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Tips from the IRS & the FTC: Before You Give to a Charity

It’s the officially season of giving and many of us are inspired between Giving Tuesday and the end of the year to reach out to those in need, to organizations that do the work that inspires and impassions us or work to find a cure for diseases that afflict a loved one… 

be the reasonThere’s a charity out there for everyone that does the work they find meaningful.  Be advised though, as per the IRS and the FTC, to be on the lookout for scammers who set up fake organizations to take advantage of your generosity. They especially take advantage of tragedies and disasters, such as the COVID-19 pandemic or Hurricane Ida floods, or the recent tornadoes that wreaked such havoc across the country.  The following tips from the IRS’ Dirty Dozen of Tax-Related Scams and the Federal Trade Commission’s Before Giving to a Charity include helpful advice for how to give wisely. 

Before You Donate

Research online for the cause that you care about.  Type in your interest such as “homelessness” or “cancer research” or “environmental advocacy” — plus phrases like “best charity” or “highly rated charity.” Once you find a specific charity you’re considering giving to, search its name plus “complaint,” “review,” “rating,” “fraud,” or “scam.” If you find bad reviews, it might be best to find another organization.

Then check out the charity’s website.  Does it give you details about the programs you want to support or how it uses donations? How much of your donation will go directly to support the programs you care about? If you can’t find detailed information about a charity’s mission and programs, be suspicious.

Check out the charity at a website that helps you research charities.  Charity Navigator is a great resource for guiding your non-profit giving.  It is a non-profit dedicated to providing data, tools, and resources to guide your philanthropic decision-making.  It rates over 160,000 nonprofits showing donors how efficiently they believe a charity will use their support, how well it has sustained its programs and services over time, and their level of commitment to good governance, best practices, and openness with information.

Find out if the fundraiser and the charity are registered. Some states require that charities register with the state regulator. Check to see if a fundraiser and the charity they’re calling on behalf of are registered with your state’s charity regulator.

Check if the donation will be tax deductible. If this is important to you, confirm that the organization you’re donating to is registered with the IRS as a tax-exempt organization. Look up the organization in the IRS’s Tax Exempt Organization Search.

Scams requesting donations for disaster relief efforts are especially common on the phone. Taxpayers should always check out a charity before they donate, and they should not feel pressured to give immediately.

Here are some tips to remember about fake charity scams:

  • Never let any caller pressure you. A legitimate charity will be happy to get a donation at any time, so there's no rush. Donors are encouraged to take time to do the research.
  • Don’t trust your caller ID. Modern technology makes it easy for scammers to fake caller ID information.  Calls can look like they come from your local area code, or from a specific organization, even if they don’t. In reality, the caller could be anywhere in the world.  We’ve even seen incoming calls with our own phone number. 
  • Write down the name of the charity and then confirm it. Potential donors should ask the fundraiser for the charity's exact name, web address and mailing address, so it can be confirmed later. Some dishonest telemarketers use names that sound like large well-known charities to confuse people.
  • It’s safest to donate with a check or credit card. Be careful how a donation is paid. Donors should not work with charities that ask them to pay by giving numbers from a gift card or by wiring money. That's how scammers ask people to pay. It's safest to pay by credit card or check — and only after having done some research on the charity.
  • If you’re donating online, make sure the webpage where you enter your payment information has “https” in the web address.That means your information is encrypted and transmitted securely. But encryption alone doesn’t mean the site is legit. Scammers know how to encrypt, too.
  • Watch out for sentimental claims with few details. Be suspicious if you hear a lot of vague sentimental claims, for example, that the charity helps many families that can’t afford cancer treatment and veterans wounded at war who can’t work, but don’t get specifics about how your donation will be used.
  • After you’ve donated, review your bank account and credit card statements. Make sure you’re only charged the amount you agreed to donate. And that you’re not signed up to make a recurring donation if you didn’t mean to.
  • Keep a record of all donations. You may need them later if your donations are tax deductible. 
  • If you determined that you sent money to a scammer, read What to Do If You Paid a Scammer for advice on how to try to recover your money.

Additional organizations that help you research charities

Report Charity Scams

Report scams to

Office of the Attorney General
Division of Consumer Affairs
Charities Registration Section
P.O. Box 45021
Newark, New Jersey 07101
(973) 504-6215
(800) 242-5846
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

When you report a charity scam, share any information you have — like the name and phone number of the organization or fundraiser, how the fundraiser contacted you, and what the fundraiser said.

Here’s hoping that these helpful tips from the friendly folks at the IRS and the FTC help steer you in the right direction for your holiday giving this season so that you can feel confident that the funds that you give actually help those affected or the cause you care most about.  Happy Holiday Giving!