NCCS — Form 990 data for private nonprofit colleges (Portal: IPEDS-matched, 1993-2016). Revenue, expenses, assets, endowment, governance beyond IPEDS. Use when IRS financial depth needed. Portal ends 2016; public institutions excluded (no Form 990).
NCCS — Form 990 data for private nonprofit colleges (Portal: IPEDS-matched, 1993-2016). Revenue, expenses, assets, endowment, governance beyond IPEDS. Use when IRS financial depth needed. Portal ends 2016; public institutions excluded (no Form 990).
National Center for Charitable Statistics (NCCS) Form 990 data for private nonprofit colleges and universities (Portal mirror: IPEDS-matched institutions, 1993-2016). Use when IRS-based financial data — revenue, expenses, assets, endowment details — or governance information (board composition, executive compensation) is needed beyond what IPEDS provides. Portal data ends at 2016; for current filings use full NCCS directly. Public institutions do not file Form 990 and are excluded.
The NCCS (National Center for Charitable Statistics) is the principal U.S. repository for empirical data on the nonprofit sector, derived from IRS Form 990 filings. It provides financial depth, governance detail, and historical coverage for private nonprofit colleges and universities that goes well beyond what IPEDS collects.
CRITICAL: Value Encoding
The Education Data Portal encodes ALL categorical variables as integers, not strings.
Variable names are lowercase in Portal data. Always verify codes against codebooks.
Context
fips
mult_ein_flag
Portal integer
6 (California)
1 (Yes)
Original NCCS
"06" or string
N/A
See ./references/variable-definitions.md for complete encoding tables.
What is NCCS?
Operator: Urban Institute, Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy
Coverage: All U.S. tax-exempt nonprofit organizations (~3.8M in BMF)
Primary data source: IRS Form 990 tax filings
Frequency: Annual (with filing lag)
Available years: 1989-present (Core Series); 2012-present (Efile); 1993-2016 (Portal)
Primary identifier: EIN (Employer Identification Number, 9-digit)
Education relevance: Private nonprofit colleges/universities are 501(c)(3) orgs filing Form 990; NTEE codes B40-B50 cover higher education
Reference File Structure
File
Purpose
When to Read
nonprofit-data.md
NCCS datasets and what they contain
Understanding available data sources
form-990.md
IRS Form 990 structure and data elements
Understanding what information is collected
education-relevance.md
How NCCS relates to higher education
Connecting nonprofit data to education research
ntee-codes.md
Nonprofit classification system
Finding and filtering educational institutions
variable-definitions.md
Key financial and organizational variables, codes, special values
Interpreting specific data elements or building queries
Decision Trees
What data am I looking for?
Research need?
├─ Financial data for private colleges → ./references/form-990.md
│ ├─ Revenue breakdown → Part VIII (Statement of Revenue)
│ ├─ Expenses by function → Part IX (Statement of Functional Expenses)
│ ├─ Assets and liabilities → Part X (Balance Sheet)
│ └─ Endowment details → Schedule D
├─ Governance/leadership → ./references/form-990.md
│ ├─ Board members → Part VII (Compensation)
│ ├─ Executive compensation → Part VII, Schedule J
│ └─ Policies and procedures → Part VI (Governance)
├─ Organizational characteristics → ./references/nonprofit-data.md
│ ├─ Basic info (name, address, EIN) → BMF
│ ├─ Tax-exempt type → BMF (SUBSECCD)
│ └─ NTEE classification → BMF (NTEECC)
└─ Identify institutions → ./references/ntee-codes.md
├─ All higher education → NTEE B40-B50
├─ Universities → B40, B41, B42, B43
└─ Community colleges → B44
Which NCCS dataset should I use?
Dataset selection?
├─ Need universe of all nonprofits?
│ └─ Business Master File (BMF) → ./references/nonprofit-data.md
├─ Need detailed financial variables?
│ ├─ Large organizations (full 990 filers) → Core PC files
│ ├─ All organizations (990 + 990EZ) → Core PZ files
│ └─ Maximum detail (2000+ fields) → Efile database
├─ Need private foundations?
│ └─ Core PF or 990-PF Efile data
└─ Need small grassroots orgs?
└─ 990-N ePostcard database
How do I connect NCCS to other education data?
Linking NCCS to education data?
├─ Need to match to IPEDS?
│ └─ See ./references/education-relevance.md (EIN-UNITID crosswalk)
├─ Need geographic analysis?
│ └─ Use BMF geocoded addresses + Census crosswalks
├─ Want institutional comparisons?
│ └─ Filter by NTEE codes B40-B50 for higher ed
└─ Analyzing trends over time?
└─ Use Core data panel (1989-present)
Quick Reference: NCCS Datasets and Variables
Available Datasets
Portal mirror (via fetch_from_mirrors()):
Dataset
Description
Coverage
Rows
990 Forms (nccs/colleges_nccs_all)
Form 990 data for higher ed institutions matched to IPEDS
1993-2016, ~2,600 institutions
~30K
Full NCCS (direct download, outside Portal):
Dataset
Description
Coverage
Key Use
Business Master File (BMF)
All active tax-exempt organizations
~3.8M orgs
Sampling frame, basic info
NCCS Core Series
990/990EZ filer financials
1989-2022
Historical financial analysis
IRS 990 Efile
Full electronic filings (2000+ fields)
2012-present
Detailed governance, programs
Form 990-N ePostcard
Small nonprofits (<$50K revenue)
2007-present
Grassroots organizations
Pub78
Organizations eligible for tax-deductible donations
Current
Verify charitable status
Scope note: The Portal mirror dataset contains NCCS Form 990 data matched to IPEDS institutions only (~2,600 institutions). It does NOT include the full NCCS universe of ~3.8M nonprofits. For non-education nonprofits, NTEE-based filtering, or BMF/Core/Efile data, download directly from NCCS.
Key Identifiers
Portal dataset:
ID
Format
Level
Example
Notes
unitid
Integer
Institution
110635
IPEDS institution ID (Portal addition)
ein
Integer
Organization
10211484
Employer Identification Number
fips
Integer
State
6 (California)
State FIPS code
Full NCCS (direct download, outside Portal):
ID
Format
Level
Example
Notes
EIN
9-digit number
Organization
123456789
Unique to each nonprofit
NTEECC
Letter + 2 digits
Classification
B42 (4-year college)
May be imprecise (~25%); NOT in Portal data
SUBSECCD
2-digit code
Tax subsection
03 (501(c)(3) charity)
NOT in Portal data
FIPS
5-digit code
Geography
06037 (LA County)
State + county; Portal uses state-level integer
Education NTEE Codes
Code
Description
B20-B29
Elementary & Secondary Schools
B40
Higher Education Institutions (General)
B41
Two-Year Colleges
B42
Undergraduate Colleges (4-year)
B43
Universities
B50
Graduate/Professional Schools
B60
Adult/Continuing Education
B70
Libraries
B80
Student Services/Organizations
B90
Educational Services/Schools N.E.C.
Portal Variable Name Mapping (Selected)
The Portal dataset has 161 columns. Key mappings from original NCCS/990 names to Portal lowercase names:
Portal Name
Original NCCS/990
Description
year
FISYR
Academic year (fall semester) — Portal-aligned year (1993-2016)
fiscal_year
—
IRS fiscal year ending year from 990 filing (1994-2017); typically year + 1
unitid
—
IPEDS institution ID (Portal addition)
ein
EIN
Employer Identification Number
fips
FIPS
State FIPS code (integer)
inst_name_nccs
NAME
Organization name from 990 filing
mult_ein_flag
—
Multiple-EIN indicator (0=No, 1=Yes)
contributions_total
CONT
Total contributions
prog_serv_rev
PROGREV
Program service revenue
revenue_total
TOTREV
Total revenue
expenses_total
EXPS
Total expenses
total_assets_eoy
TOTASS
Total assets (end of year)
net_assets_eoy
NETASS
Net assets (end of year)
compensation_officers
COMPENS
Officer compensation
salaries_other
OTHSAL
Other salaries
Note: The full 161 columns include detailed revenue breakdowns (Part VIII), expense breakdowns (Part IX), and balance sheet items (Part X). Consult the codebook for the complete list. Use get_codebook_url("nccs/codebook_colleges_nccs_form_990") from fetch-patterns.md to download it.
Missing Data Codes
Code
Meaning
When Used
-1
Data unavailable
Not collected for this form/year
-2
Not applicable
Field doesn't apply to this entity
-3
Suppressed
Confidentiality restriction
null
Not reported
Organization did not report (may have data)
0
Zero value
Explicitly reported as zero
Important: In Portal data, -1/-2/-3 are integer values. However, empirically these codes are rare in the NCCS Portal dataset — most missing data appears as null rather than negative codes. Only a handful of financial columns (e.g., sale_sec_gross_net, changes_net_assets_other) contain any -1/-2/-3 values. A 0 means the organization reported zero; null means the organization did not report. These are distinct conditions.
Data Access
Datasets for NCCS are available via the mirror system. See datasets-reference.md for canonical paths, mirrors.yaml for mirror configuration, and fetch-patterns.md for fetch code patterns.
Dataset
Type
Years
Path
Codebook
990 Forms
Single
1993-2016
nccs/colleges_nccs_all
nccs/codebook_colleges_nccs_form_990
Codebooks are .xls files co-located with data in all mirrors. Use get_codebook_url() from fetch-patterns.md to construct download URLs.
Truth Hierarchy: When interpreting variable values, apply this priority:
Actual data file (what you observe in the parquet/CSV) — this IS the truth
Live codebook (.xls in mirror) — authoritative documentation, may lag
This skill documentation — convenient summary, may drift from codebook
If this documentation contradicts the codebook, trust the codebook. If the codebook contradicts observed data, trust the data and investigate.
Filtering
The Portal dataset is pre-filtered to higher education institutions matched to IPEDS UNITIDs. NTEE codes are NOT included in the Portal data — for NTEE-based filtering, use the full NCCS BMF directly.
import polars as pl
# Filter by year
df_2015 = df.filter(pl.col("year") == 2015)
# Filter by state (integer FIPS codes)
df_ca = df.filter(pl.col("fips") == 6) # California# Filter out null values from financial columns
df_valid = df.filter(
(pl.col("revenue_total").is_not_null()) &
(pl.col("revenue_total") >= 0) # Excludes rare -1/-2/-3 codes
)
# Replace negative codes with null for analysis (precautionary)
df = df.with_columns(
pl.when(pl.col("revenue_total") < 0)
.then(None)
.otherwise(pl.col("revenue_total"))
.alias("revenue_total_clean")
)
Common Pitfalls
Pitfall
Issue
Solution
Using string codes
Portal uses integer FIPS (6), not string ("CA" or "06")
Always use integer comparisons; filter >= 1 to exclude missing codes
Filing threshold confusion
Organizations under $200K revenue may file 990-EZ with fewer variables
Check form type; use Core PZ files for combined 990/990-EZ coverage
Fiscal year variation
Nonprofits have different fiscal year ends (June 30 common for colleges)
year = Portal academic year (fall semester); fiscal_year = IRS fiscal year end (typically year + 1). Filter on year for IPEDS joins.
No NTEE in Portal data
Portal dataset does not include NTEE codes; pre-filtered to higher ed institutions
Cannot filter by NTEE code; use full NCCS BMF for NTEE-based filtering
NTEE classification accuracy
~25% of NTEE codes estimated to be imprecise
Use NCCS-corrected codes (NTEE_NCCS) over IRS-assigned codes when available
Consolidated filings
Some university systems file consolidated 990s covering multiple campuses
Check mult_ein_flag; one EIN may represent multiple institutions
Form version changes
Form 990 was redesigned in 2008; variable definitions changed
Be cautious comparing pre-2008 and post-2008 data for governance variables
Missing vs. zero
0 means explicitly reported zero; null means not reported
Distinguish between zero-value and not-reported before aggregating
Key Differences: NCCS vs. IPEDS
Aspect
NCCS (Form 990)
IPEDS
Coverage
All 501(c)(3) nonprofits
Title IV institutions only
Reporting Basis
IRS fiscal year
IPEDS survey cycles
Financial Framework
Nonprofit accounting (GAAP)
Education-specific categories
Governance
Detailed board/compensation data
Limited HR data
Programs
Mission statements, activities
Degree programs, enrollment
Identifier
EIN
UNITID
Update Frequency
Annual (with lag)
Annual
Exploration Workflow
Using Portal Data (Recommended for Education Research)
Fetch data via fetch_from_mirrors("nccs/colleges_nccs_all")
Data is pre-filtered to higher education institutions matched to IPEDS
Already includes unitid for IPEDS joining
161 financial/organizational variables, 1993-2016
Filter and clean
Filter by year, state (FIPS), or institution
Handle nulls (primary missing data form in Portal)
Check for rare negative codes (-1/-2/-3) in financial columns
Link to IPEDS using unitid and year columns
Join with IPEDS directory, enrollment, finance, etc.
Analyze — See variable definitions for meaning and limitations
Using Full NCCS (for Non-Education or Pre-Portal Research)
Identify target organizations
Filter BMF by NTEE codes (B40-B50 for higher ed)
Verify 501(c)(3) status (SUBSECCD = 03)
Note EINs for organizations of interest
Select appropriate dataset
Core PZ for broad coverage
Core PC for detailed financials (larger orgs)
Efile for maximum detail (governance, compensation)
Extract and clean data
Download relevant years from NCCS directly
Merge with BMF for organizational attributes
Handle missing data codes
Analyze — See variable definitions for meaning and limitations
Related Data Sources
Source
Relationship
When to Use
education-data-source-ipeds
Complementary institution data
Join on EIN-UNITID crosswalk for enrollment, degrees, and education-specific financials
