1. Leadership
What to look for: Who are the key executives and staff? Who is on the board of directors? What other corporations/organizations are represented on the board?
Where to find it: LittleSis.org, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, non-profit tax returns on ProPublica’s nonprofit explorer, news articles, the company’s website, the company’s profile on Yahoo Finance.
Reading Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Filings for Publicly Traded Companies
Publicly traded companies are required to file various reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The SEC oversees a public database called EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering Analysis and Retrieval) where you can access these reports, which can be a treasure trove of information about powerful corporations, including biographies of their executives and board members.
There are several helpful guides for navigating the SEC’s EDGAR database:
- This guide from the SEC explains all of the different kinds of forms corporations file with the SEC.
- Good Jobs First’s wonderful resource, Dirt Diggers Guide to Strategic Corporate Research, outlines the information you can find in two important forms, the 10-K (i.e. “Annual Report”) and the DEF 14A (i.e. “Proxy Statement”).
Reading Non-profit Organizations’ Tax Returns
Tax-exempt organizations are required to file tax return forms, most commonly Form 990. These forms are publicly available and can be searched on a number of free and subscription-based websites, including GuideStar.org and ProPublica’s Non-Profit Explorer. Form 990 includes lots of interesting information, including the organization’s leadership and board, highest compensated executives, expenses, and investments.
Board members and executives can be found in Part VII Section A of an organization’s 990.
