Nonprofit Organization and Program Classifications
Obtaining meaningful information about a group of organizations so diverse yet so vital to society becomes impossible without a classification system that groups similar entities by purpose, type, or major function.
The National Taxonomy of Exempt Entities (NTEE) offers a definitive classification system for nonprofit organizations recognized as tax exempt under the Internal Revenue Code. These charitable organizations are exempt from federal taxes because of their religious, educational, scientific, and public purposes. The broad range of their activities includes health, human services, arts and culture, education, research, and advocacy. The use of NTEE is key to illuminating the diversity of the nonprofit sector.
In addition to the NTEE system, NCCS has developed the Nonprofit Program Classification System (NPC) to provide a parallel taxonomy for classifying the programs of nonprofit organizations. The major groups for this taxonomy are the same as the major groups for the NTEE system, but the specific codes tend to be more specific.
Click on one of the links to the right or click on Classification Tools on the left to view NCCS's tools and resources for classification.
Code Lookup
List all NTEE codes
(2pp Word doc)
Find an Organization's NTEE Code
Enter the Federal ID number (or name and state) and hit Submit. Click the name of the organization to find the NTEE code on Line 8.