How to Check a Charity Before Donating: A 10-Minute Verification Guide
Verify a charity's legal identity, registration, official website, payment route, reporting and receipt before responding to an urgent online appeal.
A moving appeal can be genuine and still give you too little information to donate safely. Before sending money, separate three questions: does the organisation legally exist, does this particular appeal belong to it, and does the payment route send funds where the appeal claims?
Registration is a useful identity check, not a government endorsement of impact. A registered charity can run a weak programme, while some legitimate religious bodies may appear differently in national tax or charity systems. The goal is to build a short evidence chain from the appeal to an official record, the charity's own contact details and a traceable payment.
Pause the appeal and capture its claims
Do not donate from the first message. Write down the legal name, claimed registration number, country, website, campaign purpose and payment recipient. Scammers create urgency after disasters and may use a name that differs by one word from a known charity.
Open a new browser tab and search independently. Do not use only the link in a text, direct message, QR code or forwarded post. HTTPS protects data in transit but does not prove that the operator is honest; fraudulent sites can also use encryption.
- Record the exact legal name and registration or tax number.
- Identify who receives the payment: charity, platform or individual.
- Save the campaign date, stated purpose and country of operation.
- Do not let a countdown, matching claim or emotional video end the check.
Use the official register for the charity's country
In the United States, the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search shows tax status, eligibility for deductible contributions and available filings. England and Wales use the Charity Commission register, Canada the CRA charity list, and Australia the ACNC Charity Register. Use the regulator for the organisation's legal home, not the donor's location alone.
Match the number, legal name, city and website. Review whether the status is current and whether required filings are visible. The IRS warns that organisations can appear on an automatic-revocation list and later be reinstated, so read the current record rather than one search label in isolation.
Move from the register to the charity's own website
Use the website and contact information recorded by the regulator when possible. Check whether the charity's site describes the same campaign, region and payment method. If the appeal arrived from a new social account, call or email the charity through the independently verified contact details.
Look for recent annual reports, programme explanations, governance names and financial filings. These do not guarantee effectiveness, but they let you compare the appeal with the organisation's normal work. A campaign for a country the charity never mentions deserves a direct question.
- Legal name, address and registration number agree across records.
- The official site links to the same campaign or confirms it directly.
- The programme explains what the donation funds and who delivers it.
- Recent reporting names leaders, activities and financial information.
Check the payment route and fundraising platform
A charity may use a legitimate third-party portal, but the donor should understand whether the portal sends the gift directly, deducts fees, delays payment or permits the organiser to withdraw it. The FTC notes that giving portals must explain their screening and transfer arrangements clearly; appearing on a portal is not automatically an endorsement.
Be wary when the only option is a gift card, wire transfer, cryptocurrency or payment to an unrelated personal account. The FTC identifies high-pressure demands for such methods as common scam signals. If a charity normally accepts cards or bank payments on its official site, use that verified path rather than a stranger's account.
Ask what happens to restricted and excess funds
If an appeal promises that money is only for a named emergency, check how the charity describes restricted donations. Ask what happens if the campaign exceeds its target or access to the region becomes impossible. Responsible wording usually explains whether funds can support closely related work.
For zakat, sadaqah, mosque construction or religious endowments, also ask how the charity separates funds and who provides religious oversight. Registration alone cannot answer a donor's jurisprudential question.
Keep the receipt and check the next statement
Before confirming, read whether the gift is one-time or recurring and verify the amount and currency. Keep the confirmation, campaign page and receipt. Check the next card or bank statement for the correct merchant name and make sure a recurring payment was not added unintentionally.
If the evidence does not align, stop and contact the charity or regulator. If you believe you paid a scammer, contact the payment provider immediately and use the fraud-reporting channel in your country. Speed matters more after payment than arguing with the account that solicited you.
Sources
- US Federal Trade Commission: Before Giving to a Charity — Provides practical checks for urgent appeals, payment methods, recurring gifts and charity scams.
- US Internal Revenue Service: Tax Exempt Organization Search — Explains how to check tax status, deductible eligibility, filings, revocation and determination letters.
- Charity Commission for England and Wales: Search the Register — Provides the official charity lookup for England and Wales.
- Canada Revenue Agency: Donate Wisely and Avoid Fraud — Recommends checking registration, paying the charity rather than an individual and resisting pressure.
- Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission: Donating to Legitimate Charities — Explains register checks, verified contact details, fundraiser identity and secure donation routes.
- US Federal Trade Commission: Online Charitable Giving Portals — Clarifies that portals should disclose screening, fees and how donations reach a selected charity.
