Identification

• The first section of Form 990 contains detailed information on the identity of the nonprofit filing the return. This section will contain details regarding the organization's location, activities and legal status.
  
  

Gross Receipts

• Directly below the identification information on page one is data regarding the organization's gross receipts for the year. Nonprofits get their income from a variety of sources including donations, grants, revenue generating programs, and investments. This first page also contains a miniature net-worth statement for the organization.
  
  

Programs the Nonprofit Runs

• On page two of Form 990 charitable organizations must disclose what programs and activities they put on during the last year. Charitable organizations have to limit the scope of their activities to maintain their non-profit status, this part of the tax return allows the IRS to validate an organization's tax exempt status.
  
  

Compensation of Officers and Directors

• Charitable organizations are required to disclose the salaries paid to their officers, directors and highest paid employees. Since the form 990 is some of the only publicly available information about a nonprofit this is where these organizations disclose how they spend their funds compensating their employees. Non-profit salaries can sometimes be some of the highest private-sector wages paid for a given job title.
  
  

Other Expenses

• Beyond salary information non-profits also disclose other expense-related information. Although a charity may not post a year-end profit like a corporation might its expense reporting is done similarly.