Complex new forms focus less on finances, more on how groups operate and prevent corruption.

By Christopher K. Hepp

Berger, of Charity Navigator, said his service had three million unique visitors last year; Robert Ottenhoff, president of Guidestar, reported four million.

"What we are hearing from donors is that they want to know about the capabilities of an organization," Ottenhoff said. "Is it capable of doing the things it says it will do?"