know more about and this will take you to a page providing all of the current information held in the Benefacts database about that organisation.
5. Why can't I find the organisation I am looking for?
The Benefacts database includes public benefit nonprofit organisations for which public regulatory data is available. Benefacts is building its database in cooperation with regulatory data providers and more nonprofit organisations will be added during 2016. If you can't find the organisation you're looking for, contact us.
6. Why can’t I see information about charity overhead costs?
Benefacts derives its financial data from the published financial statements of Irish nonprofits. Right now, very few Irish nonprofits use a financial reporting standard that gives details of their overhead costs (including what they pay their highest-paid employees), but this will change with the implementation of the new Financial Reporting Standards, (FRS102) and with the impact of new financial reporting requirements on charities, which are to be introduced by the CRA.