Step 4 – Research

Researching Local Agencies (Non-Profits) addressing the Social Causes

Once you have identified the types of social causes that interests your group(s), you will then need to identify Non-Profit Organizations that are addressing those needs. One effective way is for students to have a brainstorming session to name as many non-profits as they can in the area.  Asking parents and other adults can help increase the size of this list as well.  Sending out requests via Facebook and Twitter can also help them generate a lot of ideas.

LOOKING OUT FOR THE LITTLE GUY
The challenge is finding the agencies that are off of the radar of the students.  Ideally, we want students to try to find those smaller, less visible organizations where $1000 can make a huge difference.  These tend to be smaller organizations that don't necessarily have a strong web presence and don't necessarily appear on the first page of a Google search.

QUALIFYING AGENCIES
We want non-profits to understand that Magnified Giving is an educational organization and that they will be working with teenagers.  In order to be invited to complete a grant application (later step), they must first register on our website.  Registration is easy and found at www.magnifiedgiving.org/register.  Once an agency registers, their information is placed on our Qualified Non-Profit organization page.

Visit the Qualified NPOs page to see which agencies have registered to date. This is clearly not a comprehensive list and should not be the only source of exploration, but rather should one of the many places students go to explore community needs.  If a student finds a non-profit that they really like, and the NPO is not registered, the student should email the agency to ask them to register on our site.  Students: Click HERE for an email you can send to the non-profit.

Web Resources

FindTheBest.Com (Non-profits)  A very nice, searchable database by region
211 Community Resource Directory   A searchable database of service providers in the UWGC area
United Way of Greater Cincinnati   A list of the local organizations that receive United Way (UWGC)
Manta.com   An alphabetical list of non-profits in Cincinnati area – dealing with social issues
Cityatlas.net   A very abbreviated list of non-profit agencies that serve our area
Cincinnati Better Business Bureau   Excellent information on non-profits in the area
GuideStar.org   Great source of info about non-profits including tax forms – requires free registration
Directions for using GuideStar.org   Information assembled by Missy Gish with Campus Connects
Charity Watch   American Institute of Philanthropy's guide to helping you give wisely to charity
Charity Navigator   Evaluates financial health of thousands of America's largest charities
Non-Profit List   A list of non-profits by state and region

Addiction Resources  Great resource to help those battling addiction

Note: Please contact Program Director Todd Forman (todd@magnifiedgiving.org) of any broken links or if you have other recommended resources.