The Note · a weekly column

The Note

A short, plain-language column that runs at the top of the gleantree nonprofit digest most weeks — one idea about reading the public record. Here is the archive. Newest first.

• July 19, 2026Reading the moneyLast week I called the 990 a nonprofit's financial portrait. This week, how to actually read one — because the number most people reach for first tells you less than they think. Open almost any…
• July 12, 2026What's actually in a Form 990?If your organization is a nonprofit, you probably file a Form 990 with the IRS every year — it's the annual return for tax-exempt organizations, and once the IRS processes it, it becomes public. You…
• July 5, 2026Welcome — and thank you for being firstIf you're reading this, you're one of the first people ever to get a gleantree digest. Thank you. Truly. Starting something new is equal parts exciting and terrifying, and having a real audience in…
• July 1, 2026Why I started gleantreeI've spent about thirty years working with data — building the pipelines and models that turn raw records into something people can actually act on. Over that time I've come to realize: there's an…