How to Check a Charity Before You Donate

During my ten years in charity fundraising, the question I heard most from careful donors was not "how much should I give?" but "how do I know my money will be used properly?" It is a good question, and a surprising number of people never ask it. They give to whichever appeal reaches them first, at the door, on social media or in a stream, and hope for the best. Most of the time that is fine. Sometimes it is not.

Checking a charity does not take long. With practice it takes about twenty minutes, and it can save you from scams, from well-meaning but ineffective organisations, and from the uncomfortable feeling of not knowing where your money went. Here is the process I use and recommend.

Step one: confirm it is a registered charity

In most countries, charities above a certain size must register with an official regulator, which publishes a searchable register. Examples include the Charity Commission for England and Wales, the Australian Charities and Not-for-profits Commission, and the Internal Revenue Service's database of tax-exempt organisations in the United States. Many other countries have their own equivalents.

Search for the charity by name or registration number. If it does not appear, that is not always a scam, since small groups and informal community projects may be below the registration threshold. But for any organisation asking for significant sums, registration is a basic expectation.

Check that the name on the register matches the name on the appeal exactly. Fake appeals often use names very similar to real charities.

Step two: read what the register says

Charity registers usually show more than a yes or no. Look for:

Purpose. What the charity is officially set up to do. Does it match the appeal?
Income and spending. Rough figures for recent years.
Filing history. Whether annual accounts and reports are submitted on time. Repeated late or missing filings are a warning sign.
Trustees or board. Who is responsible for the organisation.
Any regulatory action. Some registers note investigations or warnings.

Step three: look at the annual report

Most registered charities publish an annual report and accounts. You do not need to be an accountant. Read the summary and look for three things.

What did they actually do?

A good report describes specific activities and results: how many people helped, what services ran, what changed. Vague language about "making a difference" with no numbers is less reassuring.

Where did the money go?

Accounts split spending roughly into charitable activities, fundraising costs and support or governance costs. This gives a rough picture of priorities.

Are they honest about problems?

Good charities admit what did not work. A report that only celebrates may be hiding something, or simply may not be reflecting enough.

The overheads myth

Many donors judge charities mainly on overheads, preferring those that spend the smallest share on administration and fundraising. I spent years watching this belief do damage, so I want to challenge it directly.

Low overheads can mean an efficient charity. They can also mean a charity that underpays staff, has no proper financial controls, cannot afford to measure its impact, and struggles to keep good people. A charity spending a reasonable share on training, systems and fundraising may achieve far more per unit donated than one squeezing every cost.

Instead of asking "how low are the overheads?", ask "what results does this charity achieve, and how does it know?" Several well-known charity evaluators and researchers have made the same argument. Overheads matter only when they are extreme, either very high with little to show for it, or so low that the charity cannot function properly.

Step four: check how the appeal reached you

Many scams use the name of a real charity. Before donating, check that the appeal itself is genuine.

Use the charity's official website to donate, rather than links in messages, emails or social media comments.
Check fundraisers on platforms are linked to the official charity page.
Ask street or door collectors for identification and check whether the charity uses them.
Be wary of urgency and pressure, especially after disasters, when fake appeals multiply.

Gaming events have their own version of this risk. Our piece on finding an online game event that supports a cause explains how to check charity streams and in-game fundraisers.

Step five: decide whether it fits your values

A charity can be legitimate and well run and still not be the right fit for you. After the checks, ask yourself:

Do I care about this cause?
Is this the kind of approach I believe in, such as direct services, research or campaigning?
Would I rather give locally or internationally?
Do I want to give once, or support them regularly?

Regular donations are particularly valuable to charities, because they allow planning. A small monthly gift is often worth more than an occasional larger one.

If you pay tax, check whether your country offers tax relief on donations. In some countries, such as the United Kingdom, a scheme lets registered charities claim back basic rate tax on donations from taxpayers, which can add a meaningful amount to your gift at no cost to you. You usually just tick a box or sign a short declaration. In others, donors can deduct gifts from their taxable income. These schemes generally apply only to registered charities, which is one more reason to check registration first.

A twenty minute checklist

For quick reference, this is the order I follow:

Search the official charity register. Confirm the exact name and number.
Check filing history and any regulatory notes.
Skim the latest annual report summary.
Look at what they achieved, not just what they spent.
Donate only through the official website or verified pages.

What about small community groups?

Small local groups, such as a residents' association or a volunteer-run food bank, may not be registered. That does not make them untrustworthy. For these, ask a few simple questions: who runs it, how is money handled, does more than one person check the accounts, and can you see what they did with past donations? Most good small groups are happy to answer. If you want to support them with time rather than money, our piece on volunteering with a full-time job may help.

Checking a charity is not about distrust. It is about making sure your generosity lands where it can do the most good. More on giving well is in our Giving section.