--Last Updated 4/5/2007

Nonprofit Guide to Prospecting: Businesses & Corporations

When looking for information on a Business or a Corporation, start with a few databases to gather quick financial and contact information to get an overall view of the company.

Databases:

Chambers of Commerce: Find local businesses in a particular field or find contact information of a known business.
    http://www.mochamber.org/mocchw (Missouri & Links to Local Chapters)
    http://www.newmellechamber.com/ (New Melle)
    http://www.ofallonchamber.org/(O’Fallon)
    http://www.stcharleschamber.org/ (St. Charles)
    http://www.stpeterschamber.com/home/index.html (St. Peters)
    http://www.wentzvillechamber.com/  (Wentzville)

Central Contractor Registration
Search for small businesses, veteran and women owned businesses in a specified area.
   http://www.bpn.gov/ccrinq/scripts/search.asp

Dunn & Bradstreet Million Dollar Directory: (Need Library Card to Use)
A Directory of Businesses that includes exact number of employees, sales figures, ownership, executive contact information and More.
    http://www.youranswerplace.org/lanmenu/business.html 

ZoomInfo (formerly Eliyon Technologies):
Search by executive or company name.
   http://www.zoominfo.com/

Hoover's Online Pro: (In Library Use Only)
Detailed financial and executive biographies on more than 40,000 companies.
    http://www.youranswerplace.org/lanmenu/business.html

Secretary of State Database: 
Look up companies that are registered with its local SOS office, many provide access to their annual reports.
    http://www.nass.org/busreg/corpreg.html (National)
    http://www.sos.mo.gov (Missouri)
    http://www.cyberdriveillinois.com/departments/business_services/corp.html (Illinois)

Sorkins: (In Library Use Only)
Comprehensive business directory (St. Louis Only), which lists contact information, key executives, and a short biography of the company.
(658.009) SP, KL, MK, CP, DR, KR, MY, NC, BT

Tip: Make sure to check the Web to see if the company has its own WebPage.

• WhoIs: Search by corporation name
  http://www.whois.sc/



• Google: General web search engine, search by corporation name
  http://www.google.com

Securities and Exchange Information:

Note: Public companies must file annual reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and is available for public review.

The important filings to look for are the "10-K" which is the annual report, and the "DEF-14A" (proxy statements).  Proxy statements are VERY long, but contain useful information such as salaries and stock holding information.  Use EdgarScan to download the statement in rich text format (.rtf).

• PriceWaterhouseCoopers: EdgarScan: (10-K filings and DEF 14-A)
  http://edgarscan.pwcglobal.com/servlets/edgarscan



• Edgar: Raw Data Filing
  http://www.sec.gov/edgar.shtml



• Annual Reports Service:
  Another way to retrieve a company's annual report. Must sign-up with Website to use.
  http://www.annualreportservice.com



• Mergent: Search Annual Reports and SEC filings (Must Have a Library Card to Use)
  http://www.youranswerplace.org/lanmenu/business.html



• Guide to reading the financial report:
  http://www.ibm.com/investor/financialguide/irgtfdpg.phtml

Then check out the Following Links for your corporation for news articles, stock reports, and industry information:

• Business and Company Resource Center:
  One stop information source for articles, stock, reports, and industry information. 
  http://www.youranswerplace.org/lanmenu/business.html



• Compact Disclosure:
  Compact Disclosure contains financial data and text extracted from annual reports; registration and proxy statements; and other sources for all current and new companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Up to nine years of financial statements plus the latest six quarterly statements are provided. 
  In Library Use Only - CD-ROM product (SP)



• Corporate Information
  Have to pay to retrieve company reports, but this site provides links to other free websites that provide business information on your company.
  http://www.corporateinformation.com



• ReferenceUSA: Can check Business Credit Ratings!!
  The database shows basic company information and size and sales are estimates, however downloaded records include: executive names, industry codes, credit ratings, and more.
  When downloading make sure the selected options are:
  File Format = Comma Delimited
  Platform = Windows
  Level of Detail = Detailed
  http://www.youranswerplace.org/lanmenu/business.html



• Better Business Bureau:
  Check out the company's reliability. The BBB logs complaints against the company and gives brief reviews of selected companies.
  http://search.bbb.org/search.html



• Mergent: (Need Library Card to Use)
  Stock and company history information (and Annual Reports!)
  http://www.youranswerplace.org/lanmenu/business.html



• Common Cause:
  Search by Corporation name to find out if your prospect company is contributing to Soft Money Donations.
  http://www.commoncause.org/laundromat/



• Center for Public Integrity: 527 tracking:
  Search by Corporation name to check on major donations to political campaigns
  http://www.publicintegrity.org/527/db.aspx?act=main



• Tray Database:
  Search by Corporation name to find out if your prospect company is contributing to Political Campaigns.
  http://www.tray.com

Local Newspapers and Trade Journals:

• St. Louis Business Journal: Available on ABI/INFORM Complete (Full Text 1999 - Current)
  http://www.youranswerplace.org/lanmenu/business.html



• St. Louis Commerce Magazine: 
  http://www.stlcommercemagazine.com/search/index.asp
Also Available on ABI/INFORM Complete (Full Text 1990 - Current)
http://www.youranswerplace.org/lanmenu/business.html


• St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Available through Library Database
  http://www.youranswerplace.org/lanmenu/magsnews.html



• The Suburban Journals of the St. Louis Metro Area:
  STLtoday - neighborhoods
  http://stltoday.com/neighborhoods



• Bizjournal: Search business journals of many major cities
  http://www.bizjournals.com/search.html



• Lexis-Nexis: (Staff Mediated Database - In Library Use Only)
  This is the source for other news/business journals

Library Sources:

Company Directories:
Available at the Spencer Road Branch and some other locations as noted.
    http://www.youranswerplace.org/services/business/Company_Directories.htm

Finance and Investment Resources:
Another great way to research financial and credit information on an institution.
    http://www.youranswerplace.org/services/business/Finance_Investment.htm

© 2005-2007 St. Charles City-County Library District

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