To find out what a nonprofit pays its employees, pull the organization’s IRS Form 990 and turn to Part VII, where the salaries of officers, directors, trustees, key employees, and the five highest-paid staff earning over $100,000 are listed by name. Learning how to find nonprofit employee salaries is largely a matter of knowing which database hosts the form, which section of the return to read, and which types of organizations aren’t required to disclose this information at all.
Where to Get a Form 990
Three databases hold the filings, and for a one-off lookup, ProPublica is usually the fastest.
ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer
ProPublica’s Nonprofit Explorer archives millions of returns and lets you search by organization name, EIN, keyword, or full text of the filing itself. Returns appear as PDFs for older filings and as machine-readable data for electronically filed returns, with executive compensation figures already parsed into a searchable format.1ProPublica. Nonprofit Explorer If you want to compare pay across several organizations without opening each PDF, this is the tool.
IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search
The IRS runs the official federal repository, Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS). You can look up an organization by name or nine-digit Employer Identification Number and download the filed return.2Internal Revenue Service. Tax Exempt Organization Search The search interface is basic and filings can take months to appear after the due date, but the source is authoritative and bulk data downloads are available for larger research projects.
Candid (Formerly GuideStar)
Candid combines the former GuideStar database with Foundation Directory data, covering roughly 1.9 million organizations. Free registration gets you basic profiles, but unlimited Form 990 downloads and detailed financials sit behind a premium subscription that starts at $3,499 per year. For occasional lookups, ProPublica or the IRS tool is the better choice.
Which Employees’ Pay Actually Appears
Form 990 does not list every employee. Part VII, Section A names three categories of people:
- All current officers, directors, and trustees, listed whether or not they were paid. This captures the full governing board plus anyone running day-to-day operations, such as a president or treasurer.
- Up to 20 current key employees who hold significant financial or operational authority and received more than $150,000 in reportable compensation from the organization and related organizations.
- The five highest compensated employees who are not officers, directors, or key employees and who earned at least $100,000 in reportable compensation.
If someone doesn’t fall into one of those buckets, their salary won’t appear on the return by name. Rank-and-file employee pay is not individually reported.
Reading the Compensation Section
Part VII typically starts around pages seven through nine of the standard filing, depending on the organization’s size and which schedules come before it. Section A is a table. Each row shows one person’s name, title, average hours worked per week, and pay across three columns:
- Column D: reportable compensation paid directly by the organization.
- Column E: reportable compensation from related organizations.
- Column F: estimated other compensation, including nontaxable benefits like retirement contributions and health insurance premiums.3Internal Revenue Service. Form 990 Part VII and Schedule J Reporting Executive Compensation Individuals Included
Add all three columns to get any individual’s total compensation. Reading Column D on its own significantly undercounts pay: an executive with $180,000 in base salary may have another $40,000 or more in retirement contributions and benefits sitting in Column F.
“Reportable compensation” refers to the amounts shown in Box 1 or Box 5 of the employee’s W-2, or Box 1 of Form 1099-NEC for independent contractors. The figures reflect the calendar year ending within the organization’s tax year, not necessarily the organization’s fiscal year. Pay from related organizations (common in affiliated nonprofit networks) is reported so you can see the person’s full earnings across the whole structure.
Perks, Bonuses, and Benefits on Schedule J
If any individual listed in Part VII received total compensation over $150,000, the organization must also complete Schedule J.4Internal Revenue Service. Exempt Organization Annual Reporting Requirements – Filing Requirements for Schedule J, Form 990 This is where the more revealing details live.
Part I of Schedule J asks whether the organization provided any of the following to listed individuals:
- First-class or charter travel
- Housing allowances or a personal residence
- Travel for companions
- Tax indemnification and gross-up payments
- Health or social club dues and initiation fees
- Discretionary spending accounts
- Personal services such as a maid, chauffeur, or chef
Part II itemizes each highly compensated individual’s pay in more detail than Part VII allows, splitting it into base compensation, bonus and incentive pay, other reportable compensation, retirement and deferred compensation, and nontaxable benefits.5Internal Revenue Service. Schedule J (Form 990) Part III often contains narrative explanations of the compensation policy, bonus criteria, or severance arrangements, and organizations sometimes use it to explain a spike in a particular executive’s pay. It’s frequently the most informative page in the entire return.
When a Nonprofit Won’t Have a Form 990 to Search
Some tax-exempt organizations don’t file the standard Form 990 at all, and salary searches for those groups will come up empty or incomplete.
Churches
Churches, integrated auxiliaries, and conventions or associations of churches that qualify under Section 501(c)(3) are automatically tax-exempt and not required to file any annual return with the IRS.6Internal Revenue Service. Churches, Integrated Auxiliaries and Conventions or Associations of Churches Pastor and minister salaries generally will not appear in any federal public database. Some denominations publish financial reports voluntarily, but there is no legal requirement.
Very Small Nonprofits
Organizations with gross receipts normally at or below $50,000 file Form 990-N, the e-Postcard.7Internal Revenue Service. Annual Electronic Notice (Form 990-N) for Small Organizations FAQs – Who Must File The e-Postcard contains no compensation information at all — only the organization’s name, EIN, address, and confirmation that receipts fall below the threshold.
Mid-Sized Nonprofits (Form 990-EZ)
Nonprofits with gross receipts above $50,000 but below $200,000, and total assets below $500,000, can file the shorter Form 990-EZ.8Internal Revenue Service. Exempt Organization Annual Filing Requirements Overview It still shows compensation, but with less detail. Part IV lists officers, directors, trustees, and key employees with their pay. Part VI lists the five highest compensated non-officer employees earning over $100,000.9Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 990-EZ There is no Schedule J equivalent, so the breakdown of perks and benefits is not available.
Private Foundations (Form 990-PF)
Private foundations file Form 990-PF instead of the standard Form 990. The compensation section is again called Part VII, but the thresholds are lower: foundations list the five highest-paid employees earning more than $50,000 and the five highest-paid independent contractors earning over $50,000.10Internal Revenue Service. 2025 Instructions for Form 990-PF If you’re researching a family foundation or other private grantmaker, search specifically for its 990-PF.
Asking the Nonprofit Directly
You can also skip the databases. Under 26 U.S.C. § 6104(d), any person can request to inspect a nonprofit’s three most recent annual returns and its original application for tax exemption.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6104 – Publicity of Information Required from Certain Exempt Organizations and Certain Trusts You don’t have to explain why or identify yourself.
If you show up in person at the organization’s principal office during regular business hours, staff must provide the documents immediately. If you make the request in writing, the organization has 30 days to mail copies. It may charge a reasonable copying fee, which the IRS defines as generally matching its own FOIA rate of $0.20 per page, and unlike the IRS’s own FOIA practice, the nonprofit is not required to waive the first 100 pages.12Internal Revenue Service. Public Disclosure and Availability of Exempt Organizations Returns and Applications – Costs for Providing Copies of Documents
One important exception: if the organization has posted its Form 990 online in a format that anyone can access, download, and print for free, and the posted version reproduces the original filing as submitted, it does not have to send you a physical copy.13eCFR. 26 CFR 301.6104(d)-2 – Making Applications and Returns Widely Available It must still allow in-person inspection at its offices.14Internal Revenue Service. Public Disclosure and Availability of Exempt Organization Returns and Applications – Public Disclosure Overview
An organization that fails to comply with the public inspection requirements faces a penalty of $20 for each day the failure continues, up to $10,000 per return, with amounts subject to inflation adjustment for returns filed after 2014.15Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6652 – Failure to File Certain Information Returns, Registration Statements, Etc. Willful failure carries a separate $5,000 penalty per return.16Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6685 – Assessable Penalty with Respect to Public Inspection Requirements
Limits of What You’ll Find
Even a complete Form 990 has blind spots. Donor identities are shielded: Schedule B, which lists major contributors, is filed with the IRS, but names and addresses are redacted from the public version. Private foundations and Section 527 political organizations are the exception — their contributor information is public.17Internal Revenue Service. Public Disclosure and Availability of Exempt Organizations Returns and Applications – Contributors Identities Not Subject to Disclosure
The data also runs on a lag. Organizations have until the 15th day of the 5th month after their fiscal year ends to file, with extensions available, and filings can take additional months to appear in online databases.8Internal Revenue Service. Exempt Organization Annual Filing Requirements Overview If you’re trying to find the salary of a recently hired executive director, the latest available return may predate their arrival.