Giving to charity wisely: checking a charity is registered and avoiding scams
TUREFF• •0
Generosity is one of the best things about people, and scammers know it. After disasters, during appeals and around religious festivals, fake collections and copycat websites appear alongside genuine ones. A few minutes of checking makes sure your money reaches the cause you meant it for, and helps you choose charities that use it well.
Check that the charity is real
Most countries keep a public register of charities. In the UK there are three.
- England and Wales: the Charity Commission's online register. Most charities based here must register once their income is over 5,000 pounds a year, so a very small group may legitimately not appear; charitable incorporated organisations must register whatever their income.
- Scotland: the Scottish Charity Regulator, known as OSCR, keeps the Scottish Charity Register.
- Northern Ireland: the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland keeps its own register.
Search by name and by the registration number, which genuine charities usually show on their website, letters and collection materials. Check that the number matches the name, and that the address and purpose look like the organisation asking you for money. The register also shows what the charity does, where it works and, for many, its recent accounts.
Elsewhere, look for the equivalent official register, such as a national charities regulator or the tax authority's list of approved non-profit organisations. If you cannot find one at all, be cautious.
Check how they fundraise
In the UK, the Fundraising Regulator oversees the code of fundraising practice. Many charities register with it and display its badge, which signals that they have committed to that code. It also handles complaints about fundraising that a charity has not resolved.
For collections in the street or at the door, collectors should carry identification, and street collections usually need a licence from the local council or permission from the site owner. A genuine collector will not mind you asking, and you can always say no and donate later online instead.
Common warning signs
- Pressure to give immediately, especially by bank transfer, gift cards or cryptocurrency.
- Links in unexpected emails, texts or social media messages. Find the charity's website yourself by searching for it, rather than clicking.
- Names that closely imitate a well-known charity, with a word added or changed.
- Crowdfunding pages with no clear link to the person they claim to help, or details that change when you ask questions.
- Collectors who cannot tell you the charity's registration number or what the money will be spent on.
- Emotional stories with no verifiable detail, often after a disaster that is in the news.
Choosing where your money does most good
Being registered shows a charity exists; it does not tell you how effective it is. To choose well:
- Read the annual report and accounts on the register. Look at what the charity actually achieved, not only how much it spent.
- Do not judge on overheads alone. Good staff, training and systems cost money, and a charity that spends almost nothing on running costs is not necessarily better.
- Give regularly to fewer causes if you can. Predictable income helps charities plan.
- Use Gift Aid if you are a UK taxpayer, which lets the charity claim back basic rate tax on your donation at no cost to you, as long as you have paid enough tax to cover it.
- For disaster appeals, consider established organisations already working in the affected area, or joint appeals that share funds among several of them.
If you think you have been scammed
- Contact your bank straight away if you paid by card or transfer; acting quickly gives the best chance of stopping or recovering a payment.
- Report it. In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, fraud is reported to Report Fraud, the national service run by the City of London Police, which replaced Action Fraud. In Scotland, report it to Police Scotland. Elsewhere, use your national police or consumer protection service.
- Tell the charity being imitated, and report the concern to the relevant charity regulator.
- Warn others without sharing the scam link itself.
How do you choose which charities to support? Share your tips in the comments.