How to Investigate a Charity

Even if you have the best of intentions when donating to charities, your money may not be used as you intended. Investigating charities is a critical step when deciding to donate.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Computer with internet connection

1. Decide what charity or what kind of charity you would like to donate to. If you do not already have a charity selected, perform an internet search to narrow down the choices.
2. Check with the IRS to ensure that the charity you would like to donate to qualifies as a valid 501c (non-profit) organization.
3. Check with the Better Business Bureau to see whether they have received complaints about the charity.
4. Check with Charity Navigator too see what rating they have given the charity. The rating encompasses many factors, including how efficiently the charity spends its funds.

Tips & Warnings

• Not all charities will be listed with the BBB or Charity Navigator but that does not mean that they are necessarily irreputable. Many smaller charities may not be listed.
• If a charity is not listed with the IRS as a valid 501c organization, your donations will not be tax deductible, but that does not necessarily mean that the organization is not doing good work.
• If you can't find any information about an organization or the organization seems to good to be true, it probably is.