Installment 1: Biography
--basic biographical information
--any stats or numbers that will help elucidate impressions of scale, civic engagement, corporate sponsorship, political or economic impact etc.:
It can be extremely tricky to find information about companies that are not publicly listed, or are international! Here are some great places to start looking for those 'alt' companies.....
Charity Navigator (for non-profit companies)
GuideStar (also for non-profit companies)
Need information about various 'sectors' that aren't companies? Look to the U.S. Department of Labor to help you out on this one! Sorted by 'Occupation' you can get the lowdown on Education versus Engineering here! InfoNet