What NGOsource does

NGOsource is a nonprofit service program, jointly operated by TechSoup Global and the Council on Foundations, that performs Equivalency Determination (ED) reviews for U.S. grantmakers making grants to non-U.S. charitable organizations. Under IRS Rev. Proc. 2017-53, U.S. private foundations, donor-advised funds, corporate foundations, and community foundations must establish that foreign grantees are equivalent to U.S. public charities before making grants to them. NGOsource centralizes this legal and administrative process through a web-based platform featuring a member portal for grantmakers, a structured online questionnaire for NGOs, and a two-round attorney review process, delivering new determinations in as little as four weeks. Its ED Repository holds pre-certified determinations for 700+ NGOs across 96 countries, enabling same-day reuse of prior certifications by member grantmakers.

The platform is supported by a network of nine global partners that deliver customer service and process guidance in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Mandarin Chinese, with cultural and time-zone coverage that effectively functions as a multilingual front line. Revenue is generated through a combination of recurring annual membership fees paid by U.S. grantmakers and per-request transaction fees for new EDs, with specific pricing kept private. The customer base is dominated by large U.S. foundations (Rockefeller, Moore, Hewlett, Carnegie, Humanity United, Arcus, AJWS, Silicon Valley Community Foundation) on the grantmaker side, and a broad long tail of international NGOs across conservation, human rights, education, health, and community development on the grantee side.

Strategically, NGOsource combines a regulatory-expert service offering with an accumulating data asset (the ED Repository) and a global distribution network. Founding supporters include the Rockefeller Foundation, and major customers have publicly described migrating nearly all of their in-house ED work to NGOsource. The organization celebrated its 10-year anniversary in 2025 and continues to expand its geographic coverage, with recent certifications extending into markets such as Japan.

Name

NGOsource

Legal name

NGOsource

Website

https://ngosource.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NGOsource is a nonprofit program of TechSoup Global and the Council on Foundations that performs Equivalency Determination reviews, certifying non-U.S. NGOs as equivalent to U.S. public charities so they can receive grants from U.S. foundations. It serves U.S. grantmakers and international NGOs through a web platform and a nine-partner global support network.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

International Grantmaking Compliance Services

NAICS

Other Grantmaking and Giving Services (813219), Business, Professional, Labor, Political, and Similar Organizations (8139)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

akta.pro secondary industry

International & Local Implementing NGOs (HLAJAKAD)

Keywords

• Equivalency determination services
• International grantmaking compliance
• Nonprofit certification services
• Cross-border philanthropy
• Foreign charity review

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: U.S. grantmakers (private foundations, donor-advised funds, corporate foundations, community foundations) pay membership fees to join NGOsource and access the ED platform, submit ED requests, and use the repository of pre-certified organizations.
2. ED Request Processing Fees: Grantmakers pay fees for each equivalency determination request processed by NGOsource. Expert attorneys review NGO documentation, and new EDs can be delivered in as little as 4 weeks. Pre-certified EDs already in the repository can be accessed the same day.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

NGOsource provides Equivalency Determination (ED) services that certify non-U.S. NGOs as equivalent to U.S. public charities under IRS regulations, enabling U.S. grantmakers to make compliant international grants. The service combines expert attorney review with a web-based member portal and a growing repository of pre-certified organizations, supported by nine global partners offering localized language, cultural, and timezone coverage for NGOs. New EDs can be delivered in as little as four weeks, while pre-certified EDs already in the repository can be accessed the same day.

Product overview

NGOsource is a single-service platform offering Equivalency Determination (ED) certification for non-U.S. charitable organizations seeking to receive grants from U.S. funders. The core product consists of the ED Service, which reviews organizations against U.S. public charity standards, and an ED Repository where certified organizations are stored for quick access by grantmakers. Supporting offerings include LegalEASE (educational blog content on compliance topics) and periodic webinars on grantmaking topics. The platform operates through global partners providing localized language support in English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, and Mandarin Chinese.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Equivalency Determination (ED) Service Primary service that enables U.S. grantmakers to obtain good faith determinations that non-U.S. organizations are equivalent to U.S. public charities under IRS regulations. Expert attorneys review NGO documentation through a structured questionnaire process with two rounds of review, and new determinations can be delivered in as little as four weeks.
• ED Repository

Quantifiable outcome

• Delivery of new EDs in as little as 4 weeks
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers18 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• CoderDojo Japan (般社団法人がんぽん)minorOthers · 2 March 2026CoderDojo Japan received ED (Equivalency Determination) certification from NGOsource, confirming it is equivalent to a U.S. tax-exempt public charity (U.S. Public Charity). This certification facilitates cooperation and partnerships with U.S. foundations that were previously difficult due to differences between Japanese nonprofit law and U.S. tax law. The certification enabled U.S. foundation partnerships for events like 'Coolest Projects Japan' and supports CoderDojo Japan's 200+ programming dojos across Japan.
• TechSoup GlobalcoreOthersNGOsource is a project of TechSoup Global and the Council on Foundations. TechSoup Global serves as the legal entity and operational parent of NGOsource, providing infrastructure, technology platform, and organizational support. All references to 'NGOsource', 'we', or 'us' in the Terms of Use refer to NGOsource as well as to TechSoup Global.
• Council on FoundationscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNGOsource is a joint project of TechSoup Global and the Council on Foundations. The Council on Foundations contributes sector expertise, legitimacy, and a broad network of foundation members to the initiative, serving as a co-founder and strategic partner in the international philanthropy space.
• NGOsource Global Partners (9 partners)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorNGOsource's 9 global partners provide top-quality, localized language support, culturally appropriate guidance, and time zone coverage throughout the ED process. Partners support NGOs in their regions by providing customer service by email and phone in the NGO's local language. They help direct NGOs through the questionnaire process and serve as a key channel for onboarding international NGOs to the platform.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• BDO USA Nonprofit Advisory:
• Charity Navigator: Charity Navigator is a major nonprofit evaluator serving donors and grantmakers with charity ratings and accountability data. It overlaps with NGOsource in providing standardized organizational data, but focuses on U.S. 501(c)(3)s rather than international equivalency determinations.
• Foundation Source: Foundation Source provides donor-advised fund administration and back-office services to private foundations, including compliance support. Its grantmaking compliance tooling addresses a portion of the same international grantmaking workflow that NGOsource's ED service covers.
• Candid (formerly Foundation Center + GuideStar): Candid is the dominant nonprofit information provider (Seal of Transparency, GuideStar, Foundation Directory). While broader in scope than NGOsource, it serves overlapping grantmaker customers seeking due diligence and organizational data on NGOs, partially overlapping with the ED repository value proposition.

Others

• TechSoup Global: TechSoup Global is the parent organization of NGOsource and provides technology products, services, and capacity-building support to NGOs globally. While not a direct ED competitor, it is the operational and legal parent and shares the nonprofit infrastructure mission.
• Council on Foundations: Council on Foundations is the co-founding partner of NGOsource and serves as the leading U.S. membership association for foundations. Not a service competitor, but provides legitimacy, member distribution, and sector influence that indirectly shapes NGOsource's market position.

Direct peers

• CAF America: Charities Aid Foundation America is the closest direct peer, offering equivalency determination and cross-border grantmaking services for U.S. donors funding international nonprofits. Operates a similar membership/service-fee model with comparable regulatory expertise and target customers.
• Give2Asia: Give2Asia facilitates charitable giving from U.S. donors and corporations to vetted nonprofits across Asia-Pacific, handling regulatory compliance and due diligence similar to NGOsource's ED role. Targets a regional segment of the same cross-border grantmaking pain point.
• Charities Aid Foundation (CAF): CAF is the parent of CAF America and a leading global charity-services organization that facilitates cross-border giving, including donor-advised funds and international grantmaking infrastructure. Operates an analogous international grantmaking intermediation model.

Emerging players

• Pilia Group: Pilia Group is a nonprofit consulting and back-office services firm serving community foundations and donor-advised funds with operational, compliance, and grantmaking support. Adjacent to NGOsource's value proposition for grantmakers managing international grants.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ngosource
• Facebookfacebook.com/ngosource

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about NGOsource