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Introducing the Nonprofit Program Classification System: The Taxonomy We’ve Been Waiting for
Linda Lampkin
Sheryl Romeo
Emily Finnin
National Center for Charitable Statistics at the Urban Institute’s Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy
The National Center for Charitable Statistics at the Urban Institute has developed a system to classify the programs, services, and activities of public charities, called the Nonprofit Program Classification (NPC) System. Designed to serve a wide range of potential users, the system has been used to code the activities of each organization, as reported in Part III—Program Service Accomplishments of its Form 990. Currently, codes from the National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) system are used to classify nonprofit organizations according to their organizational purpose. Frequently, however, the questions that are asked by researchers, nonprofit organizations, and the public are focused on what an organization does rather than the type of organization. This article describes the development of the system and its strengths and limitations. Using both the NPC and NTEE systems, researchers will be able to develop a more complete portrait of nonprofit organizations and their activities.
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Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Vol. 30, No. 4,
781-793 (2001)
DOI: 10.1177/0899764001304009
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