Using Benefacts.ie v.2 to learn more about the world of Irish Nonprofits

Some users of Benefacts.ie have been telling us about what they’ve been using the new advanced search functionality to find out.

Searching by classification allows you to discover the distribution of different kinds of nonprofits around the country, and the facet tools provide a further breakdown of the data analysed. For example, there are 357 group water schemes in the Benefacts Database of Irish Nonprofits, most of them incorporated as Friendly Societies. The largest number (62) are in County Mayo, and 10 have a turnover of more than €500k. Use this search query.

Or search the 3,967 primary and secondary schools to see how many are registered as charities (1,844), and how many receive HSE funding under Section 39 of the 2006 Health Act (20).

Use the filters to discover more about the 3,467 nonprofits that publish abridged accounts – including 1,488 registered charities, mostly based on 2016 data. The latest news from our finance analysts is that the level of abridgement for 2017 has reached 50%, up 10% on the previous year.

Where full accounts have been provided by incorporated nonprofits to the Companies Registration Office (CRO) - which is our main source - you can also search by financial turnover: we’ve structured the analysis in bands of less than €10k, €10 - €50k, €50 - €250k and so on.

Some things we can’t yet report on. None of the financial statements filed by charities are yet available from the Charities Regulatory Authority, nor are the names of charity trustees included in the open data file that they release, even though director data is readily available from the CRO, including names and dates of appointment of the trustee/directors of incorporated charities. Because the unincorporated trustee data isn’t available, we haven’t been able to respond to various queries about gender distribution, length of service and other interesting governance questions – but hopefully that will change soon.

Thanks to the support of our funders in the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform and the Ireland Funds, www.benefacts.ie comes to you free of charge. Give us your feedback, and if you like what you see, spread the word!