How can I find out if a charity is legitimate?

Answer 1

Check with the Better Business Bureau. You might find it online or in the yellow pages. Its a good place to start.

Answer 2

Al's answer was great-I would also suggest checkiing with the council on accreditation for the field they are in and the local chamber of commerce. Some of the better charities are members of the commerce in their area. Also try checking with local newspapers and radio/television stations. Some of the charities have partners that they wok with and putting their name in the search engines will often give you info on them. Local tv stations in my area have investigative reporters who focus on this type of thing and find fraudelent activities-heck they even exposed a women who was acting as a legal advisor to people appealing denied SSD/SSI cases. They found out that you dont have to be lawyer to represent someone at hearing . They have exposed some fake charities as well

I hope this helps

Answer 3

This is a good question.
It is also a question that other people have asked & got good answers to.

2 weeks ago we were asked how to find a legitimate charity that gives to the poor in Africa

Best answer suggested joining the Peace Corps

I was down there with an answer how to get at a list of NGOs focused on various different causes, followed by a series of warning gotchas

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AsgZgm_T4zX8N_CaPHa1IlHty6IX?qid=20070712082837AA2iXDb&show=7#profile-info-LrCEjUAFaa

3 weeks ago we were asked about charities that do various unethical things ... how do you find out about that.

Best answer talked about Charities that impressed the answerer. My answer was first among the others, where I listed how to find out if an alleged charity is
* really a scam
* really is a front giving money to terrorists
How to find out what percent of the money is really going to the needy
How to find out if a charity is collecting money to be used in a controversial way

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AvIoTnM4tQvQ83vKKD.QZ_rty6IX?qid=20070709080101AAfQpxp&show=7#profile-info-8d878c26470b3eada2d7f096267d3758aa

1 month ago we were asked how to identify reputable charities that serve the interests of human rights and the environment.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AtSwuug8lLiH3ameIaFPFScjzKIX?qid=20070614214221AAe5iqL

While there were many good suggestions, the best answer was one with a link to charity watch, which ranks charities according to how much of what is donated actually goes to the people the charities are supposedly helping. You can look up on the site by the subjects that you wish to contribute towards.

http://www.charitywatch.org/toprated.html

3 months ago we were asked how you can tell that money donated to an organization is really going to the needy, and not into one person's pocket. Best answer (which only works in USA) was to contact Better Business Bureau.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=Alis1Dy0aJPTb7ykLSK730cjzKIX?qid=20070421172926AAj9omO

1 year ago we were asked how to get a list of legitimate charities and what each does. The best answer had a list of tips for how to do competent research into this topic.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AkJsKKxPgApp4UqG4LL5JP8jzKIX?qid=1006031913848

Answer 4

All legitimate charities must be registered and should be able to provide that number to you. If in doubt, you can always check the better business bureau as they usually have a line on charitable frauds.

Answer 5

The best place to look quickly is www.guidestar.org They provide not only info about the charity, but their last several years of 990 forms (tax returns). In these forms you can discover the amount of money they spend on program, fundraising, and administrative expenses, and the salaries of the top five people paid over $50,000. You can also look for telltale signs like same last names of people on the board and administrative staff. You have to register to use the site, but it is free. Good luck!

Answer 6

Try the Better Business Bureau

Answer 7

Check CharityNavigator.org (or com. not sure) they are the recognized standard I believe.You can also check state records to see if they are registered w/ whatever state they are doing business out of.

Answer 8

Your state attorney generals office will know

Answer 9

I've used this one:
http://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm

Answer 10

if they call you they arn't